10 Things That Will NEVER Happen In AEW
2. Escape The Cage Rules
We've seen just one Steel Cage match in AEW, and they got it right first time. There was no escaping the cage because the cage exists - or once existed - to contain the combatants. It's not a bridge. It's not a door. It's...a cage.
It acted as a test of Cody's mettle. To get his hands on his nemesis, he had to first beat a level boss. The ultimate babyface in the most stark and classical programme AEW has promoted thus far, can you imagine if he tried to run away? The rule in WWE automatically depicts its heroes as cowards, and the layout is equally useless in creating drama and heat. Climbing is almost the opposite of a gripping spectacle. Nobody ever bought a ticket to watch a hero slowly avoid harm's way. It's chicken-sh*t heel behaviour that WWE insisted upon to work around the lack of blood.
It was an odd solution, and it's even odder that it became the norm.
AEW restored the glory of the Steel Cage match on the February 19th Dynamite, on which Cody fought through the crimson mask to put the monster Wardlow away with a spectacular high spot. He extracted the one half-decent innovation and used it to complement a superb babyface performance.
Nobody is going to escape the cage in AEW. It is wrasslin' without the pejorative.