AEW Fyter Fest
{{short description|All Elite Wrestling special event series}}
{{Infobox wrestling PPV series
|name = AEW Fyter Fest
|image = AEW_Fyter_Fest.png
|image_size =
|caption = AEW Fyter Fest logo
| nicknames = "The Most Luxurious Gaming & Wrestling Festival of All Time!"
|promotions = All Elite Wrestling
|firstevent = 2019
|lastevent =
}}
AEW Fyter Fest is a professional wrestling event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The event was established by the promotion in 2019 and is held during the summer between June and August. Since 2020, Fyter Fest has been held as a multi-part television special of AEW's weekly television programs. The name, slogan, and logo of the event are a parody of the fraudulent Fyre Festival.
The inaugural 2019 event was livestreamed for free as a special event on B/R Live in the United States and on pay-per-view (PPV) internationally, while the 2020 and 2021 events were held as a two-part special of AEW's weekly television program, Wednesday Night Dynamite. In 2022, the event was expanded to being broadcast as a four-part special, encompassing the two-week broadcasts of Dynamite and Friday Night Rampage. It was then reduced to a three-part event in 2023, spanning AEW's three weekly shows of the week, including Saturday Night Collision. An event was not held in 2024, which also saw the cancellation of Rampage at the end of that year. Fyter Fest returned in 2025 as a four-hour marathon of back-to-back special episodes of Dynamite and Collision, the latter preempted from its usual Saturday night timeslot and channel to accommodate for the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The inaugural event was held in co-sponsorship with Community Effort Orlando (CEO) at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. The second event was planned to air on PPV from the United Kingdom, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it took place at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida, which began the event's broadcast as special episodes of the company's weekly television programs.
History
The inaugural Fyter Fest event took place on June 29, 2019, at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida in co-sponsorship between All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Community Effort Orlando (CEO). It was AEW's second-ever event and was held as part of CEO's fighting game event that year.{{cite web |last1=Treese |first1=Tyler |title=All Elite Wrestling Fyter Fest To Air Live On B/R Live For Free |url=https://www.mandatory.com/wrestlezone/news/1101783-all-elite-wrestling-fyter-fest-to-air-live-on-b-r-live|website=mandatory.com|publisher=WrestleZone |accessdate=June 11, 2019|date=June 10, 2019}} This inaugural event aired for free on B/R Live in North America and on pay-per-view (PPV) internationally. The name, slogan, and logo were a parody of the fraudulent Fyre Festival.{{cite web|url=http://ceogaming.org/fyterfest/|title=Fyter Fest|work=CEO Gaming|date=April 11, 2019|accessdate=April 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620034748/https://ceogaming.org/fyterfest/|archive-date=June 20, 2019|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2AP1gKItqE|title=Being the Elite (BTE) - "Pissant" Ep.146|work=Being The Elite|date=April 8, 2019|accessdate=April 13, 2019}} It was also the second wrestling event to be co-sponsored by CEO, after the previous year's New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) event, CEOxNJPW: When Worlds Collide.{{cite web |url=https://www.njpw1972.com/30750 |title=June 29 in Florida, wrestling and video games combine for a match made in heaven! It's CEO x NJPW: When Worlds Collide! |publisher=New Japan Pro-Wrestling |date=June 26, 2018 |access-date=July 31, 2019}} Both the NJPW and AEW events with CEO came as a result of Kenny Omega, a former prominent wrestler of NJPW who became a wrestler and Executive Vice President of AEW following the founding of the latter in January 2019.
A second event was held in 2020, though was produced by AEW alone. AEW had originally planned to host this second event at Wembley Arena in London, England, United Kingdom in June that year; it would have been the promotion's United Kingdom debut. However, the event was moved to Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in March that year. This second event was also originally to air on PPV but was changed to being a two-part special of AEW's weekly television program, Wednesday Night Dynamite; the first part aired live on July 1 while the second part was pre-recorded on July 2 and aired on tape delay on July 8.{{cite web|url=https://talksport.com/sport/wrestling/709337/aew-uk/|title=EXCLUSIVE: AEW owner Tony Khan reveals Fyter Fest was set to take place in London in June before coronavirus pandemic|date=May 24, 2020|last=McCarthy|first=Alex|work=TalkSport|accessdate=May 24, 2020}}{{cite web|title=AEW Officially Announces Main Event at Fyter Fest 2020|date=24 May 2020 |url=https://www.cbr.com/aew-announces-jon-moxley-vs-brian-cage-fyter-fest/|publisher=CBR.com}}
The 2021 event was announced to also be held as a two-part special of Dynamite. With AEW's return to live touring during the pandemic, the two nights took place in two different Texas markets as the second event of AEW's "Welcome Back" tour. The first night was held on July 14, 2021, at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park in Cedar Park, Texas (Austin market) with the second night airing on July 21, 2021, from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas (Dallas–Fort Worth market).{{cite web |last1=Nason |first1=Josh |title=AEW ANNOUNCES DATES FOR FYTER FEST, FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN, ROAD RAGER |url=https://www.f4wonline.com/aew-news/aew-announces-dates-fyter-fest-fight-fallen-road-rager-343871 |website=Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online |access-date=June 13, 2021 |date=June 11, 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Casey |first1=Connor |title=AEW Announces Welcome Back Tour for AEW Dynamite's July Episodes |url=https://comicbook.com/wwe/news/aew-welcome-back-tour-aew-dynamite-july-fyter-fest-fight-for-the-fallen-road-rager/ |website=ComicBook |access-date=July 9, 2021 |date=June 11, 2021}}
The 2022 event was expanded to be held as a four-part television special, encompassing the two-week broadcasts of Dynamite and Friday Night Rampage—AEW's secondary television program that began airing in August 2021. The July 13 episode of Dynamite was notable for a match between Jake Hager of the Jericho Appreciation Society and Claudio Castagnoli of the Blackpool Combat Club; both men previously wrestled for WWE as Jack Swagger and Cesaro, respectively, as a tag team named The Real Americans.{{cite web | url=https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2022/07/triple-threat-tag-team-title-match-more-set-aew-dynamite/ | title=Triple Threat Tag Team Title Match, Claudio Castagnoli, & More Set for 7/13 AEW Dynamite }}
On August 11, 2023, AEW president Tony Khan announced that the fifth Fyter Fest would be held during the go-home week for that year's All In, moving the event to August.{{cite web|url=https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/tony-khan-announces-aew-fyter-fest-2023-aew-all-out-go-home-week|title=Tony Khan Announces AEW Fyter Fest 2023 For AEW All In Go-Home Week|date=August 11, 2023|last=Tessier|first=Colin|work=Fightful|access-date=August 11, 2023}} The 2023 event was reduced to a three-part event and encompassed the August 23 episode of Dynamite, the August 25 episode of Rampage, and the August 26 episode of Collision, the latter a third program that launched in June and airs on Saturdays.{{cite web|url=https://www.pwmania.com/aew-dynamite-fyter-fest-updated-lineup-for-next-wednesday|title=AEW Dynamite: Fyter Fest Updated Lineup For Next Wednesday|date=August 18, 2023|last=Boone|first=Matt|work=PWMania|access-date=August 19, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/eight-man-tag-team-match-announced-for-next-weeks-aew-collision-fyter-fest|title=All star eight-man tag match advertised for AEW Collision Fyter Fest|date=August 19, 2023|last=Rose|first=Bryan|work=Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online|access-date=August 20, 2023}}{{cite web|last=Murphy|first=Don|title=AEW Rampage results (8/25): Murphy's review of Hikaru Shida and Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm and Saraya, Orange Cassidy vs. Aaron Solo for the AEW International Title|url=https://prowrestling.net/site/2023/08/25/aew-rampage-results-8-25-murphys-review-of-hikaru-shida-and-britt-baker-vs-toni-storm-and-saraya-orange-cassidy-vs-aaron-solo-for-the-aew-international-title/|date=August 25, 2023|work=Pro Wrestling Dot Net|access-date=August 25, 2023}}
An event was not held in 2024, which also saw the cancellation of Rampage at the end of that year, but during the April 5, 2025, episode of Collision, it was announced that Fyter Fest would return on June 4, 2025, emanating from the Mission Ballroom in Denver, Colorado. The sixth Fyter Fest was scheduled to air live as a four-hour marathon of back-to-back special episodes of Dynamite and Collision, both simulcast on TBS and Max, with Collision preempted from its usual Saturday night timeslot and channel to accommodate for TNT's coverage of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.{{Cite web |date=April 6, 2025 |title=AEW Fyter Fest Announced For June 4 |url=https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/aew-fyter-fest-announced-june-4 |access-date=April 6, 2025 |website=Fightful |language=en}}
Events
See also
Notes
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References
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External links
- [http://www.allelitewrestling.com/ All Elite Wrestling Official website]
{{All Elite Wrestling events|Fyter Fest}}