AEW Dynamite: Fyter Fest Night One Preview and Predictions

AEW Dynamite is back this Wednesday as they present Fyter Fest Night One from Cedar Park, Texas.

Fresh off the heels of a successful live show in Miami, which included the shocking arrival of Malakai Black, AEW will look to continue to build on that success with Fyter Fest.

The announced matches include two championship matches, even though neither match is for an AEW sanctioned title, they both have major implications in AEW storylines.

We will also be treated to AEW’s first-ever coffin match and Hangman Page will speak, just one week after his face-to-face in-ring encounter with AEW Champion Kenny Omega.

Let’s take a look at the announced matches for the AEW Dynamite: Fyter Fest Night One and what we can expect from each.

Karl Anderson vs Jon Moxley for the IWGP U.S. Championship

Jon Moxley will make his return to Dynamite to take on Elite member Karl Anderson for the IWGP Title.

Anytime you wrestle a member of the Elite, you will always find yourself at a numbers disadvantage.  And this match will prove to be no different.

Jon Moxley should drop the IWGP Championship soon, but it should not be televised on AEW Dynamite when he does.  There is absolutely no reason to weaken one of your biggest stars by having him take a loss to someone outside the promotion.

Moxley will be in trouble because of some outside interference, but the “The Elite Hunter”, Frankie Kazarian will be along to make the save and even things up, leading to a Moxley victory.  Winner: Jon Moxley

Matt Hardy vs Christian Cage

An old rivalry will be renewed this Wednesday when Matt Hardy and Christian Cage lock horns in an AEW ring.

“Big Money” Matt has had the upper hand on Cage for the past few weeks, mostly due to sneak attacks by the HFO.  This match is a golden opportunity for Christian to even up the score.

While both these competitors are closer to the end of their career than the beginning, Cage seems much more capable of putting on memorable singles matches at this point in his career.  While Hardy feels more effective in a tag team setting.

This match should just be a rung on the ladder for Christian to keep climbing on his way to the top heels in AEW.

Christian will dispose of Hardy, and be on his way to more enticing matchups with the likes of Kenny Omega, Miro, MJF, and the newly arrived Malakai Black.  Winner: Christian Cage

Ricky Starks vs Brian Cage for the FTW Championship

Ricky Starks will be back in action for the first time since suffering a neck injury in a match against “Hangman” Adam Page, when he takes on fellow team Tazz member, Brian Cage.

This match is a tough one to call.  Normally, Brian Cage seems like he would be the no-brainer winner of this matchup.  But there are other things in play.

If Cage is on his way out of Team Tazz wouldn’t the rest of Team Tazz do anything and everything to make sure he drops to FTW title before he leaves?

And is Team Tazz truly 100% behind Ricky Starks after the stunt he pulled last week hiring security to try to protect him from Brian Cage, basically signaling that he doesn’t believe the other members of Team Tazz would be enough to have his back?

These are all questions that will be answered for us on Wednesday night.

Part of me wouldn’t be surprised to see the faction turn on Starks, allowing Cage to move forward with a new Team Tazz that didn’t include Ricky Starks.  But the most probable outcome is Team Tazz stays uninvolved in this match and they just let Cage and Starks settle their differences in the ring.

And we continue to have this version of Team Tazz moving forward, underlying tension and all.

And if that is the way it goes down then……..Winner: Brian Cage

Penelope Ford vs Yuka Sakazaki

Yuka Sakazaki will make her first appearance on AEW programming since the Covid-19 pandemic when she squares off with Penelope Ford.

Ford is one of the most underappreciated performers on the roster.

Her in-ring work is always spot on and her background in gymnastics and cheerleading has translated to a very fun in-ring style.

It gets harder to remember as we move past the pandemic era, but there was a time when the AEW women’s roster was ravaged by injury and travel restrictions, and this led to an unplanned program between Ford and then AEW Women’s Champion, Hikaru Shida.

And Ford performed very well in the bright lights and she and Shida put on a good championship match at last year’s Fyter Fest.

And with Kip Sabian on the mend after his recent surgery, this wouldn’t be a bad time to feature Ford in some high-profile matches to see what she can do on a more consistent basis.

But Sakazaki is someone that AEW seemed high on before travel restrictions kept her abroad.  She owns an AEW singles victory over current champion Britt Baker and made the finals in the Japan bracket of the Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament.

So the most likely scenario is Sakazaki starts to build some momentum, gets into the top 5, and at some point asks for a title shot because of her previous victory over Britt Baker.  Winner: Yuka Sakazaki

Ethan Page vs Darby Allin in a Coffin Match

Ethan Page and Darby Allin will look to settle their differences in the AEW’s first-ever coffin match.

AEW has done a great job setting up this match.  Ethan Page had a hand in Darby losing the TNT Title due to being tossed down a flight of stairs.  Page and his partner, Scorpio Sky have attacked Darby and Sting many times.

And even when Darby and Sting have had the upper hand, like winning the tag match against “The Men of the Year” at Double or Nothing, Page and Sky gave all the credit for the victory to Sting and dismissed Darby having any part of the win.

Last week’s sit-down interview with the two stars also underscored Page’s disgust at how rapidly Darby Allin made it to AEW.  Page alluded to the idea that Darby has not put in the work or earned his spot and that he is not ok with that.

The great thing about that sit-down interview is it touched on very raw emotions that many wrestlers have undoubtedly felt about up and comers in the past.  And that adds a very real element to this feud.

As good as Page is, this is a spot where Darby has to win.  The master of the Coffin Drop absolutely needs to win the first-ever AEW Coffin Match.

Scorpio Sky should be held at bay by the presence of Sting which will allow Darby to, in true Darby fashion, take a hellacious beating but find a way to win the match.

All due respect to Britt Baker, MJF, and Hangman Page, but Darby is the hottest thing that AEW has going for them right now.  And this match will be another step in the rapid ascent of Darby Allin.  Winner: Darby Allin