10 Random Acts Of Wrestling Violence You Totally Forgot About
2. The Chairman Of AEW
Credit should go to All Elite Wrestling for producing so many moments of worth and renown in their first year proper that one of their original heavy hitters has already been forgotten, but it shouldn't facilitate a free pass entirely. Not least considering the middling payoff match and subsequent character slump that didn't really warrant an otherwise-excellent build.
Cody and Darby Allin had just rattled off a 15 minute blinder at AEW Fyter Fest that had enhanced the star aura of the former by completely making the latter. This was honest pro wrestling magic in front of live and television crowds that already knew how the tricks were constructed...including gimmicked chair shots.
Shawn Spears - tacitly undermined by Cody as a "good hand" and "player coach" on Being The Elite - sent a message by wrapping the seat around his new boss' head in an unpleasant reminder of a spot that had since been outlawed by WWE thanks to such atrocities as the other similar ones in this list. It was at this stage in the planning that the spot should have been parked, not during the period where the chair was being pre-dented to minimise impact.
In some inadvertent foreshadowing, Cody's claret unexpectedly appeared in the aftermath after the apparently-worked weapon spot didn't go to plan. It led a half-a*sed Vince McMahon to refer to them as a "Blood & Guts" promotion and give them a name for their own spin on WarGames, but the theoretically rich footage hasn't really been monetised by relentless replays since.