The two night conclusion of Fyter Fest 2022 produced some wild moments for the AEW faithful! From the Barbed Wire Everywhere madness between Kingston and Jericho to Jay Lethal's victory over Christopher Daniels, and everything inbetween, it was one crazy week of action! Ricky Starks successfully defended his FTW Title over Cole Karter only to be challenged by Danhausen, Swerve In Our Glory celebrated their championship victory only to have Tony Nese and Mark Sterling try to spoil it, Lee Moriarty disappointed Matt Sydal and Dante Martin both in how he chose to achieve victory, and Jungle Boy returned to the fold much to the chagrin of Christian Cage!
And that's saying nothing of the tremendous action Ring of Honor's Death Before Dishonor 2022 pay-per-view extravaganza presented last Saturday night with six championship matches, brother versus brother, and a stacked FREE Zero Hour event available on the ROH YouTube channel!
This Wednesday marks a debut for All Elite Wrestling at the DCU Center in Worcester, MAwith Fight for the Fallen 2022 in recognition of Oceana! AEW Interim World Champion Jon Moxley defends against LFI's Rush, AEW Women's World Champion Thunder Rosa defends against Miyu Yamashita after losing to her in Japan, and Ricky Starks puts his FTW Title on the line against Danhausen!
In addition, Blackpool Combat Club member Bryan Danielson returns to action against the Jericho Appreciation Society's Daniel Garcia, and Swerve Strickland has to deal with both Tony Nese and “Smart” Mark Sterling in a Handicap Match! The excitement begins LIVE on TBS at 8pm EDT/7pm CDT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for the international audience, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube page! There you can catch up on last week's action with Dynamite and Rampage highlights, plus see the latest editions of AEW Dark: Elevation, AEW Dark, Road To, and The Control Center with Tony Schiavone!
AEW INTERIM WORLD TITLE MATCH...
Jon Moxley(c) vs. Rush
There is no man in All Elite Wrestling on a hotter streak right now that the AEW Interim World Champion Jon Moxley! After an impressive test against Takeshita during Fyter Fest 2022: Night 1, he and ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta united to toppled the Best Friends on Fyter Fest 2022: Night 3, and now he's set to defend his Interim Championship once again, this time in a first-time affair with La Faccion Ingobernables member Rush!
The man with the most singles wins in AEW to date, Moxley also comes into this fight on a fourteen singles match win streak, having gone over a year (and 18 matches) since his last defeat in a one-on-one bout, and the only loss during that year on his individual record was as part of the Casino Ladder Match last October that Hangman Page won! Jon's got wins in twenty-seven of his last twenty-nine matches dating back to the that Casino Ladder Match, and he's done it in singles, tag, and multi-man bouts; suffice to say, there are few who have been better, in the big picture of AEW, and none who are currently doing it better on such a high level.
But this Wednesday night, Rush aims to blow it all out of the water to follow up that impressive victory over his brother Dragon Lee at ROH's Death Before Dishonor 2022 event last Saturday night. It would be a huge boost to the AEW stock of this burgeoning unit, immediately rocketing LFI to the top of the heap, and declaring to the locker room that they aim to run roughshod like they have everywhere else LFI has come into being. Rush has the credentials; he is a two-time former ROH World Champion, whose second title run lasted 498 days, which placed him in the history books as the third longest reigning champ in company history behind only Samoa Joe and Nigel McGuinness. “El Toro Blanco” has also held multiple championship in Mexico's CMLL promotion during his 14 year career, and actually rattled off 19 straight singles victories in ROH, including his first World Title win, before tasting his first defeat in the match he lost the belt to PCO. As a matter of fact, July 29th actually marks fifteen years since Rush's first match, so what a way it would be to celebrate that anniversary by claiming the AEW Interim World Title at the expense of Jon Moxley.
Much like Mox, Rush has never had problem getting extra violent when necessary, especially when championships are at stake, and he's just as willing to engage in a slugfest when the need calls. He's adaptable, just like Jon, and that makes him one of the most dangerous threats to Mox's Interim Title run thus far. The potential presence of Andrade El Idolo and Jose The Assistant at ringside only amplifies that threat, but thankfully Mox does a crew of his own who could balance out the equation if the need requires.
This has got to be one of the most intriguing championship bouts AEW has seen to date and certainly, between this Interim reign and his 277 day World Title run, one of Mox's most intriguing fights. And while many have penciled in CM Punk versus Jon Moxley as the Unification inevitability, fights like this and the Brody King challenge make no vision of AEW's future a certainty. Jon isn't afraid to take on the big fights, he's not afraid to risk the title; if anything, Mox probably aims for greater successes as the Interim Champion than he achieved as the World Champion.
Mox is off to a grand start, defeating Tanahashi to claim the title in the first place and following it up with that victory over Brody King, but Rush is quite the unpredictable threat by himself, and the LFI factor only makes the situation that much riskier. The AEW Interim Title picture is quite a fascinating one, and this Wednesday night will continue to demonstrate why it is THE most coveted prize in professional wrestling today!
AEW WOMEN'S WORLD TITLE MATCH...
Thunder Rosa(c) vs. Miya Yamashita
Two weeks ago the AEW Women's World Champion Thunder Rosa traveled to the Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling promotion in Japan to face Miya Yamashita with the promise that if Yamashita defeating Rosa, than the champ would put the AEW title on the line in a stateside rematch.
After almost 14 minutes of action, the TJPW competitor pinned Rosa after reversing the champion's Inside Cradle pin into one of her own, thus securing a title shot of her own against “La Mera Mera” down the line. It was a tremendous fight, one worthy of a championship bout, and now it will unfold here in All Elite Wrestling this Wednesday night!
For a bit of history on Yamashita, the 27 year old competitor has been fighting since 2013 after training in Kyokushin Karate and MMA from a very young age. After training under DDT's Kyohei Mikami, Yamashita has been a part of Tokyo Joshi Pro from the very beginning, and was the original Princess of Princess Champion, reigning for 262 days in that initial reign, and capturing it two more times to date, for a total of 1065 days spent at the top of TJPW. It's a championship held by names familiar to AEW audiences like Shoko Nakajima and Yuka Sakazai, but none have been as successful as Yamashita with that championship. She's beaten both Shoko and Yuka in title fights during these reigns, as well as Allysin Kay, Maki Ito (who she now teams with as 121000000), and numerous other women, while AEW fans got a brief glimpse of Miya in action on the 6/6/22 edition of Dark: Elevation when she teamed up with Skye Blue to battle Nyla Rose and Serena Deeb.
Currently in the midst of the TJPW Tokyo Princess Cup 2022 tournament, Yamashita has returned to the United States for the match she was promised, and to claim the AEW Women's World Title around Thunder Rosa's waist as her own! A woman of her word, Rosa will face Yamashita this Wednesday night during Fight for the Fallen 2022 in her fifth defense of the championship, following successes against Toni Storm, Serena Deeb, Marina Shafir, and Nyla Rose.
Can Rosa fend off the assault of this deadly combatant, a woman who's known as “The Momoiro (Pink) Striker, and whose Skull Kick is one of the deadliest strikes in all of professional wrestling today. Although similar to the signature kick of Malakai Black, the The House of Black figurehead has tweeted himself that Yamashita's version is superior to his. Given the deadly nature of Malakai's strike, that alone should convey the threat she represents. Thunder Rosa only saved herself from the move because she was close enough to grab the ropes, and although it only staved off her defeat by a few minutes, “La Mera Mera” now knows the pain of the Skull Kick.
Will history repeat itself with Yamashita stepping into Rosa's territory come Wednesday? Or will the home field advantage help title the bout in the champion's favor? These women have already taken each other's measure once in the last month, on Dynamite we will all see what they learned from that encounter, and if Thunder Rosa learned enough to maintain her position atop the division.
FTW TITLE MATCH...
“Absolute” Ricky Starks(c) vs. Danhausen
There are several facts here that need be discussed when it comes to Ricky Starks and the FTW Title. While not an AEW championship per se, it has been defended on All Elite Wrestling programming for just over two years, ever since Taz first bequeathed it to Brian Cage after it sat in the Team Taz trophy case for over twenty years.
Cage had his successes with it, but it has been Ricky Starks who has taken that championship from one Taz merely handed to “The Machine” to one earned through blood, sweat, and tears, and now sought after by other members of the AEW locker room. Through eight title defenses, Starks has turned away the challenges of Brian Cage (in a Philly Street Fight no less), Sonny Kiss, Chuck Taylor, Matt Sydal, Jay Lethal, Swerve Strickland, Jungle Boy, and most recently, Cole Karter on last week's Dynamite: Fyter Fest Night 3. At nearly 380 days, Starks not only stands as the longest reigning current title holder in all of AEW, he also stands as the longest reigning champion with any title in company history! The only two remotely close to Absolute's record are Brian Cage's reign with the FTW Title, and Hikaru Shida's record-setting 372 days as Women's World Champion.
Starks has achieved this feat with a skill, style, and talent few in AEW can match, and that's evident by the level of talent he's defeated to maintain his championship position for so long. Yet come Wednesday night, Starks faces the strangest challenge to his title thus far in the form of a very nice, but very evil man named Danhausen!
When a man lays down an open challenge, he has to be ready for anyone to respond to the call, but it was clear last week that “Absolute” was not anticipating the enigma that is Danhausen to be the one stepping up to the plate. Having only competed in a few matches in AEW, Danhausen is a still a rather untested element here in All Elite Wrestling, but his successes elsewhere have demonstrated his abilities as a competitor. He's been to battle against men like The Briscoes, Homicide, and Brody King in Ring of Honor, and he recently topped the mammoth Jake Something on AEW Dark in under five minutes.
Danhausen is such a unique foe, unlike any of the other competitors who have challenged Ricky Starks to date, and that could be the key to becoming the one to wrest the FTW Title away from Team Taz. One interesting factor here that should be considered though is “The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil” HOOK, and his relationship with Danhausen. It's not the most conventional of situations, but their unique pairing did lead to victory back at Double Or Nothing 2022: Buy-In, and although he may not be seen chumming around with Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs, HOOK is the son of Taz, and as such, he may have some interest in just how this one plays out considering his...friend...Danhausen is involved.
Will that play a factor in how this one goes? Will Starks continue his history making run in All Elite Wrestling at Danhausen's expense, or will there be a very nice, very evil celebration in Worcester, MA this Wednesday night?
THE DRAGON RETURNS...
“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. “Red Death” Daniel Garcia
“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson has been on the shelf since Anarchy in The Arena at Double or Nothing 2022 in Las Vegas. That's two months of having to sit back and watch chaos unfold between his Blackpool Combat Club allies and his enemies in The Jericho Appreciation Society, two months in which he watched his friends bleed in Blood & Guts II, and his hand-picked ally Claudio Castagnoli achieve rapid success. The Swiss Superman topped Zack Sabre Jr. in Danielson's stead at Forbidden Door, got the win for their team as Bryan's substitute in Blood & Guts II, and at Death Before Dishonor 2022 Claudio won the ROH World Title that Danielson last held in 2006. He had to watch from the sidelines as Jon Moxley became AEW Interim World Champion, and Wheeler Yuta elevated his game through the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Tournament and his recent title defense against Daniel Garcia.
All of that is over now though as, this Wednesday night during Fight for the Fallen 2022, Bryan Danielson will be back in action to take on one of the men he initially praised in the infancy of what became The BCC, “Red Death” Daniel Garcia. Before William Regal made his presence known in AEW, before Mox and Bryan locked horns at Revolution 2022, Garcia's name was one of the names on Danielson's tongue. Garcia was one of the men Bryan said he wanted to mold, that he wanted to take under his wing and teach him the right way to battle in this sport of kings. It was a scenario that had fans salivating as, despite his alliance to Angelo Parker and Matt Menard, the style of Garcia evoked that of Danielson's and felt like a perfect fit together.
Unfortunately, Garcia would choose the path of the sports entertainer and alliegance to Chris Jericho before any option to join The BCC was ever presented. Even if Garcia had ever formally been given a chance to choose a different path, it is unlikely he would've picked otherwise, just listen to how Daniel talked about “The Wizard” leading up to Death Before Dishonor 2022 and it is clear that his heart and soul, his loyalty, belonged to Jericho before there was even a J.A.S.
So now this Wednesday night, in something of a generational dream match, one man coming off the fight of his life will meet another stepping back into the fight after a bit of a layoff. It's not the first time Bryan's missed some time due to an injury, may not be the last, but any time it has happened in his career, “The American Dragon” has somehow returned better than he was before the layoff. It's an amazing feat for a man many already consider the greatest professional wrestler of all time, but yet here we are time and again.
And that fact, that G.O.A.T moniker that Danielson has earned over the last twenty-plus years, that is what makes this such a rich opportunity for Daniel Garcia. It's a chance to smash the preconceived notions of fans that this one, no matter who talented “Red Death” may be, is a gimme for the returning “American Dragon”. It is also an opportunity for redemption against The Blackpool Combat Club after Garcia's loss to Wheeler Yuta in last Saturday's ROH Pure Title bout.
Will we see Daniel Garcia get his...head kicked in at Fight for the Fallen 2022, or will “Red Death” ruin this return of the dragon? Tune into TBS Wednesday night to watch it play out inside the squared circle!
HANDICAP MATCH...
Tony Nese & “Smart” Mark Sterling vs. AEW World Tag Team Champion Swerve Strickland
***KEITH LEE BANNED FROM RINGSIDE***
Tony Nese and “Smart” Mark Sterling are on a mission to rid All Elite Wrestling of Swerve Strickland, and it is clear they have no intention of giving up the ghost any time soon. They've petitioned the AEW locker room, Nese fought Orange Cassidy over his signature, they even had the audacity to ask Keith Lee, Strickland's own partner, to sign the petition several weeks ago in hopes of exploiting the tensions between them.
Their insistence on interfering in the life of Swerve even got Nese decked by Kevin Gates last week, and left “The Premier Athlete” with, he claims at least, a fractured jaw. But given the nature of “Smart” Mark Sterling and Nese, can that be trusted? Then again, Gates caught him pretty good with that shot so it is possible.
Either way, in an effort to end these ridiculous attempt to interfere in his career, Swerve has agreed to meet both Nese and Sterling in a handicap match this Wednesday night, while Keith Lee is banned from ringside for the duration of the bout! Last time “Smart” Mark stepped into a ring, he and Nese got beat by HOOK and Danhausen, and the time before that, Jon Moxley dropped him right on his head. Suffice to say, in-ring AEW competition have not been the finest moment for Sterling, but that doesn't mean he and Tony Nese aren't going to try and humiliate Swerve during Fight for the Fallen 2022 this Wednesday on TBS!
Will Strickland finally be done with these farcical legal wranglings if he wins this two-on-one bout? Or will AEW's resident ambulance chaser find new ways to make life hellish for the AEW World Tag Team Champion until they finally get what they want and rid AEW of Swerve?
JUNGLE BOY SPEAKS...
It had been over a month since we'd seen Jungle Boy on All Elite Wrestling programming following Christian Cage's shocking betrayal after he and Luchasaurus' World Tag Team Title Ladder Match loss. Since that night, fans around the world have witnessed the rot at Cage's core on full display every week, uttering the most reprehensible comments about the late Luke Perry and the late Brian Pillman, as well directing insults towards Jungle Boy's mother and sister.
In JB's absence, Christian even manipulated Luchasaurus to stand by his side the last several weeks, and directing Luchasaurus like his own personal monster. Griff Garrison, Brian Pillman Jr, and Serpentico all felt the wrath of the monster unleashed, but last week the landscape shifted once again when Jungle Boy returned to the AEW stage with chair in hand.
Christian Cage scurried away at the sight of the man he betrayed, especially after Luchasaurus made the choice to stand beside his long-time friend and tag partner, rather than by the side of AEW's great betrayer. This week on Fight for the Fallen 2022, we will hear from Jungle Boy for the first time since losing the tag belts and being stabbed in the back by Christian Cage. What does JB have on his mind after experiencing Cage's betrayal and then witnessing his manipulations from afar while recovering from Christian's assault?
ONE-ON-ONE...
Dante Martin vs. Sammy Guevara (w/ Tay Conti)
Sammy Guevara returned to the fray last Wednesday to cost Eddie Kingston the Barbed Wire Everywhere match with Chris Jericho. It was the first we'd seen “The Spanish God” since Kingston threw him off the Blood & Guts Cage, and what a moment to make his return to the spotlight.
Dante Martin, on the other hand, had a victory snatched away thanks to some underhanded tactics by Lee Moriarty, but he rebounded nicely with a victory on AEW Dark Tuesday night over Peter Avalon.
It was then announced that, as part of Fight For The Fallen 2022, these two athletes would collide on Wednesday night for the very first time! They've were on opposite sides a huge twelve man tag in December 2020, and were both entrants into the Beach Break 2021 Tag Team Contender's Battle Royale, but never have had the opportunity to go one-on-one! This is sure to be an exciting one, but what's the likelihood Guevara fights the good fight on his own merit?
This Wednesday, All Elite Wrestling debuts at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA for a championship filled edition of Dynamite: Fight For the Fallen 2022 and in recognition of Oceana)! The AEW Interim Title is on the line, the FTW Title is up for grabs, and the AEW Women's World Championship will be at stake as well! Plus, Danielson returns to action in a modern day dream match with Daniel Garcia, while Tony Nese continues his vendetta against Swerve Strickland in a Handicap Match!
The night begins at 8pm EDT/7pm CDT on TBS, with doors opening at 6pm for those there live, and you can prepare for the action by visiting the official AEW YouTube channel for all the highlights from last week's Dynamite and Rampage as the latest editions of AEW Dark: Elevation, AEW Dark, the Control Center and Road To episodes!
And if you missed Ring of Honor's return to pay-per-view with Death Before Dishonor 2022 last Saturday night, the replays can still be caught on on Bleacher Report, FITE TV, and PPV.com! It was a monumental night for ROH Wrestling, capped off by the highly anticipated Briscoes versus FTR 2/3 Falls championship bout, and demonstrated why ROH has been the foundation of professional wrestling for the last twenty years!