AEW Fyter Fest: Reflecting on the Smart and Questionable Booking Moves

All Elite Wrestling's second event, Fyter Fest, is in the books, giving fans a clearer picture of the direction the new promotion wants to go.

With the promotional debut of Jon Moxley, wrestling fans were eager last Saturday to see how the company could follow up their success from Double or Nothing in May. Would AEW continue its hot streak as the new kid on the block or would they take their first big misstep? 

All four of the company's vice presidents were in action as well as Moxley and a slew of talent unfamiliar to many fans. The decision-making proved AEW is capable of booking an entertaining show but still finding its step as a new brand.

Here are the smartest and most questionable booking decisions that came from AEW's Fyter Fest, with Fight for the Fallen coming up July 13.

Smart: Establishment of Sports-Like Themes

AEW

One aspect that AEW brass hopes will differentiate them from other promotions is the emphasis on a sports league concept rather than just entertainment.

With a focus on "producing fast-paced, high-impact competitions, AEW offers fans less scripted, soapy drama, and more athleticism and real sports analytics, bringing a legitimacy to wrestling that it has not previously had," according to the press release from their television deal.

We didn't really see that from its inaugural event, Double or Nothing, but it's tough to blame the promoters since they had nothing to go on. Now with one event under the belt, we began seeing certain themes that remind people of a genuine sport:

1. Implementation of a 20-minute match clock (30 for the main event)

A set time for a match to conclude is sports-like.

Although we would've loved to see certain matches test their limits by going double the allotted 20 minutes, one of the more entertaining moments of Fyter Fest included the Ocean Center crowd in Daytona Beach, Florida, counting down the final seconds of the Cody Rhodes-Darby Allin match—just for the former to come up a moment too late with a pin attempt. Seeing Cody become increasingly more desperate as the time ticked down added an interesting match aspect that not many wrestling fans are familiar with.

2. Jim Ross giving background information on the referees at the start of almost every match

This is simple, yet it gives fans watching at home a chance to know the referees, who are historically booked to only act as peacekeepers. Some background information on each solidifies their legitimacy as experienced referees regardless of how new the promotion may be.

3. Darby Allin's reference to Cody's AEW record

This detail can easily be overlooked, but it's interesting that the body bag Allin carried to the ring with him had "Cody 1-1" written on it. The newcomer attempted to predict Cody's AEW record before their match, and for the first time, we saw a sliver of reference to a bout record similar to boxing or martial arts. Be on the lookout for how AEW advertises wrestler records in the future.

4. Discussion of CTE and head injuries

I was shocked when Ross and the rest of the commentary team brought this up after Cody's chair shot to the head, but it did feel like a genuine conversation we would hear from NFL and combat sport commentators discussing head injuries.

They did a good job of stating the seriousness of an injury like that, and although they certainly would've preferred to not have that conversation at all, they handled it with aplomb for a promotion looking to drift closer to a sports league.

Questionable: Putting Best Friends Over

AEW

SoCal Uncensored appeared to be the clear favorites heading into their three-way tag team match with Private Party and Best Friends. However if one of the outside picks were to win, money was probably on Private Party, who were featured in Road to Fyter Fest, AEW's YouTube series promoting the event.

Neither of these came to be, as it was Best Friends that earned the push. This isn't an egregious error by any stretch, but it did seem odd that both SCU and Private Party, who have already won over the crowd in a short amount of time, were passed over for a tag team that hasn't solidified itself as either a face or a heel group.

Perhaps that's just the kind of win that pushes it into one specific direction, but it should be something that's sorted out before the rewarded match at All Out on August 31.

Hopefully this loss for SCU and Private Party doesn't mean they're out of the tag team tournament. Both are far too good to be on the outside looking in.

Smart: Shawn Spears Heat

AEW

Shawn Spears needed a sense of direction, and boy did he earn some major heat after his chair shot to the head of Cody caused a nasty gash that required 12 stitches to patch up.

Although the injury was clearly not intentional, the effect it had on fan perception of Spears is now tenfold compared to what it would've been had it only been a clean chair shot. It seemed overly malicious, and that does wonders for a heel who already has name recognition and is trying to find his first steps with a brand-new company.

No one wants to see a genuine injury, but Spears will likely return to a chorus of boos—and that's what AEW wanted.

Questionable: Too Many Stories Being Told at End of 3-Way Women's Match

AEW

This was a shame simply because one could argue the three-way match between Riho, Yuka Sakazaki and Nyla Rose stole the show, but the rushed finish left many scratching their heads.

One reason is the decision to have Nyla Rose take the rollup pin.

For as dominant and impressive of a showing as Rose had, it seemed like we were about to see her cemented as the most dangerous women in AEW. Instead, Riho's win left Rose looking unnecessarily foolish and still without a W of her own. Riho winning isn't an absurd choice; it just didn't have to go down the way that it did. Sakazaki could've easily taken the pin to preserve Rose's perceived dominance.

Not only that, but the rushed storytelling after the result crammed two storylines into a matter of seconds, with the shock of Rose being unable to take advantage of her opportunities and the odd decision from Riho to push away Sakazaki after the latter just helped Riho fend off the Native Beast. The partnership between the two had barely even been established for the crowd to genuinely care about the apparent split happening.

Also, is one match going to create that big of a rift between two wrestlers who teamed together at Double or Nothing and just worked together to help take down Rose? 

What could've been a great conclusion to a story with the proper development is suddenly gone and leaves fans with more questions than answers. 

Smart: Letting Jon Moxley Be Jon Moxley

AEW

Jon Moxley's in-ring debut for AEW came as the most anticipated match of Fyter Fest, with viewers excited to see the former WWE star once again. With his newfound creative freedom and Moxley's knack for being more hardcore than what we saw from the Dean Ambrose character, fans were eager to find out how far he's willing to take the revived gimmick.

The result? A realization that the days of a PG-restricted Moxley are long gone.

Pairing him with a dance partner like Joey Janela, who is known for death matches and also wants to break out as a high-profile AEW talent, turned their bout into a gripping, bloody showdown. Moxley seemed more motivated than we've seen him in a long time.

A match like this allowed Moxley to showcase his ruthlessness and helped differentiate his WWE and AEW career paths right from the jump. It solidified himself as one of the hottest wrestlers in the business.

Questionable: Chair Shot to the Head

AEW

Plenty of questions have already been asked regarding the chair shot. Was it unnecessary? Was it just AEW's way of showing it's willing to do things WWE isn't? Is this the last time we see it?

If you're AEW, you accomplished the goal of the chair shot, which was giving Shawn Spears heat. The promotion didn't anticipate it resulting in 12 stitches to Cody's head, but it's nuclear heat nonetheless and that's almost always a good thing.

A postevent quote from president and CEO Tony Khan seems to hint at more blame on user error rather than the chair shot itself: "You could build the safest airplane in the world, and if there's pilot error, there's pilot error."

Could the heat have been accomplished without the chair shot?

It wouldn't have been as dramatic, but Spears certainly would've fulfilled his heel turn with a chair to the back or perhaps even just a finisher. AEW already proved through the use of blood, unscripted promos and cursing that it's willing to do things WWE isn't, so the chair shot to the head could be deemed overkill by the AEW brass and thus banned from use in the future.

Although the incident generated plenty of negative headlines, don't necessarily expect AEW to rule out similar spots in the future.

Smart: Setting Up Fight for the Fallen

AEW

Four matchups are announced so far for AEW's next event, Fight for the Fallen, on July 13.

All four were touched on at some point during Fyter Fest, as Brandi Rhodes scouted Allie during her pre-show bout against Leva Bates; Cima defeated Christopher Daniels ahead of his matchup with Kenny Omega; Cody fought to a draw against Darby Allin ahead of a much anticipated partnership with brother Dustin when they face the Young Bucks; and Kip Sabian sat ringside to witness Adam Page win a four-way match to earn a match against the Englishman.

We saw almost no bridges between Double or Nothing and Fyter Fest, so this buildup was the first time we began to hear legitimate conversation starters for matches coming up in the next event. That should stick to the minds of fans with Fight for the Fallen less than two weeks away.