10 Wrestling Matches That Buried Top Stars ON PURPOSE

9. Brodie Lee Vs. Cody - AEW Dynamite, August 13, 2020

Bray Wyatt John Cena
AEW

Intended as an homage to Vader Vs. Inoki - or less of an homage, and more a recognition of how effective the match structure was in getting Big Van over as a monster - Cody used its inspiration to elevate Brodie Lee as the legit champion-calibre wrestler he always was.

This was awesome. The remaining TV time asked a question of the audience. This wasn't going long. Was Cody going to live down to the bizarre rep he has for putting himself over, and fell the giant in eight minutes?

No.

People, an extravagant pyro display and a bit of juice doesn't mean he's Triple H. He has put the AEW World Title, Chris Jericho, and MJF all the way over in victory and Eddie Kingston and Ricky Starks over in defeat.

And in an even shorter timeframe than expected, in a genius twist, he handed Brodie Lee the ball. Lee smashed him to bits in four minutes in an awesome Holy Sh*t moment informed by AEW's usual competitive framework. The post-match angle was sensational, too. Brodie cracked what remained of Cody's tinpot TNT Title over his head because he didn't care what it symbolised. He wanted it when it looked prestigious because his deliciously evil character embodied awful values.

Brodie took that ball and went on an awesome run. As funny as he was terrifying, he f*cking nailed the Mr. McMahon bit in the end.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!