4 Ups & 6 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Jan 20)

2. A Step Too Far

Cody Rhodes
AEW

Speaking of wonky finishes, the first went down as Cody Rhodes wrestled Peter Avalon. 'Pretty Peter' was trapped in a Figure Four when 'The Prince of Pro Wrestling' threatened to slap him in the face, prompting Avalon to cower and immediately tap out, fearful of Cody spoiling his good looks. A silly idea more suited to Dark in the first place, but that the cameras barely caught Avalon tapping out made it worse, as the announcers scrambled to explain what had actually went down.

There were problems before that. Jade Cargill's theme hit a few seconds too late following Cody's early-match Cross Rhodes, leaving him pacing around as if he was waiting for the interruption. Avalon then entered a heat segment stretching through the picture-in-picture break. Rather than elevating Avalon and making him look closer to Rhodes' level, this felt like a step too far in Cody's star-making project.

Nobody helped elevate more wrestlers than Rhodes in 2020, regardless of promotion, but it didn't work here.

Advertisement
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.