-Fyter Fest was LONG. Too long. Like, way took long. Like, like, it didn’t matter what Tony Khan tossed in the ring, it wouldn’t matter because it was too long. It’s one thing for AEW PPV’s to be marathons. Fans are used to that. The Fyter Fest show this week, wasn’t for fans. It’s length was to satisfy other business needs and while important, a four hour show filled with mid-card talent on the back end is a slog for the audience.
Ospreay vs. Swerve? Why?
-Will Ospreay started things off with a band. No question about that. I liked his fire and he’s been able to successfully and continuously articulate the passion he has for AEW. Talking about the world title the way he does is impactful to that end. Now, that said, what’s his beef with Swerve Strickland? Strickland won’t team with Adam Page. Page won’t team Strickland either. Ospreay only wants to fight Strickland about it, though? It’s a forced storyline to get to an Ospreay vs. Swerve rematch.
-Jon Moxley vs. Mark Briscoe was a cool match. Briscoe bled and lost — no surprise there — but, there was a novelty to this that was fun even if the outcome wasn’t in question. Good action throughout.
-The steak that Mercedes Mone was eating was gigantic, but what was the real point of having her on commentary? She didn’t commentate and there wasn’t an angle done out of her being ringside either. Look, they’ve got many weeks to build Storm vs. Mone for All In, so it wasn’t imperative that they do something this week. It would have been better to just leave Mone off if the plan was to execute nothing of significance.
An undefined Hurt Syndicate
-The Hurt Syndicate had an ok week. I’d give them a B minus grade. Everything they said was fine and the little angle setting up to the trios match with Team Mike Bailey next week was fine too. They aren’t heels and this is a big problem. Hurt Syndicate isn’t, but MJF is and it seems as if The Syndicate is leaning heel to oblige MJF and how fans are reacting to him specifically. Nobody wants to boo MVP, Shelton Benjamin, or Bobby Lashley.
-Max Caster can’t continue getting the kind of television time he did this week for that. The schtick feels like a relic of the old AEW.
-The AEW International Championship Fatal Four-Way had some really good action, including a strong lucha presence, but lacked all drama. Kenny Omega won and everyone knew that he would.
Okada/Omega 5
-Now, there was big time drama in the post-match angle between Omega and Kazuchika Okada. It was simple, but it said a lot. Both men showed they were alphas and the more substantial champion, then they fought about it. Omega vs. Okada 5 at AEW All In is official now and is a huge addition to the card. It’s likely to be a lot different than their first four matches together, but should be excellent nonetheless.
-Will Ospreay defeated Lio Rush in a strong match that didn’t overstay it’s welcome without a good reason. Ospreay should beat Rush in less than 10 minutes and he did.
-The Adam Page promo after he helped Ospreay escape an attack was a strong one, but that felt like the go-home babyface promo to me. Page put an exclamation point on his match and mission against Jon Moxley, but they have four weeks to go still. It’ll be interesting to see the road travelled from here.
-Thumbs way up on the Thekla debut. AEW didn’t do her any favors by putting her at the end of a four hour show, but she delivered. She highlighted her strengths and let that do the talking. Looking forward to more from her moving forward.
Matches in a blender
-The last four matches on the show this week very much blended together. Because they had to fill an extra two hours, they all got way too much time and weren’t able to differentiate themselves at all. With that out there, it was smart of Tony Khan to not make the audience wait four hours for the big matches. Good on him, but the boredom that set in during the final 90 minutes was a product of the show just being too damn long.
What did you think of Fyter Fest 2025? Let us know in the comments!
Subscribe to the Brass Ring Media YouTube channel HERE.
Become a Brass Ring Media member HERE.