10 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Fyter Fest (Jul 1)

7. Cody & Hager Keep It Simple

This could have stunk. Jake Hager has disappointed in both of his major AEW singles outings thus far, laying eggs against two multi-talented opponents in Jon Moxley and Dustin Rhodes, and Cody, as masterful as his melodrama can be, sometimes peppers his bouts with two or three tropes too many. Combine these factors and you have a low, low floor indeed.

It came as a great relief, then, to watch this simple, effective, and good traditional wrestling match play out.

Last night was comfortably the best one-on-one of Hager's AEW career to date. That's admittedly a low bar, but he and Cody succeeded by keeping it as simple as possible. They weren't overambitious with rampant overbooking and a wacky layout and instead told the smart, straightforward story of Jake using his power, size, and MMA experience to stifling Cody's more traditional pro-wrestling style. 'The Big Hurt' looked dangerous throughout and Cody was forced to work harder and smarter, playing his role excellently.

The one heavily-booked spot came at the finish, when Catalina Hager slapped Cody, drawing Arn Anderson onto the apron, which allowed Dustin to dash out and sock Jake. This didn't stop the Bellator heavyweight from locking Cody in an arm triangle, though 'The American Nightmare' was able to roll into a cover with the hold still applied.