AEW Dynamite presents Fight for the Fallen II
July 15, 2020

Week three of TV mini PPVs is finished, and next week we’ll be back to regular Dynamites, but first we have to Fight For The Fallen!  AEW’s third special show in a row, brought to you by Jon Moxley’s quarantine, came as a surprise when it was announced last week, but was it the plan all along, or did AEW call an audible?  Looking for backstage information would wreck my premise, so we’ll just have to watch the show and see if we can figure it out by looking for a pattern in the Pops and Botches of AEW Dynamite, July 15th 2020.

Check out last week’s coverage here and our AEW Dark coverage here to keep up with all things Elite!

POP: PPV INTRO

We start strong with a special theme song and graphics that lay out the major matches on the show and set the table for what we’re about to see.  It’s a touch that helps the show feel like something special and distinguish it from weekly wrestling TV.  The custom match graphics and the theme song suggest that FftF was the plan all along, but hold on, that song is a re-use from 2019’s Fight for the Fallen!  Inconclusive, but effective at setting up the show.

POP: CONCRETE ROSE BOWL

 

Kicking off the show is the TNT Championship match between Cody of no name and Sonny Kiss, and kicking THAT off is our first look at a Sonny Kiss big-match entrance.  It’s immediately a different entrance than I’ve ever seen from a wrestler, with cheerleaders backing Sonny and Kiss matching their dancing move for move.  It’s distinctive and it sets out quickly exactly who Sonny is, with the admixture of athleticism and sex appeal that such dancing requires.  Maybe it shouldn’t be in 2020, but it still feels like a bold move for a wrestler and a company to make. 

POP: CODY AT A CROSSROADS

The story of this match was clear at the outset; Cody is getting sick of his self-appointed task as fighting TNT champion.  There’s distaste on his face for Sonny’s entrance, but I don’t think it was meant to be outright homophobia.  It’s a sign that Cody is worn from weeks of defending his title against surprisingly game challengers, and now he has to deal with this shit.  It’s frustration, and vulnerability, and how Cody responds to both that makes the story of the match.

Weeks ago, Cody declared that he would outwork anyone to reach success, and every week we see him getting more and more aggressive because that’s his answer to the wear and tear of defending the title each week.  Go harder.  Go meaner.  He starts out this match pissed off with a nasty pump kick, stomps, and a disaster kick, no handshake or lock up for the new challenger.  Sonny battles back and shows off some acrobatic offense, along with strikes alternately violent and slow motion, but Cody wrangles him into an angry full nelson.  Defiant, and lacking his own recognizable finisher, Sonny hits back with a CrossRhodes, infuriating Cody further.  Before long, they’re on the outside and Cody is dropping Sonny on the stage with a sick Alabama slam which the challenger sells like a crash victim.  

Cody attempts a pin, but his feet are under the ropes. He tries again, Sonny’s feet are on the ropes. The commentary calls him out for making little mistakes and carries the story of his frustration.  He pulls the weight belt, and he’s on the edge of using it on Sonny, whose only crime has been giving Cody more fight than he wanted.  After weeks of defending his title, this was supposed to be an easy night for Cody.   It’s just Sonny Kiss.  But here’s “just Sonny Kiss” refusing to die, hitting back and keeping up despite Cody’s best effort.  He drops Sonny with a vertabreaker, another nasty move that isn’t in his usual repertoire, but Sonny kicks out. Cody goes for a second pin, furious and maybe disbelieving that this guy is still fighting.  

When that doesn’t work, he resorts to pulling off the turnbuckle pad.  You don’t need me to tell you that Cody is just about at the tipping point, where his mental wear from constant title defenses and his ingrained need to be the best will turn him into a monster.  Cody’s turnbuckle ploy turns against him and he comes within an inch of losing before snapping Sonny into a CrossRhodes for the pin, but the story of the match wasn’t about Cody losing, it was about what he would do to win.  

Like most Cody matches, it was good work in the ring buoyed by storytelling and it served its purpose well.  We saw more and better from Sonny than ever on Dynamite, though that spotlight also exposed some of the shortcomings in his game.  He tries complicated offense but doesn’t have it down smooth, so his opponents are often left waiting while Sonny slowly flips, handstands, or kicks.  Sometimes his offense makes you think he’s paid per splits.  But he can do that, so I guess he has to, at every opportunity!  He looked like he belonged with the TNT champ, though, and hopefully more spotlight matches will help him iron out those wrinkles.  Sonny shows agility, toughness, determination, and an entire Rikishi’s worth of ass stuffed into his trunks.  Cody shows what the open challenge is turning him into.  A good piece of business that feels like a Dynamite title defense, but also wouldn’t have been out of place on a PPV. Inconclusive!

POP: 80% OF LB VS FTR

 

The Lucha Bros versus FTR is one of those matches we all dreamed about when FTR escaped the WWE, and here we have it.  For the most part, it was what I wanted it to be, but there’s that nagging 20%…

First, though, the good.  These teams have contrasting styles but share one thing in common; they’re rough, gritty, and not afraid to hit each other.  Dax wins the start of the match by being the guy who finally interrupts Penta’s glove shenanigans and just stomps on his hand.  Penta answers with chops that eventually draw bloody streaks from Dax’s chest.  Kicks, fists, and forearms fly back and forth, and both teams look red and breathing hard in the first minutes.  I don’t say that as a knock on their conditioning, it felt like they were in a fight from the bell.  Both teams, you might say, go hard.  

This was a battle between tweeners to see who could be mas rudo.  FTR isolate Fenix for an early stretch of the match, establishing their style as asshole tag tacticians, but it was a false heat because FTR are still on the face side of tween.  Later, the LBs would get the real heat on Cash, trying to prove they are slightly bigger assholes than FTR.  But then Cash is an even bigger  asshole by tearing off Fenix’s mask for a distraction pin.  The proud southern boys prove that when it comes to tag teams, FTR are the goatse.

The match was hard hitting but also showed me things I’d never seen before.  A flying bulldog alleyoop by FTR and a DDT suicida by Cash were inventive highlights, and that’s saying something in a match with the Lucha Bros.  But a lot of the moves, and the match as a whole, may have been better in concept than execution, which leads us to…

BOTCH: THE OTHER 20%

I said this match was rough in a good way, but it was also just…rough.  The clash in styles made awkward knobs here and there, and key pieces of offense just didn’t work out as planned. Fenix and Penta bobble each other when trying to do their double team..giving your partner a code red on the opponent…thing (the dreaded DTGYPCROTOT), which they should really just give up on.  The alleyoop bulldog by FTR was a nifty mess.  Here and there both teams moved into their offense gingerly, or with deliberate setup, and that’s not the sort of thing you expect from either of these super-competent teams.  

And then there’s that finish.  It’s clear what AEW’s doing here.  The Lucha Bros are being moved up into the top tier of the tag division, so they don’t want the LBs full-on losing.  FTR are the new undefeated hotness, can’t beat them either.  So a “fluke” win where Fenix gets caught by underhanded shenanigans.  Again, works in theory, but in practice it mostly makes Fenix look like an idiot and defers a definitive win for either team.  That’s totally a Dynamite move, and not something AEW would do on a PPV. Finally, a point in favor of FftF being an audible!

Then, after the match, the Young Bucks rescue the Old Truck and Kenny brings FTR an ice cold apology for Fyter Fest night one, which they dump over his head.  The YBs have to restrain Kenny in their endless, futile attempt to keep everyone friends.  We leave the match with Cash repeatedly failing to start the truck or get in gear.  Somewhere Michael Cole is screaming “Is it symbolic, King!? Is it symbolic?!”

BOTCH: JUICING THE RATINGS

 

Here we see Orange Cassidy bringing the psychological warfare by trying to trigger Jericho’s WWE-PTSD.  

Jericho comes out with the IC, brags about his victory over Orange Cassidy last week and his “victory” in the ratings, trying out a new nickname for himself; the Demogod.  That’s good.  Jericho baits giving Orange a rematch and then denies it, standard heel move made better by Jericho’s aura and commitment.  Good so far.  Then, Cassidy pulls a 2016 and takes a giant orange dump on the segment.

Maybe it’s not fair to hold WWE’s use of this trope against AEW, but sliming the heels just felt so tired.  I couldn’t get on board even though AEW struggled so hard to make it work, and a lot of it came this close.  Ortiz trying his damnedest to drown in less than an inch of orange juice.  Jericho screaming about his jacket costing seven thousand dollars, and screeching “OJ, JR, OJ!” into his headset.  The chunks that came down with the juice almost, almost got me on board for some reason.  The Orange Cassidy towel handed to Jericho to dry off with.  

An Orange Cassidy segment seemed lazy but actually had a ton of work put into it. Huh. 

POP: ESTUANS INTERIUS IRA VEHEMENTI

The bulk of this match was fun, forgettable action that was good while it lasted.  The Elite make a strong tactical decision by starting Kenny, resident expert in battling nine year-olds, against Marko. Then they move into Nick versus Jungle Boy playing with the ropes, leading to a dynamic handstand counter by JB out of Nick’s springboard facebuster.  Jungle Jack floats so sweet you’d swear he has a gravity toggle. Jericho on commentary calls out Luchasaurus being 65 million years old asks to see his birth certificate, and names anyone who hits Marko as his new favorite wrestler.  It’s all light, entertaining, good-natured wrestling.

But there’s one guy who’s not taking it lightly.  Kenny came to kill these bastards.  While Hangman is watching, drunk via satellite, Kenny is straight bullying Marko all over the ring.  During the picture-in-picture, Kenny catches Jungle Boy and toggles gravity back on with a booming sit-out powerbomb.  He’s throwing vindictive V-Triggers at everything that moves, stomping people when they’re down, and spiking Marko’s entire everything onto his head with the gnarliest snapdragon suplex he may have ever thrown.  And his attitude is spreading to his teammates, as well, with Marko trying to floss on the outside and Nick kicking him in the face, as is appropriate.  Eventually, the Elite would even try to murder Luchasaurus with a three man Tiger Driver 98, and what seemed like an inconsequential match got mean.

Jurassic Express didn’t just let Kenny clean them up, of course.  Luchasaurus got his always-exciting hot tag to wreck shop against all three members of the Elite team, and the Express repaid the attempted murder of the Tiger Driver by taking Matt over in what I’m naming the Oxygen Destroyer:

JURASSIC EXPRESS WOW #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/e9j14loEfe

— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) July 16, 2020

A cruel V-trigger and a spiteful One-Winged Angel on Marko get the win for the Elite, but Kenny isn’t done working out his frustrations and keeps punching Stunt after the bell.  In another picture in picture, we saw Hangman welcoming FTR to drink with him in his remote bar.  Kenny is cracking under the strain of keeping it all together; his tag team with Page, their friendship with the Bucks, this weird peace with FTR that the Bucks seem insistent on.  And there’s his buddy who doesn’t give a shit about any of that, undergoing a strange southern seduction by their potential new rivals.  This sets a clear path for Kenny to be the one who turns on Hangman, instead, keeping Hangman’s fan support while giving Kenny some much needed edge.  

My only knock is that AEW is doing the same story twice on the same episode, with two members of the Elite.  Kind of like how they had three recruitment stories running at the same time with Dark Order, the Nightmare Collective, and the Inner Circle trying to lure in Mox.  Or how both their singles male champions managed to squeak by monster heels on Double or Nothing AND Fyter Fest/Fight for the Fallen.  AEW may have a problem with the left hand not knowing what the right is doing, or just not caring.

BOTCH: SISTERS DOIN’ IT FOR THEMSELVES

Brandi Rhodes and Allie take on a couple cans and struggle more with each other than their opponents.  It’s a familiar tag team story, but at least it’s something?  They pull some passable double team offense, while their solo offense still feels like they’re trying to figure it out.  Allie tries to prove herself to Dustin by aping some of his offense and wins with a final cut style standing elbow drop.  

Nice to see a Dark storyline moving on to Dynamite, and there’s a lot to like in Allie and Brandi’s expressions.  Less to like in the short, stilted match.  I am curious, though, what the point of establishing a female tag team is in a company that has no women’s tag titles?  What do Allie and Brandi get by doing this? Wins to pad their count?  Exposure?  I guess it’s not terribly different than Jurassic Express and the Elite trying hard to win trios matches when there’s no trios title, but forming  a tag team, as an enduring thing, feels futile when there’s no tag division.  

Is there any chance the end of this story is Dustin and Brandi being the assholes? Wouldn’t that make more sense at this point? Allie’s going to extraordinary lengths to get one over on the least relevant guy on the roster, who’s not even on tv, s’all I’m sayin’.

BOTCH: SOMEBODY EXCUSE HER ALREADY

 

Nyla pays off the threat of last week by bringing out Vickie Guerrero as her manager, asking an audience of none to excuse her for nothing because that’s just what Vickie Guerrero says.  I was intrigued by the possibilities last week, but now, I’ve got buyer’s remorse.  I respect and appreciate Vickie Guerrero the person.  Vickie Guerrero the wrestling character, in this context, is just blaring noise.  There’s just no excuse for Vickie Guerrero.  Nyla is a better talker than her in this very segment.  She was never a wrestler, so she can’t bring that notion of veteran advice.  I suppose she’ll bring cheating to Nyla’s game, and an excuse to “refocus” Nyla and consider her a dominant threat again despite losing clean to Shida.  I see what they’re going for, I just hoped for someone else.  Now I know how my readers feel!

BOTCH: GOOD MATCH IF YOU CAN, WIN IF TAZZ LETS YOU

The delayed AEW title match started off strong; Mox cut a promo earlier in the night establishing his game plan and making clear he has weapons besides the Paradigm Shift (like how he beat Mr. Brodie Lee), Tazz gets to trash talk Mox before the match.  Mox comes in with a flurry of punches and dodges, not waiting for Cage to bring it to him. Cage takes over with frightening power, curling Mox in his arms and hucking him around the ring like he’s Marko Stunt.  We’re talking Cesaro grade strength.  Then Mox’s game plan kicks in with a plethora of arm-based attacks targeting Cage’s recently repaired left arm, and even when they fight to the outside, Mox is lacing Cage’s arm between the bars of a guard rail and kicking the crap out of it.  I start thinking this feels like an Attitude Era main event, which was one of the compliments I would’ve paid to Mox/Lee at Double or Nothing, and I was digging it.

It continued on with a german suplex and a body slam onto a leaned guard rail, and even a suplex onto a set-up chair, all of them taken by Jon Moxley.  But it was here that I had a nagging feeling. I wasn’t enjoying the match as much as I should, and I think it came down to Mox’s selling, or lack of same.  All those cruel bumps on metal, especially the set up chair, and it didn’t feel more significant than a vertical suplex.  It was just another move; the way the announcers talked about it, the way Mox kept moving, even the way Cage kept on offense, it was just mild, uninterrupted, like nothing much had happened.  Mox never felt imperiled, despite Cage being an athletic muscle-monster that can toss him like a child and toss himself into beautiful moonsaults that may or may not legitimately bust up his own knees (here’s hoping you’re okay, Swollverine).  

Cage works with a stutter step after maybe hurting himself on the moonsault, and Mox drops him with a paradigm shift that doesn’t win, but does allow Mox to pull Cage into a languorous armbar on the left arm he’s been tearing at all match.  Aaaand then he transitions to the untouched right arm, for some reason, and keeps pulling at that until Tazz throws in his F-ToWel and gives Mox the victory.  Arm confusion aside,  it’s a whinging protected finish that makes nobody look good.  The match was competent, but man, Mox needs a crowd to make his charisma and character work bolster his matches.  And he needs to treat big moves like they’re big.  Mox’s run of beating back monsters only gets more tepid, and Cage joins Lee, Hager, and Archer in meaty man limbo.  

UNFORTUNATELY SMALL POP: DARBY DOES SOMETHING

 

AEW tries to save Cage from falling into that big boy bundle by moving him right along into his beef with a returning Darby Allin who closes the show with a flying skateboard to Cage’s face.  Great to see Darby again, and I love the idea of him bringing the fight to Cage despite the massive size difference, shame that there’s no fans and what crowd there is seems tired of being there by the time we get to this point.  Darby gets near silence for his big comeback, even though he hit one of his best skateboard attacks on record.  Cage keeps trying to fight, Darby and Mox give each other the uneasy “we’re not friends but thanks for being here unless you’re about to attack me” eyes that every pro wrestler practices, and that’s how we close out our Fight for the Fallen.

GOLF CLAP: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN

An AEW title match and a TNT title match would suggest Fight for the Fallen lived up to its PPV-lite billing, but so many matches and segments felt like Dynamite fare. Maybe even filler.  It wasn’t a bad show, but I felt it dragged down by wasted potential and, yeah, maybe trying to make something bigger out of an episode of Dynamite than it was meant to be, thanks to the delayed title match.  Call it my expectations, or just the mood I was in, but this was one of my least-favorite AEW shows in a while.

Hopefully we’ll get back to Dynamite’s string of strong wins next week, and hopefully you’ll be there with me to revel in post wrestling bliss with the Pops and Botches of AEW Dynamite.