AEW Dynamite: Fight for the Fallen Review - July 27, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW Interim World Champion Jon Moxley def. Rush

Tony Khan noted in the ROH Death Before Dishonor post-show media scrum (which I was able to attend) that Rush's winning record earned him this opportunity. I don't think a majority of the audience viewed him as a threat to the title, but from an in-ring standpoint, this was a really enjoyable and well-wrestled opener. I appreciated that this was as competitive as it was before Rush ate the loss. The post-match verbal exchange between Moxley and Chris Jericho was a little long in the tooth for my taste, but it did set up their championship clash for the Quake at the Lake edition of Dynamite.

FTW Champion Ricky Starks def. Danhausen; Hook def. Starks to Win the FTW Championship

Danhausen was super over in front of this crowd, which is why I was surprised he didn't last very long at all. Don't get me wrong, Starks is a star and should have won decisively, but I don't think it would have hurt to have Danhausen establish some credibility by lasting longer than he did. The focus was on what happened afterward with Starks issuing another open challenge, Hook answering it, and Hook beating him rather quickly to become champion. It would have been nice to see it built up a bit more, but it made for a hell of a moment that the crowd was hot for. Starks then tuned babyface with his post-match promo and being attacked by Powerhouse Hobbs. Does that put an end to Team Taz?

Sammy Guevara def. Dante Martin

Guevara is more natural as a heel than he was a babyface, but I still can't bring myself to care about anything he's involved in, especially since his pairing with Tay Conti has done nothing but drag her down, and now Anna Jay is being brought into it, too. This was a fun affair, though Conti and specifically Skye Blue didn't add much by being at ringside. I believe Dante and Blue are legitimately dating, but I wish that had been explained on the show because Dante choosing her to be his corner was rather random from a storyline standpoint.

Christian Cage Interrupted Jungle Boy

Jungle Boy has always been criticized for his mic skills (or lack thereof), but I truly thought this was the best promo I've ever heard him cut. He's clearly more comfortable on the mic than he was even a few months ago and that's only going to help him in the long run. Christian once again went for the low blows and it was a solid segment on the whole. Luchasaurus didn't do much of anything, but I maintain that the endgame will be for him to officially turn on Jungle Boy soon.

AEW World Tag Team Champion Swerve Strickland def. Tony Nese and Mark Sterling in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match

I thought the segment these three were involved in last week was dumb and I had no desire to see this, either. Props to Sterling for playing his role well, but the guy is a goof and not remotely entertaining in my opinion. Meanwhile, Nese is a glorified jobber, so I really hope we can see Strickland and Keith Lee move onto something more meaningful soon. It was a fine yet forgettable match. I was among the minority who thought Josh Woods attacking Lee backstage was cool because I'm familiar with who he is from Ring of Honor.

AEW Women's World Champion Thunder Rosa def. Miyu Yamashita

Yamashita beat Rosa in an eliminator earlier this month in Japan and it aired on Dark soon after. I thought we'd have to wait a while for the match, but I liked that we got it here and that it happened on Dynamite. It was awesome exposure for Yamashita who is obviously very talented. They worked well together and had a very good match, though not quite the barn burner I was hoping for. It was a quality title defense for Rosa, nonetheless.

Daniel Garcia def. Bryan Danielson

This marked Danielson's return to the ring after missing some time due to injury he suffered at Double or Nothing. I was underwhelmed by the original encounter these two had back in February (I remember because I was there in person), but this was much better as they weren't rushed for time. Plus, they told a strong story with Garcia taking advantage of Danielson potentially coming back from his head trauma issues too early. Incorporating that sort of stuff into a storyline is risky and I don't blame anyone who wasn't a fan of it, but I thought it added to the match and gave Danielson an out for losing. Garcia almost never wins on his own whenever it matters most, so this was huge for him.

Overall Show

Night 2 of Fyter Fest last week on Dynamite was a dud (specifically that mess of a main event) in my opinion, but AEW redeemed themselves this week with a great show. There was terrific in-ring action across the episode, stuff set up for the coming weeks, and memorable moments (shockingly) involving the FTW title. There was filler, sure, but the good far outweighed the bad. In addition to all of that, an AEW World Trios Championship was officially announced with the inaugural champs being crowned at All Out.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews