Next week is the first night of Fyter Fest and this week’s Dynamite was a good precursor to the show. It was a very busy show with a lot going on. NXT won the ratings war this week, which is a rarity on a week-to-week basis, but that isn’t to say AEW was bad, because it wasn’t. It seems that both brands are hovering that 700K viewer mark each week and its basically been that way since October of 2019. Personally, I think I would rather see Fyter Fest in a PPV setting, because I feel like we could be undersold on the product, but in all seriousness I don’t think that will be the case. NXT is also challenging AEW for the NXT with their own, Great American Bash two-week event, which is odd, but it doesn’t surprise me. Some segments fell flat this week, while some were solid. Here are my rankings for the week and next week, probably next Monday or Tuesday, I will have the midseason Top 5 for AEW and Top 10 for WWE so keep your eye out for that.

5: Matt Hardy

Broken Matt Hardy made his appearance on Dynamite this week and defeated Santana. The match wasn’t great, but it got the job done. Hardy’s alliance with Private Party is interesting and it will be cool to see what they can do in the next little bit. He will manage the team next week in their bout against Santana and Ortiz.

4: Hikaru Shida

Shida’s appearance on Dynamite this week was quick, yet impactful. The Women’s Champ quickly defeated Red Velvet and promptly proceeded to attack Penelope Ford after the match. It was a showing of great intensity and their match next week should be solid.

3: FTR

FTR picked up the win against SCU and put on a great performance. FTR’s arrival to AEW was a match made in heaven and they showed that this week. They provide something different, yet classic to the tag team division, which is already the best in the pro wrestling world. They’ll team up with the Young Buck in a couple weeks, so things could get really interesting.

2: Brian Cage

Cage had yet another squash victory this week, but the promo with him and Taz is what sold it. His match with Moxley is in jeopardy at the moment due to his wife testing positive for Covid-19, so this could all be for nothing, but hopefully things get straightened out and we get to see this match as soon as possible.

1: Orange Cassidy/Chris Jericho

This was the best segment of the night, in my opinion, and it is worthy of the number one spot. I could pick between the two, but I think the edge is slightly in Orange Cassidy’s favor. Having a match between these two is exactly what the fans want and Jericho is going to make the most of it. Orange Cassidy is so far over with the fans that it is crazy and his push into a potential main event performer could be coming. I think it would be pretty cool to see him win the belt.

Yacs

AEW Power Rankings: Week of June 24th 2020