13 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Fyter Fest 2019

2. Moxley & Janela Bring The Pain

Fyter Fest's top two matches promised varying degrees of madness, and in Jon Moxley vs. Joey Janela, fans were treated to the barbaric, chaotic plunder brawl they'd expect from the 'Death Rider' and indie wrestling's foremost modern daredevil.

This was batsh*t.

While those who don't like hardcore wrestling probably got nothing from this bout, it was an outstanding execution of the stipulation. It was sick, violent, and felt like a real fight. Janela and Moxley justified the "non-sanctioned" stipulation after AEW had set the table by cutting the lights, signifying the "official end of the show," before bringing them back up for the violence party. Such stipulations don't always make sense (if the promotion don't want anything to do with it, why are they providing the arena and production?), but that was a nice touch regardless.

Moxley emerged to AEW's best entrance track: a slamming, stomping groove metal number that fits his character to a tee. He then fought like the song sounded. Tossing Janela into the crowd within minutes, he, like JR pointed out, "had a little bit of Terry Funk in him." As he walked-and-brawled, unleashed plunder, and lobbed the 'Bad Boy' through a barbed wire board, he felt like a man who'd rediscovered his truest form, and Janela was just as tremendous, more than living up to his reputation in this dangerous, dangerous battle.

Barbed wrire chairshots were exchanged. A Russian Leg Sweep from the apron drove both men through a table. Janela got dropped on some thumb tacks. Joey hit an elbow drop from a ladder, over the top rope, to the outside, and through a table. At one point, Moxley speared his opponent through another table at full propulsion. It was carnage, and it took a Paradigm Shift onto the tacks to finish it, setting us up for the closing angle...