Here are my final thoughts on the first night of All Elite Wrestling’s Fyter Fest 2020!
Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus) (with Marko Stunt) vs. MJF and Wardlow
Reactions: As soon as this intense tag team war kicked off, it became readily apparent that all four men came to prove a point. And that point was clear – they’re the future of AEW and the future is surely bright. Every part of this opening matchup was enjoyable, from MJF’s scathing pre-match promo right on up to the interesting finish that paves the way for the eventual MJF/Wardlow breakup angle.
The pace here was great as it never slowed to a crawl, even when MJF and Wardlow took control of Jungle Boy for a good amount of time. When all four men started clashing with each other simultaneously, this match kicked into a higher gear. The kick-up sequence and all the mayhem that followed it built up an already exciting affair. Kudos to both teams for setting the right tone for the first night of AEW Fyter Fest.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Penelope Ford (with Kip Sabian) (AEW Women’s World Championship)
Reactions: A lot has been said about AEW’s women’s division. And a lot of it hasn’t been all that positive. But in recent weeks, Hikaru Shidu has done a commendable job of providing a more positive spotlight to the division she currently reigns over. This solid title matchup is another example of Shida’s penchant for working hard to dispel the negative perception of AEW’s ladies.
Penelope Ford held up her end of the bargain and looked good, even in defeat. She definitely garnered my attention when she pulled out that cool Matrix spot to dodge Shida’s top rope missile dropkick. I could have done without the cartoonish inference spot from Kip Sabian, however. Overall though, both women produced an enjoyable title match that raised both their stocks by the time it came to a close.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Cody (c) (with Arn Anderson) vs. Jake Hager (with Catalina Hager) (AEW TNT Championship)
Reactions: Cody’s exciting series of TNT Championship defenses continues! Cody and Jake Hager put on quite the competitive matchup here that offered a nice mix of old-school tactics and MMA domination. Hager’s brutal offense came off a lot better during this meeting due to Cody’s excellent selling, plus Hager’s German Suplex to Cody on the outside was quite the jaw-dropper during the bout’s earlier moments.
Cody played the valiant babyface quite well and also dropped a few more teases of his eventual turn to the dark side due to Arn Anderson’s continued aid. The action put on here was hard-hitting and crisp, plus the finish came off a lot better than Cody’s botched match ender with Darby Allin a few months back. Both men worked to a clever finish with a lot of storyline implications coming out of it, which means this match performed its job well. With five more minutes added to it, it probably could have turned out even better though.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) (with Matt Hardy) vs. Santana and Ortiz
Reactions: These four talented guys have developed good chemistry with each other and have shown that on multiple occasions here in AEW. This match was another example of that very sentiment. Both teams clashed in a heated grudge match that pointed to AEW’s strong tag team talent pool.
Santana and Ortiz got more time to show off their unique offense, which was nice to see. Plus Private Party were their usual hype high-flying selves, so there was plenty to enjoy here. At one point it looked as if Santana got injured, which led to a slight bit of slowdown near this match’s closing moments. But thankfully, both teams recovered and pulled off a pretty cool finish to cap this match off. Fine work from both teams here.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Kenny Omega and Adam Page (c) vs. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent) (AEW World Tag Team Championship)
Reactions: Major shout out to Trent’s mom! If I ever main event WrestleMania, I’m gonna let the woman that brought me into this world drive me down to the ring too. This tag team championship match was the wisest choice to decide on as this evening’s closer. I thought Chuck Taylor and Trent had it in ’em tonight to claim the belts, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
However, they put in a strong effort and proved a lot of their doubters wrong. They kept up with the champs every step of the way and delivered some good spots, especially when it came time to do some damage on the outside. As this main event kept rolling on, both teams kicked things up a notch with some fiery back and forth action. The quality of this bout increased during the final six minutes and ended this hot matchup on a high note. Kenny Omega and Adam Page’s unlikely mastery of tag team greatness continues! And I can’t wait to see them lock horns with FTR.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Match of the Night
Kenny Omega and Adam Page vs. Best Friends!
Final Verdict
Night One of AEW Fyter Fest was a pretty fun two-hours of professional wrestling. The opening and closing match of this event turned in two great tag-team matches, which is something AEW is quite known for. Everything that was sandwiched in between those two quality bouts was solid and played a part in developing future feuds and ending others. There were odd spots strewn throughout each of those bouts, but they still managed to produce some worthwhile in-ring action. All in all, AEW Fyter Fest Night One was a good night of competitive action. Night Two just might topple this one, though.
Final Score: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Click here to see if our All Elite Wrestling Fyter Fest 2020 Day 1 predictions came true!
Check out our review for Night 2 of AEW Fyter Fest 2020 right here.