6 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Fyter Fest (20 July)

Downs...

4. Athena & Willow Stumble To Defeat

The Baddies were originally set to face Athena, Willow Nightingale, and Kris Statlander in a trios match. When Leila Grey was deemed unable to compete (per Stokely Hathaway), a WhatCulture-referencing Statlander was banned from ringside, hence the switch to a tag.

Said tag had its plus points. Jade Cargill was the best wrestler in it, which is a huge credit to her, given Athena's immense experience. She played her role of picking and choosing her spots well and appeared comfortable and in control throughout. Willow, meanwhile, is impossible not to enjoy. Her infectious babyface energy is pure and bold, making her an easy person to connect with.

But the majority of the action here was stunted. Perhaps Grey's pull-out was a last-minute deal that threw the wrestlers off their game, forcing them to adapt to a new structure. Either way, there were multiple examples of cogs turning and wrestlers going through the motions, most notably Athena and Kiera Hogan's slow-motion, cooperative powerbomb on the outside.

Cargill scoring the pinfall on Willow after Stokely had seemingly finagled Kris' ringside ban was the right finish and story. Jade vs. Athena remains the money singles match and was protected appropriately here. Nonetheless, the journey to this optimal destination wasn't great.