Since AEW announced Fyter Fest – two weeks of PPV-calibre Dynamite shows – the question was always how WWE would counter-programme with NXT. Afterall, NXT has performed historically poorly in the ratings war with AEW’s Dynamite. So, it came as no surprise when they announced that The Great American Bash moniker – invented by Dusty Rhodes, ironically – would be returning for special editions of NXT spread over the same two-week period.
While it was unsurprising, it did expose the suspected insecurity of the WWE brass and a real lack of faith in their own programming and plans. This was only further confirmed with the booking of NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai against WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks in the main event. It was, of course, with the help of ‘main roster’ talent that NXT picked up their last two-week consecutive victories over AEW last November. While some argue that there’s no weakness in WWE doing this (due to Dynamite being AEW’s A-show competing against WWE’s C-show), the longevity and history of WWE’s main roster shows give a clear advantage against their fledgling competitor. It’s a shame that NXT can’t be allowed to compete as its own programme. Nonetheless, business is business, and who can blame WWE for trying all they can.
Luckily for WWE, their reactive booking paid off. Week 1 of The Great American Bash defeated Fyter Fest in the ratings (792,000 vs. 742,000) despite the latter having the more stacked and interesting card. But ratings aren’t everything, so which show was better?
AEW Dynamite: Fyter Fest
AEW’s Fyter Fest edition of Dynamite was, for the most part, a good show.
Headlined by Kenny Omega and Hangman Page against Best Friends (Trent and Chuck Taylor) for the AEW World Tag Team Championships, the card was undoubtedly the more compelling of the two shows on paper. The main event was a solid match, but ultimately disappointing given their previous work. I can see why people may’ve switched to the Shirai/Banks match over on NXT. While Trent and Chuck Taylor arriving in Trent’s mum’s mini-van, and her saying “Have fun boys!” as they disembarked, was hilarious (and a standout moment for them), I don’t think people bought them as legitimate contenders going in. It was also an odd decision to set-up the retaining champions against Private Party for a championship match next week but then have them confront FTR (WWE’s former Revival) to close the show.
Elsewhere, Cody defended his TNT Championship against Jake Haeger. The match was good but not one of Cody’s best. Haeger, previously poised for the ‘Kurt Angle’ position in his early WWE run, has never quite lived up to his potential. Currently, he’s running on the fumes of that mildly successful WWE run (where he was a former World Champion), his limited MMA success, and the popularity of the Inner Circle group. That’s all well and good, but he needs to show why he stands out on a roster of incredible talents.
In a segment sure to be immortalised in YouTube videos titled “Times AEW mentioned WWE”, MJF opened the show with an incredible promo (as is his standard) where he referenced the ratings war. Much as I get a kick out of this stuff, I’m not sure it’s always smart to draw attention to it. This was followed by a really fun match pitting MJF and Wardlow against Jurassic Express. I believe Jungle Boy and MJF are destined to have a million more matches over their careers – their rise is going to be great to watch.
The Women’s Championship match highlighted one area that is still lacking for AEW. Their women’s roster just isn’t up to the same level as WWE and has no real stars. Nearly every member of the roster were previously unknown, and while I understand stars take time to build, they really haven’t done the best job of it. For me, Britt Baker should’ve been the first champion, she has always been featured as a true star but has hardly been near the (comically tiny) belt. Once back from injury, she should be inserted into that position.
Other highlights included Taz’s promo on Jon Moxley – where he also took a shot at WWE, this time for the COVID-19 disaster last week – and addressed the delay to the Mox and Brian Cage World Championship match. The delay really could spell disaster for AEW next week. Let’s hope Orange Cassidy is as big of a draw as he seems to be when he faces Y2J on the next show. Speaking of Chris Jericho, he was phenomenal on commentary. As great as Mauro Ranallo is on NXT, AEW’s booth has really come into its own since its poor start. Excalibur’s remark, “Well they’re in the wrestling business!”, when referencing Kenny Omega and Chuck Taylor’s former PWG tag team (Men of Low Moral Fiber) was especially dumb given the #SpeakingOut movement. Luckily for him, it seems to have slipped under the radar.
The choice of name – Fyter Fest – was an odd one I thought. It’s not that it’s bad (it reminds me of the similarly alliterate SummerSlam). I just don’t get why they’re using a name intended to satirise a meme that was already outdated on its first outing last year.
WWE NXT: The Great American Bash
The Great American Bash didn’t have much that caught my attention going in. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have watched it if it weren’t for the blatant counter-programming stunt. That said, it was a decent show – but not quite as good as AEW’s. As mentioned, it beat Fyter Fest in the ratings, but undeservedly.
Timothy Thatcher vs. Oney Lorcan was a great match. My favourite of the night between both shows. Full of grappling, submissions, and brawling, it was an aggressive confrontation fought between two wannabe Olympians. If you didn’t see it, you should. It’s a real shame WWE don’t value this kind of work on their main roster (just look at Cesaro) because I love it.
Tegan Nox became #1 Contender to the NXT Women’s Championship, a perplexing choice when Io seems set to be feuding with Sasha Banks and Bailey alongside Asuka. Speaking of the main event, the star power dwarfed AEW’s women’s match. Io and Sasha had a modest match that came with an entertaining finish when Asuka made her surprise return to NXT to save her former partner from back in Japan. What occurred to me here, though, was the sheer number of championships involved in this angle. It really is absurd how many WWE have these days, never has it been more apparent that they’re merely props – there were four just in this!
Dexter Lumis – looking like an Indiana Jones villain – had a sub-par strap match against the ever-talented Roderick Strong. Not sure why they decided to do a strap match without the crowd, it just doesn’t work. Mauro casually mentioned the Eddie Guerrero/JBL Texas Bull Rope match from Great American Bash 2004 – maybe include a warning next time, not sure it’s one you want the kids to be watching…
Other than that, the show was mostly forgettable. Santos Escobar did a promo and Drake Maverick who, in an attempt to win the “dumbest babyface of the century” award, decided to attack him and his two henchmen despite being smaller than all three. The jury is still out on this Escobar chap. WWE haven’t succeeded in pushing a Hispanic star since Rey Mysterio in 2006, so I’m ever doubtful.
Next week, North American Champion Keith Lee takes on NXT Champion Adam Cole in a “winner-takes-all” match. In a completely moronic move and much to WWE’s frustration, Saurav Gurjar, an NXT signee who was in the crowd, decided to take a photo of the post-match celebration and post it on his Instagram. It was, of course, quickly deleted, but the damage was done. I won’t spoil it here but anyone who cares probably already knows. This could be an issue for NXT’s ratings next week. Either way, poor Saurav, he’ll probably be jobbing to Nia Jax next week before getting injured and promptly released.
This week’s winner: AEW Fyter Fest
While I preferred AEW this week, it was close. Without the scheduled AEW title match next week, Dynamite’s going to have to pull out all the stops to win those all-important ratings.
Check back with us next week when we’ll discuss the winner.
Featured Image Credit: All Elite Wrestling (fair use)
