Part of the gag behind All Elite Wrestling’s next show, Sat., June 29’s Fyter Fest at the CEO Fighting Game Championships in Daytona, Florida, is that Kenny Omega isn’t a good promoter.
The Being The Elite storyline which gives the event its name saw Omega become inspired when he saw a commercial for Fyre Fest, a swanky music festival in the Bahamas that turned out to be a giant con. The Young Bucks try to get Kenny to watch one of the documentaries on how the event turned out, but he ignores them and blows AEW’s budget on glossy commercials with bikini models.
That backstory is relevant, because once news hit that Fyter Fest will stream for free on B/R Live, Jericho - who still wants a thank you from the company for Double or Nothing’s success - announced he wouldn’t be appearing:
In protest of @KennyOmegamanX, @CodyRhodes, @NickJacksonYB & @MattJackson13’s foolish decision to give the #FyterFest live stream away to @AEWrestling fans for free, I am pulling out of the event. I refuse to be associated w such shameless pandering.
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) June 11, 2019
Of course, Jericho was never scheduled to appear. But that makes the Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Roll look like an even bigger heel. And the BTE team certainly wouldn’t let that get in the way of a good bit.
The bit is made even better when Jericho’s band, and his friend Corey Taylor of Slipknot fame pulled out of the event in solidarity, Omega & Matt Jackson of The Bucks act like they’re scrambling to fix things, and Y2J fans the flames:
FFS. @KennyOmegamanX
— The Young Bucks® (@MattJackson13) June 11, 2019
Was hoping it wouldn’t come to this but I’ve decided to pull out of #FyterFest because of unsafe conditions and a lack of real consideration for the talent or the fans. Standing in solidarity with @IAmJericho and I hope that this will be a reminder that we MUST be strong.
— confirm: 0-0-0... DESTRUCT... 0 (@CoreyTaylorRock) June 11, 2019
Effen pathetic..... https://t.co/dF1mZ2xlbY
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) June 12, 2019
It’ll be interesting to see if this storyline transfers over to the show itself, or if it’s just a bonus for the online crowd. Also curious how/if this kind of tomfoolery carries over to the “wins and losses matter” AEW Tony Khan talks about.
But for now, grab a sandwich and watch Jericho make Omega squirm.