The 2020 Fyter Fest was the second annual Fyter Fest

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

event produced by

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, ...

(AEW). The event aired on

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reage ...

as a series of

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of e ...

episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode, a part of a dramatic work * ''Episodes'' (TV series), a British/American television sitcom which premiered in 2011 * ''Episodes'' (journal), a geological science journal * ''Episodes'' (ballet), a ballet by Ge ...

of AEW's weekly television program, '' Dynamite''. The two-week event took place at

Daily's Place Daily's Place is an amphitheater in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida. The venue is connected to the south end of TIAA Bank Field and shares space with a "flex field" indoor practice facility for the Jacksonville Jaguars. It opened in May 2017 and ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

and was broadcast on July 1 and 8, 2020. While night 1 aired live, night 2 was pre-recorded on July 2 and aired on July 8. The event was originally scheduled to air on

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...

from the

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-se ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in June and be AEW's

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

debut, but had to change locations due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. As with many of AEW's other programs since the pandemic began, the show was moved to Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida and split into a two-night event. AEW invited sixty sponsors from other corporate brands (

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

and Daily's Place) to attend the event in the upper deck as a test of allowing spectators, which began a test of allowing spectators that led by the end of August to live spectators returning. The main event of night 1 saw

Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-time ...

and

Adam Page Stephen Blake Woltz (born July 27, 1991), better known by his ring name "Hangman" Adam Page, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former AEW World Champion and AEW World Tag Team Cha ...

successfully defend the

AEW World Tag Team Championship The AEW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a standard tag team championship, being contested by teams of two wrestle ...

against

Best Friends Best Friend or Best Friends may refer to: * Someone with whom one shares the strongest type of friendship. Film and television * ''Best Friend'' (film), a 2020 South Korean film * ''Best Friends'' (1982 film), a film starring Goldie Hawn and B ...

( Chuck Taylor and Trent). The main event of the second night was originally scheduled to be

Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-W ...

defending the

AEW World Championship The AEW World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Unveiled on May 25, 2019, it is the promotion's top championship for male singles competitors, an ...

against

Brian Cage Brian Christopher Button

, but this match was postponed to the Fight for the Fallen event due to Moxley being exposed to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

. Instead, the main event of night 2 saw

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...

defeat

Orange Cassidy James Cipperly (born May 4, 1984), better known by his ring name Orange Cassidy, is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW All-Atlantic Champi ...

Production

Background

On June 29, 2019,

(AEW) held an event titled Fyter Fest. The show was a follow-up to the Community Effort Orlando (CEO) and

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority share ...

(NJPW) co-promoted CEO⨯NJPW: When Worlds Collide event, which was organized by then-NJPW wrestler

, who became an Executive Vice President and wrestler for AEW and was also key in organizing the first Fyter Fest. While AEW President and

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

Tony Khan Antony Rafiq Khan (born October 10, 1982) is an American businessman, promoter, and sports executive. He is known for his involvement in American football, professional wrestling and soccer. He is best known as the founder and co-owner of All ...

had stated that there would be a second Fyter Fest event, it was not officially announced until May 2020's

Double or Nothing Double or nothing (UK often double or quits) is a gamble to decide whether a loss or debt should be doubled. The result of a "double or nothing" bet is either the subject doubled to twice the amount as the original ''or'' the doubling of a debt. It ...

, thus establishing Fyter Fest as an annual event for AEW, though this second event was produced by AEW alone and not in partnership with CEO like the previous year.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

During the media scrum following Double or Nothing's broadcast, Tony Khan revealed that the 2020 Fyter Fest was initially scheduled to take place at

in June and be AEW's

debut, but had to change locations due to the

. On June 3, it was announced that instead of airing on

like originally planned, the event would be broadcast as a two-part special of AEW's weekly television program '' Dynamite'', on July 1 and 8. The first night aired

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

on July 1 while the second night was pre-recorded on July 2 and aired on tape delay on July 8. Both episodes were held behind closed doors at AEW's home venue of

, where AEW held the majority of their shows since the pandemic began in mid-March.

Storylines

Fyter Fest featured

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Storylines were produced on AEW's weekly television program, '' Dynamite'', the supplementary online streaming show, ''

Dark Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low l ...

'', and

The Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team and promoters, consisting of brothers Matthew and Nicholas Massie, who are known by their ring names Matt and Nick Jackson, respectively. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (A ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

series ''

Being The Elite The Elite is a professional wrestling stable currently appearing in U.S. based Professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). As of December 2022, the line-up has consisted of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) ...

''. At

on May 23,

Cody Cody may refer to: People *Cody (given name) * Cody (surname) *Cody (wrestler), a ring name of Cody Runnels Places Canada * Cody, British Columbia United States *Cody, Florida *Cody (Duluth), Minnesota *Cody, Missouri *Cody, Nebraska *Cody, Wyo ...

defeated

Lance Archer Lance Hoyt (born February 28, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Lance Archer. He also makes sporadic appearance for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is also known for ...

in the tournament final to be crowned the inaugural TNT Champion. On the following episode of ''Dynamite'', Cody announced an open challenge in which he would defend the title every week. After defending the title against Marq Quen on the June 10 episode,

Jake Hager Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Jake Hager, where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society st ...

attacked Cody, signaling that he wanted a shot at the title, which Cody granted him to occur at Fyter Fest. During The Buy In pre-show of Double or Nothing,

( Chuck Taylor and Trent) defeated Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) to earn a match for the

. On the May 27 episode of ''Dynamite'', it was announced that Best Friends would receive their title match against champions

and

at Fyter Fest. After Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent) and

defeated The Inner Circle (Jake Hager,

Santana and Ortiz Santana (Mark Sanchez, born February 4, 1991) and Ortiz (Miguel Molina, born September 27, 1991), sometimes nicknamed Proud & Powerful, are an American professional wrestling tag team currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), but the team is ...

) on the June 10 episode of ''Dynamite'',

and his stable beat down Best Friends and bloodied Cassidy with

blood oranges The Blood Oranges were an American alternative country band that formed in the late 1980s. The founding members were Jim Ryan (acoustic and electric mandolin, guitar, and vocals), Bob Kendall (bass guitar) then replaced by Liz Wood (later Liz ...

. Best Friends put their number one contendership for the AEW World Tag Team Championship on the line to get a match with Le Sex Gods (

and

Sammy Guevara Samuel George Guevara (born July 28, 1993) is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society. He is a record tying three-time former AEW TNT Champion. He also app ...

). On the June 17 episode, Best Friends defeated Le Sex Gods to retain their title opportunity after Cassidy, disguised as a ringside cameraman, tripped Guevara and allowed Trent to score the pinfall. After the conclusion of the match, Cassidy attacked Jericho, and a match between the two was also scheduled for Fyter Fest. At Double or Nothing,

Hikaru Shida is a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, actress, and model, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a former and the longest-reigning AEW Women's World Champion. On February 25, 2021, she became the longest reig ...

defeated

Nyla Rose Nyla Rose (born August 3, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and actress signed to All Elite Wrestling, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She also starred in the 2016 Canadian television series '' The Switch''. Rose bec ...

in a No Disqualification and No Countout match to become the new

AEW Women's World Champion The AEW Women's World Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Established on June 18, 2019, the inaugural champion was Riho. The current champio ...

. On the June 10 episode of ''Dynamite'', Shida teamed with

Kris Statlander Kristen Stadtlander (born August 7, 1995) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Kris Statlander. She is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling, and has also performed on the independent circuit. She is currently ...

against Rose and

Penelope Ford Olivia Hasler (born September 14, 1992), better known by the ring name Penelope Ford, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling. She is also known for her work in Combat Zone Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Comb ...

. After Ford pinned Shida to win the tag team match, a title match between the two was scheduled for Fyter Fest.

Cancelled match

At Double or Nothing, the debuting

Brian Cage Brian Christopher Button

won the nine-man

Casino Ladder Match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

to earn a future

opportunity. During the media scrum following Double or Nothing's broadcast, Tony Khan announced that Cage's championship match against

, who successfully defended the title against Mr. Brodie Lee that night, would occur at Fyter Fest. However, during night one of Fyter Fest, it was announced that the match had been rescheduled to take place at Fight for The Fallen, due to Moxley being subject to secondary exposure to

after his wife,

Renee Young Renee Jane Paquette is a Canadian-American television personality currently working as a backstage interviewer for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She was previously known for her time in WWE between 2012 and 2020, where she served as a commentator, ...

, tested positive for the virus.

Reception

Television ratings

The first night of Fyter Fest averaged 782,000 television viewers on

and a 0.29 rating in AEW's

key demographic The key demographic or target demographic is a term in commercial broadcasting that refers to the most desirable demographic group to a given advertiser. Key demographics vary by outlet, time of day, and programming type, but they are generally co ...

. The second night of Fyter Fest drew 715,000 viewers, and drew a 0.28 rating in the key demographic.

Results

Notes

References

External links

All Elite Wrestling Official website
{{All Elite Wrestling events, Fyter Fest

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

2020 American television episodes 2020s American television specials 2020 in professional wrestling in Florida Events in Jacksonville, Florida Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television July 2020 events in the United States Professional wrestling in Jacksonville, Florida 2020 in professional wrestling