10 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Nov 4)

9. Cody Spits Fire

Cody Rhodes
AEW

A supplemental Down for the card order here, as Cody and Gunn Club vs. The Dark Order felt misplaced in the main event slot. The match was short in runtime and light in tone, particularly compared to some of the night's other bouts, and Cody's promo on Darby Allin lacked the bombs dropped when Eddie Kingston, Jon Moxley, and Team Taz were on the microphone.

Still, the match was solid enough and a valuable showcase for Austin Gunn, who pinned 10 following his Quickdraw finisher. Cody's promo was fire, too. This was fired up, company ace Cody in peak form, taking credit for Darby Allin getting signed by AEW in the first place, telling his Full Gear opponent that he can't take the ace belt because he isn't ace material.

Talking down to Allin established Cody as the guy to root against going into the pay-per-view. This dynamic existed before, but it wasn't as pronounced, making this a worthwhile, entertaining exercise. Who would root against the challenger after Cody spent two minutes talking down to him, knowing he couldn't answer?

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.