AEW Dynamite: Fyter Fest: Week 1 Review - July 13, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW TNT Champion Wardlow def. Orange Cassidy

Both of these guys have been a part of AEW since very early on, but this actually marked their first one-on-one match. It was an interesting clash of styles for sure and an unexpectedly competitive first title defense for Wardlow. I wasn't a fan of Cassidy kicking out of the F10 (especially since the crowd barely reacted), but otherwise, it was an enjoyable affair and I was fine with Cassidy hanging with Wardlow for as long as he did following his performance against Will Ospreay at Forbidden Door.

Chris Jericho Addressed Eddie Kingston

This was honestly one of my favorite promos from Jericho in recent memory, and that last line about Kingston being a loser and not a liar was great. He was straightforward and serious and I really liked that he was out there alone without the rest of the Jericho Appreciation Society goofs. The Barbed Wire Anywhere stipulation for their blow-off next week isn't my cup of tea personally, but I thought both Jericho and Kingston (with his backstage promo afterward) did an effective job of selling viewers on it.

AEW Interim World Champion Jon Moxley def. Konsuke Takeshita in an AEW Interim World Championship Eliminator

Per the stipulation, had Konosuke won, he would have earned an automatic title shot. I don't believe Moxley has been beaten one-on-one all year and I didn't think that was happening here, but I appreciated that Takeshita was made to look credible in defeat once again. He's had so many impressive outings lately against the likes of Kingston, Jay Lethal, Adam Page and now Moxley that I'd be shocked if he didn't get the "all elite" graphic eventually. All Out isn't for another two months, so they still have some time to determine Moxley's opponent for that show.

Luchasaurus def. Griff Garrison

Heel Christian Cage has been one of the best parts of Dynamite for the past month, but the promo he cut beforehand on The Varsity Blonds was his weakest yet. It was perfectly fine, but I wouldn't want him to keep going for the cheap heat and for it to get old after a while. Nonetheless, Luchasaurus vs. Garrison was exactly what it needed to be with Luchasaurus making short work of him before dismantling both members of Varity Blonds afterward.

Claudio Castagnoli def. Jake Hager

Hager typically does nothing for me, but he was a fitting first opponent for Castagnoli in his singles debut on Dynamite given their history as The Real Americans in WWE. They had the quality contest you'd expect with both men having solid showings and Castagnoli in particular getting a chance to showcase his skills. I hope he moves beyond Jericho Appreciation Society and engages in his first feud soon, possibly with Kingston after they teased tension at the end of Blood and Guts.

Serena Deeb def. Anna Jay

It was officially announced earlier this week that Deeb will challenge Mercedes Martinez for the ROH Women's World Championship at Ring of Honor's Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view next weekend. It should be a hell of a match, but the storyline with Deeb and Martinez has barely gotten any exposure on Dynamite (if any at all). Yes, they've furthered the feud on Rampage a time or two, but that's not the same kind of exposure it'd get on Dynamite. This was a nice little match to further Deeb's momentum, but I'm still disappointed Jay has basically become a stepping stone since she and Tay Conti went their separate ways. Speaking of which, it's about damn time they interacted since their split wasn't acknowledged on television until the backstage segment that took place right after this.

Swerve In Our Glory def. Team Taz (FTW Champion Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs) and The Young Bucks in a Three-Way Tag Team Match to Win the AEW World Tag Team Championship

Considering the six stars involved in this thing, it was hardly shocking that this was such a chaotic and fast-paced main event. The action was all over the place (in a good way) and there were plenty of suspenseful nearfalls down the stretch, but what did shock me was Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland becoming the new AEW World Tag Team Champions. It was a cool moment, but Young Bucks just regained the gold a month ago, not to mention that it looked like AEW was building toward a Winners Take All match between Young Bucks and FTR at All Out. This throws things into disarray, especially with Lee and Swerve doing the "feuding partners" gimmick. That's fine and all, but I don't want it to come at the expense of the tag team division.

Overall Show

The pacing for this show was much better than normal. Maybe that's because I watched after the fact and not live, but it didn't feel like they shoved as much stuff as possible into the two hours, which allows things more time to breathe and gives certain segments and matches more time. Another thing I liked about this show is that we got a little bit of everything. It was nice to not have any hardcore nonsense for a change, but I know they're saving that for next week when Kingston and Jericho have their Barbed Wire Anywhere match. The surprising title change capped off the evening on a high note, even if I'm not entirely sold on it quite yet. This was an entertaining episode and we'll see what they have in store for Week 2 of Fyter Fest on Dynamite next Wednesday.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews