AEW Dynamite: Fyter Fest: Night 2 Review - July 21, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Chris Jericho def. Shawn Spears

This was the first "Labor of Jericho" and Spears was legally allowed to use chairs while Jericho could not. The outcome was never in doubt, especially since Spears is the glorified loser of The Pinnacle, but they had a good match and they made the most of the stipulation. Sammy Guevara leveled the playing field, allowing Jericho to pick up the victory despite being at a disadvantage. Post-match, MJF revealed that Jericho will have a No Disqualification match next week against Nick Gage. I'm not a huge fan of that type of hardcore wrestling (and we'll see how far they actually push the envelope), but it is a cool get for AEW (if only for one night) and it sends the message that you never know who might show up on Dynamite.

Impact World Tag Team Champion Doc Gallows def. Frankie Kazarian; The Dark Order Saved "Hangman" Adam Page From The Elite

The Good Brothers regained the Impact World Tag Team Championship over the weekend at IMPACT's Slammiversary pay-per-view. Kazarian has been feuding with The Elite for months, so it was about time he finally got his hands on one of the members in a match. There was nothing special about the match and Kazarian losing to a tag team player (even if it was via dirty tactics) was certainly questionable. The post-match angle played out nicely with the continuation of the Page vs. Kenny Omega feud ahead of their inevitable match at All Out for the AEW World Championship.

Darby Allin def. Wheeler Yuta

Coming off Allin's crazy Coffin match last week, I didn't expect anything too out of the ordinary from this outing. Rather, it was just a well-wrestled affair and a fine way for Allin to maintain his momentum. As I've said before, Yuta has impressed me up to this point both in AEW and Ring of Honor and I'd like to see him remain a regular among Best Friends as their "protégé." The stuff with Orange Cassidy and Sting at ringside was fun.

AEW Women's World Champion Britt Baker def. Nyla Rose

I remember Rose having one of her better matches with Baker earlier this year, but this wasn't on that same level. There were several spots that were awkward and the chemistry just wasn't there. The pacing wasn't an issue, but it was hardly the smoothest encounter I've seen either woman have. Thankfully, they managed to bounce back down the stretch, deliver a few suspenseful nearfalls, and finish strong. Now let's move past this program and onto other challengers for Baker, who's starting to come off more as a babyface than a heel.

Death Triangle Interrupted Andrade El Idolo and Chavo Guerrero

Andrade has been hyping up this surprise announcement of his for at least a month and I'm glad they didn't forget about it. I said from the start that Vickie Guerrero was the wrong choice to be Andrade's mouthpiece, so replacing her with Chavo was a smart call and he's a much better fit for the role. This was a solid segment designed to plant the seeds for future matches between Andrade and Death Triangle. The mic work was good and I'm looking forward to those potential matchups.

Orange Cassidy def. The Blade

They really tried to make Blade look like a threat to Cassidy here by attacking him earlier in the evening and using every advantage possible, but I knew there was no way he was winning here. Don't get me wrong, their match was decent, but it felt like it would have been better slotted as the main event on an episode of Dark. It was largely inoffensive and I don't think Cassidy should be anything more than a midcarder for AEW, but there's no denying his popularity with the fans.

Lance Archer def. Jon Moxley in a Texas Death Match to Win the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship

I knew these guys were going to go all out, but I didn't expect this to be an all-out war the way it was. I don't typically mind barbed wire (though that final image of Moxley's skin being stuck to it was rough), but I've never understood the use of forks and pizza cutters in wrestling. It's just cringe-worthy to me. On the whole, this was a hell of a spectacle that the crowd was into. Archer has lacked a big win since coming to AEW, so him regaining the gold was the correct outcome. Now he'll defend against NJPW's Hikuleo next week and it's very possible he'll take the title considering he's under contract to that company and Archer isn't as far as we know.

Overall Show

This was definitely the weakest of the three shows AEW has done on the road so far, but it was never boring. Granted, I could have done without the Allin vs. Yuta and especially the Cassidy vs. Blade matches, but Nick Gage and Chavo Guerrero were pleasant surprises. Jericho vs. Spears was an enjoyable opener and the main event delivered. I fear for what we might see in that Gage vs. Jericho match next week. Kudos to Dynamite for keeping the momentum rolling and advertising multiple matches for the coming weeks. Above all else, the crowds continue to enhance these episodes and were undoubtedly a big part of the spark that was missing from Dynamite during the pandemic.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews