Brian Cage will challenge Jon Moxley for the AEW Championship at Fyter Fest (w/McMahon’s Analysis)

Tony Khan announced after Double or Nothing on Saturday night that Brian Cage, who won the Casino Ladder Match at the pay-per-view, will challenge Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at Fyter Fest, and more details on that show will come this Wednesday on Dynamite.

“This week on Dynamite, you’ll get all the details on Fyter Fest,” Khan said. “Mox will defend against Cage at Fyter Fest and he won the match, that was the surprise. But the winner of the Casino Ladder Match will get a title shot at Fyter Fest.”

Fyter Fest was a streamed event last year on B/R Live for free. Khan said that the plan was originally to hold this year’s show in London, but due to COVID-19 those plans are changing.

Cage made his debut in the Casino Ladder Match after spending the last several months recuperating from an injury. Cage had been with Impact Wrestling since 2018 but his contract expired in January. Tazz accompanied Cage to the ring. Khan also said on the post-media scrum that his plan from the beginning was to pair Cage and Tazz together.

During his run with Impact Wrestling, Cage was a Impact World Champion and an X-Division Champion. Cage has also wrestled for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, Lucha Underground and several top independent companies, including Pro Wrestling Guerilla.

McMahon’s Analysis: Cage is a huge signing for AEW and has the potential to be an AEW-branded star. That’s something we talked about a lot with TNA back in the day when they were the clear No. 2 to WWE. Cage has a wealth of experience, he has an exceptional look and he is an excellent athlete. In other words, he checks off all the boxes. And at the same time, he doesn’t have the “WWE stink” on him. He wasn’t jobbed out on RAW or SmackDown for the last several years. Aside from The Elite guys, Moxley and Jericho, I think Cage is AEW’s biggest signing to date because he has the potential to be a future AEW Champion and pillar for the company. Not many guys in the business have his combination of look and athleticism. Plus there are a ton of fresh matches for him to have in AEW. 

I wrote this in a takeaways column on Sunday night, but I think I’d have Cage win the title if I were booking the show. What cements his spot on the roster like winning the AEW World Title in his first singles match? Beating Jon Moxley, of all people. Then, if he’s booked as a heel, there’s a roster full of fresh babyface to chase him for the title. You could book Cage-Moxley II, Cage-Omega, Cage-Hangman, Cage-Jericho (regardless if it’s heel-heel), Cage-Hardy, Cage-Cody, Cage-Allin, Cage-Pentagon. There are endless possibilities for Cage, as a heel world champion. And, the lack of a crowd could actually help get Cage over as a heel. Otherwise, he’s such a different character that I think AEW would run the risk of him getting cheered. This way, without an audience still for the foreseeable future, it allows AEW to frame Cage the right way as a heel, if that’s the direction they’re taking.