10 Best Moments In AEW History
2. The Brotherhood Explodes, Reunite
AEW was the biggest swing in pro wrestling.
The promotion situated itself as an arena-sized concern immediately, and, in part, drew people to that arena, the MGM Grand, by promising that it would be everything you were missing from WWE. It was going to be alright. AEW was bringing pro wrestling back.
At AEW’s very first show, Double Or Nothing, Cody and Dustin Rhodes brought pro wrestling back. It was the match that needed to happen. AEWs rhetoric and bluster was so loud - but it was earned, because the noise in the arena was equally as deafening.
Their emotionally super-charged bloodbath was incredible in and of itself, but it almost certainly benefited from the fact that the red stuff had not been shed in an arena that size in the States in years and years. It was shocking, revolting, unsettling - exactly how the crimson mask should be worn.
Both brothers, though, knew precisely how to sell it. A jelly-legged Dustin looked like he was in real, deep trouble, so much so that, when he lifted his arm to escape a pinfall, it was a relief that he hadn’t passed out. Cody - proving that his old “heels and babyfaces don’t exist” mantra had something to it - was a smug, mercilessly ambitious prick throughout.
And yet, he was received as a hero before and after the bell. He had, in fact, helped save the form.