7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Fyter Fest (13 July)

5. A Triumphant WWE Call-Back

Claudio Castagnoli Jake Hager Swing
AEW

AEW's willingness to capitalise on any corner of professional wrestling history continued through Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jake Hager last night, as the former Cesaro bested his old Real Americans partner via Ricola Bomb.

No promotion is off-limits in AEW, even WWE, and that's great. The company would be treating its audiences like fools if it no-sold Hager and Castagnoli's past. Here, they used that to deliver a fun television match with the right outcome, in which Claudio continued his propulsive run as a marauding powerhouse/showman hybrid.

Fleeting "we the people!" chants danced through the arena early, proving that even this quiet crowd was into the story. Impressive big boy power spots came later on, including a great biel throw and Hager Bomb from Jake, who entered one of his better singles performances in AEW.

The interference from Angelo Parker and Matt Menard was dealt with well. Rather than distracting from the action, they served as additional barriers for Claudio to leap over, dispensed with, as they were, before the finish. The idea was to present Castagnoli as a freight train - stacking up guys for him to knock off the apron helped.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. 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.