Opening Bell: Barbed wire, shark cage on Dynamite, Belair-Carmella II on Raw

Get set for the week in WWE and AEW with Opening Bell: quick previews of Raw, SmackDown, Dynamite and Rampage for the week of July 18.

Welcome to the Opening Bell, where we round up what’s been announced for WWE (Raw and SmackDown) and AEW (Dynamite and Rampage) programming for the week we’ve just begun.

WWE Raw preview – Monday, July 18, Amalie Arena, Tampa

Are you ready for Logan Paul, sympathetic babyface?

That appears to be where we’re headed for SummerSlam, beginning with his appearance this week on Raw. He’s looking for some payback on The Miz for his betrayal at WrestleMania, and all indications are that he’ll get his chance for exactly that.

As far as in-ring action goes, Raw has a Raw Women’s Championship rematch on tap between Bianca Belair and Carmella. Because of her inability to focus on the task at hand, Bianca actually lost to ‘Mella the first time, but because it was by countout, she retained her title. She’ll try to win this second go-round and move on to what awaits in Nashville.

AEW Dynamite preview – Fyter Fest Week 2 – Wednesday, July 20, Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia

AEW remains in the Peach State for the second week of Fyter Fest, and it’s got an explosive bout as the headliner for Dynamite. Eddie Kingston will get his wish for “barbed wire everywhere” to make Chris Jericho bleed, but The Wizard has promised it’ll be his Painmaker persona who shows up for the Barbed Wire Death Match. Also, Jericho Appreciation Society will be suspended above the ring in a shark cage for reasons.

Also on tap for this week’s Dynamite:

WWE SmackDown preview – Friday, July 22, TD Garden, Boston

Hey, this is a big city and deserves a big SmackDown, right? WWE has obliged by promising an appearance by Brock Lesnar ahead of his Last Man Standing Match with Roman Reigns at SummerSlam. It’s been strange to have the build done without the two combatants in the same place at the same time, but it’s possible for two big attractions like these, and because Paul Heyman continues to keep the story moving along.

In contrast, Liv Morgan will come face to face with her SummerSlam challenger this week … but may wish she didn’t, as the challenger in question is Ronda Rousey. Will WWE do what it should probably have done a while back and just let Rowdy be a heel?

[lawrence-related id=5376]

Also advertised for SmackDown:

  • Shinsuke Nakamura has a second match against Ludwig Kaiser
  • The only thing that really matters: The Maximum Male Models show off their 2022 Beachwear Collection, and introduce the world to Max Dupri‘s sister, Maxxine Dupri

AEW Rampage preview – Fyter Fest Week 2 – Friday, July 22, Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia (taped on July 20)

Fyter Fest will look to close out with a bang, not a whimper, and should get a boost from Dante Martin vs. Lee Moriarity as Martin has already promised it will be a “Guaranteed Banger.”

We should learn more about the rest of the card on this week’s Dynamite, so stay tuned for what should be a good way to close out the week in Big 2 televised wrestling.

AEW Dynamite Fyter Fest Week 1 live results: Loaded card in Georgia

Check out AEW Dynamite Fyter Fest Week 1 results from the show in Savannah, Georgia.

Sometimes we gently tease AEW about its themed episodes of Dynamite or the naming of one in particular, Fyter Fest. But gentle reader, this is not one of those times, because the card for Week 1 of this annual event looks pretty darn good to us.

For starters, there’s a three-way tag team title match between reigning champs the Young Bucks and two challenging duos: Swerve in Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland), and Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks. Not only can all of these gentlemen absolutely go between the ropes, but there’s some additional drama between the challengers that’s been building for some time.

Another title match has raised some eyebrows since it’s between two fan favorites. Wardlow made good on his vow to capture the TNT Championship, but he now has to defend it right away against the always over Orange Cassidy. If there were going to be hijinks on this week’s show, this figures to be the match where they’ll go down.

Prefer just to see two really tough guys go toe to toe? Fyter Fest has you covered there as well, as Claudio Castagnoli gets another stiff early test in his AEW tenure from Jake Hager. And speaking of toughness, Serena Deeb has that in spades, as Anna Jay may find out to her detriment.

Anyway, there’s plenty of fyting in store tonight, and … sorry, now AEW has us doing it even though that’s totally not even a real word. If for some reason you are unavailable to watch the Fyter Fest Week 1 episode of AEW Dynamite live on TBS, please bookmark this page and check back for the latest live results as they happen from Savannah.