AEW Rampage: Fyter Fest: Week 2 Review - July 22, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

"Hangman" Adam Page and John Silver def. The Butcher and The Blade

I doubt Page will ever not be over, but this is the least he has meant in a long, long time. Tony Khan is clearly waiting to kick off whatever's next for him, but I can think of better ways for him to maintain momentum than continuing to team with the glorified loser stable that is The Dark Order (who are losing members by the week). This was a decent opener, but Page feeling like an absolute afterthought was my main takeaway from this.

Claudio Castagnoli Addressed ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham

Castagnoli has neve been known as much of a mic guy, but I thought this promo was exactly what it needed to be with Castagnoli doing an effective job of hyping up his ROH World Championship match with Gresham at Death Before Dishonor. It arguably would have been more effective if they had Gresham out there as well. The build to their bout has been way too rushed, but I maintain that Castagnoli should win the title. Gresham is great, but it's painfully apparent Khan does not see him as a priority.

Lee Moriarty def. Dante Martin

Moriarty just came up short of beating Gresham for the ROH World Championship last week on Rampage. Both he and Martin are Matt Sydal's pupils and Moriarty used underhanded tactics here to pick up the victory. The match itself was a nice little outing, but it didn't have a ton of crowd heat because both guys have positioned as stepping stones as of late. Moriarty's actions set up him against Sydal for next week on Rampage.

Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter def. Skye Blue and Ashley D'Amboise

Based on their recent interactions backstage, it looks like we're headed for Baker and Hayter vs. Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm on an upcoming episode of Dynamite or Rampage, so it was logical to give them a win here. It was a solid showcase for them and nothing more. Does Baker always have to be involved in the mix for a title? And when are we finally going to get the split between her and Hayter?

The Acclaimed def. Gunn Club in a Rap Battle

I'm all for The Acclaimed going babyface, but I'm already ready for this rivalry to be over, and that's coming from someone who thought their pairing exceeded expectations. I understood what they were going for here, but this segment sucked. It may have been for you, but it wasn't my cup of tea. At the very least, it wasn't a total waste of time because Acclaimed now get to pick the stipulation for their upcoming clash with Gunn Club as a result of their rap battle win here.

Jay Lethal def. Christopher Daniels

Was the Dynamite match against Bryan Danielson in early March the last time Daniels competed on TV? I know he's wrestled a Dark match or two since then, but he hasn't been too active otherwise. The timing of this was perfect with Ring of Honor's Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view coming up on Saturday and both men having ties to ROH. They had a very well-wrestled main event and Lethal was able to score some last-minute momentum before he challenges Jay Lethal for the ROH World Television Championship.

Overall Show

They attempted to pack a lot into this show, but nothing really resonated with me, personally. The main event was entertaining and even that isn't worth going out of your way to see if you missed it. There was nothing about this Fyter Fest edition of Rampage that felt special in the slightest. In fact, it was one of the most throwaway editions in some time. There wasn't anything offensively bad (aside from maybe the rap battle), but more attention and effort needs to be put into making Rampage more meaningful and worthwhile.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews