10 Times AEW Put Amazing Details Into Storylines
8. MJF Vs. Cody
To underscore the depths to which AEW's booking operates, the core of the MJF Vs. Cody dynamic - beyond the intricate and hilarious Being The Elite world-building - was quietly but firmly established before Cody was even done with Chris Jericho, a development MJF of course cruelly accelerated.
On the October 23 Dynamite, Jericho antagonised Cody and the Nightmare Family into a wild concession stand brawl. Cody finally got his hands on Jericho - and this is crucial - by wrapping MJF's scarf around his fist and punching through the glass door of his VIP lounge.
This subtly put Cody over as a more self-effacing modern babyface - he didn't just smash through it on the strength of his machismo - but it also put over visually the idea that he was using MJF, which his nemesis used as fuel for the turn at Full Gear.
When the feud ignited, AEW made sure to build anticipation for that first physical interaction by stipulating that the match would not happen, were Cody to lash out. The space between the turn and the match was occupied by the full breadth of Cody's extended professional family (DDP, QT Marshall, Dustin Rhodes), MJF's hired goons (Wardlow, the Butcher and the Blade), and the triumph of withstanding the worst humiliation.
With such attention to detail to the moving parts at their disposal, AEW preserved the appeal of a huge PPV calibre match across months.