5 Surprising Moments From AEW Fyter Fest 2020 Night One

This year's AEW Fyter Fest was always going to seem very different from its 2019 predecessor. Last year’s show was its own standalone event, whereas the 2020 edition is being held during the regular AEW Dynamite time slot and is being spread over two weeks. Could AEW replicate the big event feel under these unique circumstances? Well, they certainly made a strong start with the first half of Fyter Fest.

AEW did a good job of making the night seem special from the outset with their production of the show. It, of course, helped that all five matches delivered in the ring. On top of that, though, we also saw plenty of storyline development and a few nice touches elsewhere. So far, Fyter Fest 2020 has been a success for AEW. And the best part is we still have another week to go!

While I try to figure out why Trent had his mother drive him to the show, here is are five of the most surprising moments from AEW Fyter Fest Night One.

#5 A great night for the good guys

It is Fyter Fest! It is the feel good show of the year!

It might be the fact I am just used to a traditional pattern in professional wrestling, but it felt good to see the babyfaces of a promotion actually have a successful night. More often than not, several heels will emerge victorious on a card in order to set the table for future matches. This wasn’t the case at night one of Fyter Fest, however.

The good guys won all five matches. MJF had a bad night in tag team action, whilst Santana and Ortiz were bested by Private Party. In addition, all three heel challengers for AEW titles lost their matches - meaning that each of the major titles in AEW are still held by babyfaces.

Does this mean that the heels in AEW will fare better on night two of Fyter Fest? We will have to wait and see what next week holds.

#4 MJF loses for the second time in AEW

MJF bragging a bit too much before his tag match at Fyter Fest.

Maybe we should have seen it coming after his opening promo. MJF was bragging about having consistently beaten Jungle Boy in recent months. He has also constantly brought up the fact that he has only lost one match in AEW - and that he wasn’t even pinned in that instance. While he was wasn't pinned at Fyter Fest either, MJF did taste a rare defeat.

The tag match between Jurassic Express and MJF and Wardlow was excellent. Luchasaurus is so smooth and agile for a wrestler his size. Jungle Boy and MJF continue to show why they are two of the best young talents in AEW. The biggest surprise of the match, though, was Wardlow. He hasn’t had a lot of long matches in his AEW career, but he was able to keep up with the other three participants, ensuring that the match had an incredible pace for its entire eleven minute duration.

The finish consisted of MJF actually hitting Wardlow with the diamond ring. This led to Jurassic Express pinning Wardlow and picking up a much-needed big victory. Will it lead to Wardlow breaking up with MJF? It is possible, but I sure hope it doesn’t go that route. It seems too soon to break up an act with such great chemistry.

#3 Penelope Ford impresses in her AEW Women's Championship challenge

Shida had to work hard to retain on Wednesday night.

If you told AEW fans at the beginning of the year that Penelope Ford would be a challenger for the AEW Women’s Championship on a major event like Fyter Fest, many would have struggled to believe it. In 2019, she wrestled so infrequently that she seemed to be little more than a bit-part player in the Kip Sabian Vs.Joey Janela feud. Like a lot of things in the world, though, the ongoing global health crisis changed that equation.

As Ford was one of the few female wrestlers available to AEW during the initial period of lockdown, she was a regular competitor on Dynamite. It allowed her to display her unique offense and athleticism. She seemed to get better with each match and she started to rack up the victories. She even pulled off a victory over Hikaru Shida leading to this title match.

Of course, injuries to other members of the AEW female roster in recent times left the company short on challengers, but Ford still richly deserved this opportunity to shine.

The biggest surprise to most was how good Ford looked in defeat. She controlled the majority of the bout, showcasing many unique counters to Shida’s offense. She even kicked out of the Falcon Arrow. While Shida retained her title, Ford looked strong thoroughout and the match as a whole was excellent. Ford seems to get better with each passing week. I would love to see Ford get a rematch soon.

#2 The ending to the AEW TNT Championship match

Cody is ready for Fyter Fest...or Great American Bash.

Cody has really stepped up his game in recent weeks. He has put on a series of really excellent matches while defending his newly-won AEW TNT Championship in the past month on Dynamite. But Wednesday night’s match at Fyter Fest against Jake Hager was arguably the weakest TNT Championship match so far.

The bout itself was a fine mix of submission-style grappling and traditional professional wrestling moves. The downfall of the match was the interference that surrounded it. Involvement from Arn Anderson, Catalina Hager and even Dustin Rhodes detracted from the action in the ring. While it might well play into future AEW storylines, it did nothing to help the quality of the title match.

It is the match ending that was the most surprising part, particularly for Jake Hager! Having been locked in a triangle submission by Hager, Cody was on the verge of passing out. However, 'The American Nightmare' managed to posture up on to Hager and pick up the three count. Cody’s music started to play and Hager begin to celebrate, wrongly assuming he had won the match. It was strange. I mean Hager can surely hear Cody’s music playing?

Given the way the bout ended, I feel that we may not have seen the last of the issue between Cody and Jake Hager in AEW.

#1 FTR teases an AEW tag title feud

Kenny Omega commits a major party foul at Fyter Fest.

Best Friends now have my favorite ring entrance. It really fitted their gimmick to have Trent’s mother drive them to the ring in a mini-van. It sure is hard to seem intense while your mother gives you a kiss on the cheek.

Their AEW Tag Team Championship match with titleholders Kenny Omega and 'Hangman' Adam Page was exactly what you would have expected. The match was solid with some good back and forth offense between the four veterans.

The match didn’t have many believable near falls, though, and it seemed Page got his finisher so suddenly that it lessened the impact of the eventual finish. This seem odd at first, especially as the bout served as the headliner for night one of Fyter Fest.

As we saw the ending of the show, however, the flat finish made much more sense. The Best Friends seemed to be just a speed bump on the way to a bigger feud for Omega and Page. FTR watched the majority of the match in lawn chairs and walked to the ring to share beers with victors after they retained their belts. Omega, a non-drinker, turned down their offer and poured out the beer on to the floor. This was quite a party foul and clearly angered FTR.

FTR is a great team but it was surprising to see them interact with the champions so early in their AEW career. Could they possibly win the AEW titles before the end of summer and then go on to have their long-awaited match with The Young Bucks? It will certainly be fun to see how this scenario plays out.