By Landon Pipkin, ProWrestling.net contributor (@pipkinbrand)
Join Jason Powell for his live review AEW Fight For The Fallen as the show streams free on B/R Live beginning with the 45-minute pre-show at 6:30CT/7:30ET. Powell and Jake Barnett will co-host an audio review of AEW FFTF later tonight.
Tonight’s AEW card is the weakest of the company’s three shows. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch it, in fact, you should go out of your way to watch this show. Fight for the Fallen is the final event for AEW, leading into their marquee pay-per-view event, All Out, this August. I expect we will get a much better sense of storylines and matchups for All Out coming out of tonight’s event.
Cody and Dustin Rhodes vs. The Young Bucks: Presumably, this will be the main event of the show. Cody and Dustin are out to prove that just because they were a tag team in WWE, doesn’t mean they can’t be a great team. On Being the Elite, The Young Bucks have mocked Cody’s post-match speech to Dustin at Double or Nothing. The Young Bucks haven’t been pinned in AEW and I don’t think that changes tonight. I suspect Shawn Spears will make his presence known during this match, continuing his feud with Cody.
The Young Bucks win.
Kenny Omega vs. Cima: Two weeks ago at Fyter Fest, CIMA was victorious against Christopher Daniels in solid match. But now being in the ring with Omega, I could see this being a contender for match of the night. Omega is in the prime of his career and can help carry this match, which could be a classic. Omega has a noteworthy match with Chris Jericho at All Out, so I expect him to go over in this one.
Kenny Omega wins.
Hangman Page vs. Kip Sabian: A very interesting matchup. There’s almost zero chance of Page losing this one, but I do expect Sabian to get a decent amount of offense in. Sabian is being positioned as an undercard wrestler for now and I think that’s perfectly fine. He’s young and talented, so his time will come in the future.
Hangman Page wins.
Brandi Rhodes vs. Allie: The build to this match has basically been whether can Brandi succeed on the big stage? On this week’s Being the Elite, she described that when she was a competitive ice skater growing up and said she always failed when given a huge opportunity. Allie has been a champion in other promotions and has already had that success that Brandi desires. This is a big step for Brandi, but I don’t think she loses her first match in AEW.
Brandi Rhodes wins.
“The Lucha Brothers” Pentagon Jr. and Fenix vs. Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky: The Lucha Brothers are 0-2 in AEW. Granted, both losses came to The Young Bucks, but if wins and losses really matter, this is a must win for The Lucha Brothers. I expect this one to be in consideration for match of the night.
The Lucha Brothers win.
Dark Order vs. Jack Evans and Angelico vs. Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy in a three-way tag match: The Dark Order are making their AEW in-ring debut and with all the hype of their act this should be a decisive victory for them. Relatively unknown to the majority of fans, this is a crucial match for the Dark Order to get over with the AEW audience.
The Dark Order wins.
Britt Baker and Riho vs. Shoko Nakajima and Bea Priestley: Both Nakajima and Priestley will be debuting for AEW at Fight for the Fallen. Despite that, Baker and Riho are being positioned at the top of AEW’s women’s division. This should be a fun match, but I expect Baker and Riho to go over strong.
Britt Baker and Riho win.
Shawn Spears, MJF, and Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin, Jimmy Havoc, and Joey Janela (Pre-Show): Well, time to get to the dreaded pre-show. Even though the pre-shows have been terrible, I do think this match will be worth watching. Since Spears hit Cody with a chair at Fyter Fest, Spears and MJF have been feuding on social media. I expect both of them costing their team the match, which means Guevara will most likely take the fall.
Darby Allin, Jimmy Havoc, and Joey Janela win.
Sonny Kiss vs. “The Librarian” Peter Avalon (Pre-Show): Like the majority, I think the Librarian gimmick is stupid. I’m honestly embarrassed that I even watch wrestling when Leva Bates and Avalon are on my screen. Hopefully, this is the last we see of this gimmick.
Sonny Kiss wins.
Check below for the latest Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast With Jason Powell featuring guest Jim Ross discussing his role in AEW, Tony Khan as a leader, whether Ross knew Shawn Spears was going to hit Cody with a chair shot to the head, working with Excalibur and Alex Marvez, his new book and speaking engagement deal, and much more.
If anyone does the carrying in the CIMA vs Omega match, it will be CIMA and not the guy who can’t carry a facial expression for 10 seconds.
Not so sure on the women’s tag match. Bea Priestley and Shoko Nakajima are the world champions of 2 of the top joshi companies in Japan(Stardom and TJPW, respectively). TJPW has sent Yuka Sakazaki over twice and she’s lost both times. Eventually, they’re gonna want the talent they send over to win a match…and if they’re sending their top champ, this seems a likely time. Rossy Ogawa is likewise unlikely to want his top champ to take a loss in her AEW debut. Riho has won both her prior appearances(and just left her prior home promotion of Gatoh Move) so I could see her taking the loss here.