AEW Fight for the Fallen Review - July 15, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW World Champion Cody def. Sonny Kiss

While I'm glad Kiss got such a big opportunity to shine (and he delivered), the timing was odd since he was just shown getting beat up by Lance Archer last week. Viewers had no reason to think the title was in jeopardy of changing hands, but as a match, this was an enjoyable opener and Kiss definitely gained something in defeat. What really stood out to me about this bout was how heelish Cody came off as at various points. Tully Blanchard being shown sitting in the crowd several times was no coincidence as I feel there's a faction brewing with him, Cody, possibly FTR and others.

FTR def. The Lucha Brothers

These teams wrestle two totally different styles and yet they worked wonderfully together here. They made the most of the time they had and put together a terrific tag team showcase. FTR have been knocking it out of the park since coming to AEW while The Lucha Brothers never disappoint. I liked how the finish was designed to protect The Lucha Brothers in defeat, as I figured they'd lose but this was well done. It definitely looks like we're headed toward an FTR, Kenny Omega and Adam Page, and Young Bucks three-way tag team match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship.

Inner Circle Got Drenched in Orange Juice

I couldn't care less about all the talk about ratings and demographics myself, but it was funny when Jericho referred to himself as "The Demo God" here. He can turn anything he says into gold and make money off it somehow, so I'm not surprised he incorporated that into this character and I personally don't mind it. That said, I'm not a fan of his feud with Orange Cassidy continuing. I didn't hate this segment (though Ortiz's selling of the orange juice falling from the ceiling was completely ridiculous), but I don't see what can be gained from another match between Jericho and Cassidy. Cassidy shouldn't win and Jericho already beat him (relatively) clean, so I don't understand what this supposed to accomplish.

The Elite (The Young Bucks & AEW World Tag Team Champion Kenny Omega) def. Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus & Marko Stunt)

While I don't think a storyline reason was ever provided for why this match happened, it was still a ton of fun from start to finish and easily the best bout of the night. The Elite never disappoint and Jurassic Express are excellent as well. I hate how the Canadian Destroyer has turned into just another move, but that's been bothering me for the last year and is not a new complaint stemming from this matchup. Post-match, Omega showed shades of The Cleaner by roughing up Stunt, so here's hoping that leads to him breaking out on his own eventually and becoming the top talent we all know he can be.

The Nightmare Sisters def. MJ Jenkins and Kenzie Paige

It's safe to assume AEW is dragging out this storyline with Brandi Rhodes and Allie because QT Marshall has been out with COVID-19 for a few weeks now. The only way this thing ends is with Allie turning on Brandi and The Natural Nightmares, so it feels like one giant waste of time to me, especially since the matches are awful. To be fair, this was marginally better than some of the matches they've been having on Dark lately, but it was still far from great.

Nyla Rose Introduced Vickie Guerrero as Her Manager

There was a lot of speculation last week regarding who Nyla's new manager would be and the first person who came to mind for most people was Vickie Guerrero. Sadly, that was exactly who AEW ended up going with. It wasn't surprising in the slightest, and personally, I hate the move. Nyla doesn't need a manager or a mouthpiece to begin with in my opinion, but Vickie has been played out in that role for the last dozen years. Sure, she generates a ton of heat, but Nyla was already getting that on her own, so this feels forced and unnecessary.

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley def. FTW Champion Brian Cage (FTW Championship Was Not Defended)

This was an entertaining main event, but as a high-profile world championship main event, I felt like it missed the mark just by a little. It never reached that next gear and ended abruptly before it could. I liked the story they told with Moxley targeting Cage's previously injured arm, but the issue was that it came out nowhere. Why not tell that story for a few weeks coming into the contest? I've seen mixed reactions to the finish, but I didn't mind it as it protected Cage in defeat and I don't know how else they could have gone about beating him without doing a disqualification or a count-out (which would have been disappointing). Moxley holds onto the title as he should have and Cage transitions into a logical program with the returning Darby Allin considering he put him out of action back at Double or Nothing.

Overall Show

I'm nitpicking here, but I wish AEW would have held off on bringing back Fight for the Fallen for at least a week or two seeing as how Fyter Fest just wrapped up. However, this was a strong show all around. There was a ton of quality wrestling, storyline progression and hype for next week's show. I couldn't have cared less for the stuff with The Nightmare Sisters and Vickie's official AEW debut, but everything else was superb for the most part.