The go-home show before Fyter Fest’s two-parter over the next fortnight saw Wardlow and Luchasaurus battle in a highly anticipated brawl and a juicy confrontation between Orange Cassidy and Chris Jericho.
Lumberjack match: Wardlow w/ MJF vs Luchasaurus w/ Jurassic Express
This has been a tantalising idea for a match for a while now and it delivered in every department.
This was a total hoss fight from start to finish as the two beat ten bells out of each other with some impressive manoeuvres like a huge hurricanrana from Wardlow and an unbelievable shooting star press from Luchasaurus from the stage.
This isn’t even to mention the fun use of the lumberjacks and Marko Stunt being tossed around like a sack of potatoes.
Just wait until you see @RealWardlow throw @realmarkostunt ? #AEWDynamite on @tntdrama pic.twitter.com/KzyLtiVGkI
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) June 25, 2020
The finish came as MJF tried to cause a distraction on the apron but Jungle Boy aided his friend with an explosive spear to the outside. However, the distraction was enough for Wardlow to hit a sneaky low blow behind the referee’s back and finish of Luchasaurus with the F-10 for a tainted victory.
After the match, Jurassic Express brawled with MJF and Wardlow as the lumberjacks tried to break them apart. Tony Schiavone confirmed that MJF and Wardlow would face off with Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy at Fyter Fest.
This was the match of the night and is definitely worth watching in full. It’s certainly the match to watch on this episode.
Shida vs Red Velvet
Shida and Penelope Ford began arguing at the barricade before the match began with Ford taking a cheap shot at the champion.
This didn’t see Shida miss a beat however as she finished off Velvet in record time with a high knee and Falcon Arrow before immediately running out to brawl with Ford after her win.
This added some great heat to a match that was a little undercooked and made Shida look like an impressive fighting champion.
Fyter Fest Press Conference
Cody and his entourage were ready to take questions at the press conference whereas Jake Hager and his associates were absent.
Answering a journalist’s question whether Hager’s absence surprised him, Anderson said it showed that he was either doubting himself or too scared to put up a brave front.
Cody then answered another question about being the first TNT Champion and went into a pitch-perfect promo as he talked about how being the champion has given him hope, put over Ricky Starks as the epitome of the American dream and talked about how much he loved wrestling and the hope it can bring to people during this pandemic.
As Cody was reaching the end of his speech. Hager interrupted demanding the cameraman take the shot of them. After a tense standoff, Hager’s wife threw water in Cody’s face.
This title bout has a great big match feel but let’s hope Hager can pull out a better match than we’ve seen previously in AEW after several underwhelming affairs.
Joey Janela & Sonny Kiss vs Colt Cabana & Brodie Lee
After a fun pre-match segment where Janela and Kiss thought off some assailants at a petrol station, with Kiss even hitting a Johnny Cage style dick punch, a trepidatious Cabana came to the ring followed by the Exalted One ready to see if the Dark Order could give him the win he craved.
The most interesting aspect of this match was the story of the Dark Order helping Cabana whenever he was in a jam.
Early on, Lee offered the tag to Cabana as he went toe to toe with Janela but ended up taking the brunt of some tandem offence from Kiss and Janela. Lee and the Dark Order members surrounding the ring used some trickery to take out the pair and gave Cabana the chance to capitalise.
#JoinDarkOrder if you're into cheap shots @ColtCabana, we guess ? #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/GslsR5tdnH
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) June 25, 2020
After a stunning pair of moonsaults from Janela and Kiss, it looked like they had Cabana’s number. However, the Dark Order dragged Cabana to safety before they could capitalise with a follow-up pin and Brodie even pushed Cabana out of the way to save him from a suicide dice attempt from Janela.
After a thunderous discus lariat from Lee to Janela, he allowed Cabana to have the glory of the pin.
Despite some worries about where this angle was going, the in-ring storytelling here was fantastic and really sold the idea that Cabana could be taken in by the Dark Order.
After the match, Lance Archer suddenly came to the ring and took out both Kiss and Janela in dominant fashion before Jake the Snake stopped him from doing any more damage.
FTR vs SCU
This is the kind of matchup you thought you’d never see, but here was Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian taking on the former Revival. As a pure wrestling showcase, this was the absolute stand out of the night. Both teams gave it their all and put on a tag team clinic.
These are two teams who live and breath tag team wrestling and it really showed. This match had a tremendous pace to it which was a really interesting departure to the more methodical pace FTR tend to bring to matches and bodes well for what they can do with the Young Bucks.
Some NICE stuff from @DaxHarwood and @CashWheelerFTR #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/ERvFgcqOAN
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) June 25, 2020
FTR took the victory after hitting the Goodnight Express on Christopher Daniels. This is the second match on this week’s Dynamite I’d describe as a must-see, this is tag team wrestling poetry.
Unfortunately, the ending tainted the match somewhat. It started off well as Dax Harwood gave a firey promo after the match as he put the tag division on notice now they’re in AEW but then the Butcher and the Blade were in the Revival’s van.
.@andycomplains and @BraxtonSutter steal FTR's truck and we've got ourselves an 8-man tag at #FyterFest!! #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/mEQ6vPMGjw
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) June 25, 2020
It was weird to have a second car stealing angle after last week’s moment with Big Swole and Britt Baker, but then the Blade butchered (if you’ll pardon the pun) his announcement that the Lucha Brothers would be teaming with him and Butcher to face FTR and the Young Bucks at Fyter Fest. The Lucha Brothers seemed to be in the ring a little too early which made everything feel awkward and a follow-up brawl did nothing to alleviate things.
We all want to see Bucks vs FTR and it’s obvious they need to stall to build the anticipation, but this felt really ham-fisted and uninspired.
Brian Cage vs Joe Cruise
Cage replaced Jon Moxley in this match due to Moxley being recommended to self-isolate. Cage demolished Cruise in quick fashion hitting the Drill Claw for the win.
After the match, Taz berated Moxley for being at home whereas Cage was still fighting.
Not much to say here other than it’s very unlikely that this match will happen at Fyter Fest which is a real shame. All the best to Jon Moxley and Renee Young as they isolate.
Santana w/ Ortiz vs Matt Hardy w/ NEO 1
Matt Hardy started out really aggressive in his Damascus persona, as decided via a Twitter poll, prying Santana’s eyes open as he squashed his head against the turnbuckle post and commanded him to open his eyes.
After the break, Santana was in control after some aid from Ortiz and planted Hardy with a uranage followed by a lionsault for a close two count.
How in the world did @MATTHARDYBRAND escape @Santana_Proud TWICE? #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/IuVV5BnJmc
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) June 25, 2020
A missed frog splash from Santana gave Hardy room to mount a comeback as he won a striking contest and hit Santana with a “wonderful” lariat but could only manage a two count.
After a series of side effects couldn’t put Santana away, Hardy took his eyes off the ball due to a distraction from Ortiz allowing Santana to hit a running Falcon Arrow. Despite this, Hardy used his broken brilliance to reverse the pin and steal the win from Santana.
After the match, Ortiz blasted Hardy with the madball before he and Santana hit him with the Street Sweeper. Private Party turned up to stop them causing any more damage.
An entertaining match that made Santana look great even in a losing effort.
Orange Cassidy and Chris Jericho verbally spar
Jericho somehow turned “why did the chicken cross the road” into a fantastic promo lambasting Cassidy as a stupid joke who’s an embarrassment to the business. Despite this, Jericho put over the fact that Cassidy is impressive for his originality and is loved by the crowd but promised that if Cassidy tried any of his shenanigans like his shin kicks at Fyter Fest, Jericho would knock him out.
After promising Cassidy would run out of juice at Fyter Fest, Cassidy snatched the mic away but did not utter any words. He put down the microphone and began laying into Jericho with his trademark furious feet, much to the anger of Jericho.
.@IAmJericho says he's gonna make sure @orangecassidy runs out of juice #AEWDynamite on @tntdrama pic.twitter.com/KwFxH9rcyd
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) June 25, 2020
A villainous Jericho snatched Cassidy’s sunglasses and snapped them in half before an incensed Cassidy began brawling with Jericho and took the fight into the stands of the arena. Jericho used the camera jib to strike at Cassidy, causing his ear to begin bleeding but Cassidy had the last laugh after he managed to hit a diving superman punch that sent Jericho flying through a table.
A fantastic way to finish the night as the sight of Cassidy bloody but triumphant is a site that will stick in your mind. Jericho rode the line of acknowledging the old school fan backlash Cassidy faces while putting him over simultaneously. Great promo work met great physicality, that’s professional wrestling down to a tee, any way you judge it.
All pictures and videos provided by AEW.