AEW Dynamite Preview (July 8, 2020): Fyter Fest Night Two

This week All Elite Wrestling comes our way from a closed set in Jacksonville, Florida. Last week, MJF punched Wardlow in the face, Penelope Ford impressed, but failed to win the women’s championship, Cody saved us from a Jake Hager title reign, and Hangman Page & Kenny Omega beat The Best Friends continue their epic tag team title reign (Sorry Sue).

Advertised for tonight:

• Orange Cassidy versus Chris Jericho
• Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (c) versus Private Party for the tag team championships
• FTR and The Young Bucks versus Butcher & Blade and The Lucha Bros
• SCU versus The Dark Order
• Lance Archer versus Joey Janela
• Nyla Rose in action
• Taz announcement

Here are five questions about AEW tonight:

1) Does Chris Jericho take Orange Cassidy seriously?

Chris Jericho thought he was a joke. Chris Jericho thought he would be an easy target. Chris Jericho was wrong.

With his laid back attitude and Vulcan like control of his emotions, Orange Cassidy has proven that he has to do very little to provoke a violent reaction from Chris Jericho. Orange Cassidy is all rage and power under that cool facade, and he has proven that he is a genius level manipulator. When his opponents lose their composure, he goes in for the kill.

If last week’s outburst was any indication of how Jericho is handling the jean clad grappler, I’d say he still doesn’t take Cassidy seriously, and that very well might be his downfall. Sure he knows that Cassidy is capable of taking Jericho out (see Jericho punched through a table), but Jericho is the type of heel that can easily rewrite that incident as a one off fluke and come unprepared for their next match up. Jericho prides himself on his adaptability. Tonight we see if he can be as cool as OJ on a hot summer day or if he chokes on the pulp.*

*I hate myself too.

2) Can FTR & The Young Bucks get along enough to win?

Since arriving in AEW, FTR has not made it a secret that they don’t want to wrestle The Young Bucks. It’s hard to tell if they don’t want to wrestle the Bucks because they don’t respect them (we know they don’t respect their wrestling style) or if they don’t want to wrestle them because they are scared (maybe their wrestling style IS better). But whether they want to or not is no longer their focus. The Butcher & The Blade have been making the lives of The Young Bucks and FTR miserable by injecting themselves into all of their matches. And to add misery to mischief, The Lucha Bros are back and are out for blood.

Tonight FTR and The Young Bucks have to put aside their animosity and work together, but the big question is will they be able to. Not only are they in a pissing contest with each other which could lead to problems as a team on it’s own, but their wrestling styles are very different. Will they be able to work together like a yingyang - bringing the best out of each other - or will they get caught up in a stalemate of one upsmanship?

Honestly, either out come has potential to get us to the FTR/Young Bucks match we all have been waiting for so, for us, it’s really a win/win.

3) Will SCU remind Colt of who he is or will the promise of winning be enough to keep him allied with The Dark Order?

SCU & Colt Cabana go way back. They have been friends for years and have wrestled together throughout the indies. Additionally, SCU are responsible for bringing Colt Cabana into the AEW fold...but he was always kind of the fourth wheel. They all but abandoned him when Daniels’ total focus turned to Brodie Lee and Scorpio Sky looked to win a singles belt. Since then he has been on his own and has been losing. Now he is with The Dark Order and although he has only been with them for a few short weeks, he has tasted victory and likes it.

Tonight, he will have to face off against his friends and there will no doubt be a moment when he has to decide where his loyalties lie. Do they lie with his friends, with his past history and with his heart? Or do they lie in the hands of Mr. Brodie Lee and a promised future of prosperity?

4) What does Taz have to say?

It was announced yesterday that Taz would make a big announcement at Fyter Fest. Originally, there was supposed to be an AEW championship match between Taz’s client, Brian Cage, and the current champion, Jon Moxley, but due to THE PANDEMIC WE ARE STILL CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING that has been postponed. So instead we get a “Big announcement.” Honestly, I have no idea what it is. Renee is writing a cook book. Sara Logan is pregnant. Taz is...writing a cook book for pregnant women?

On his Twitter, he called out Jon Moxley and told him to “pay close attention to this” and they used the hashtag #HistoryMaking so it has to be something to do with their upcoming match. Perhaps it’s a new stipulation? Maybe Taz has a new, fearsome client to add to his team? Maybe, Taz has kidnapped his bulldog Blue! We’ll see tonight, but personally I am still hoping, like Geno, for a Taz cookbook.

5) How will Britt Baker respond to getting trashed by Big Swole twice?

Sure, they’re not advertised for Fyter Fest night two and, yes, they already had a moment together this week on AEW Dark, but I still hope they make time to spotlight this feud tonight. It’s a testament to how talented both of these competitors are that, although they aren’t able to wrestle due to Britt’s injury, they are able to make this one of the most interesting feuds in in AEW.

Last night on Dark Britt tried to distract Swole into a loss, but it backfired. Now it seems she must step up her efforts to get back at Swole for constantly covering her in trash. She may not be able to walk, but Britt is still an evil mastermind role model. I’m sure she’ll think of something (or at least Rebel Reba will).

Tune into AEW on TNT at 8 EST tonight to see if we get any answers to these questions!