10 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Fight For The Fallen (27 July)

Danielson, Garcia, HOOK, Starks, Rush, Moxley, and more weave magic on a great night for AEW.

by Andy H Murray
Jon Moxley Rush
AEW

All Elite Wrestling's subtitled Dynamite specials don't always live up to their promise.

This is as much a comment on the nature of television wrestling as it is AEW's propensity for loading these lineups, and the expectations this creates. Week-to-week booking is tough. When fans are conditioned to expect a labelled show to be of pay-per-view calibre, it's even tougher, and while AEW's recent Fyter Fest, Road Rager, and Blood & Guts events brought plenty of plus points, none felt quite as special as the feeling of gazing at awesome match graphics beforehand.

Fight for the Fallen was different. An exceptional show from top to bottom, it was not only amongst the best Dynamites of 2022, but stands as perhaps AEW's strongest non-PPV show this year too. Tony Khan's promotion booked the right lineup, marketed it perfectly, and delivered a red-hot show in the midst of a chaotic news week throughout which AEW had scarcely entered the conversation through no fault of its own.

Jon Moxley defended his Interim World Title against Rush, Women's Champion Thunder Rosa faced Miyu Yamashita, and Ricky Starks had not one, but two challengers to contend with. Elsewhere, Jungle Boy cut the best promo of his career, a long-awaited announcement finally dropped, and Daniel Garcia fought Bryan Danielson in the main event.

Let's light the fuse...

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.