7 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite: St. Patrick's Day Slam (Mar 17)
5. Penta Doesn't Send Cody To Paternity Leave
Penta El Zero M vs. Cody Rhodes didn't hit its ceiling, but still finished as a good, solid television match between two wrestlers who likely have more left in the tank.
Last week saw Penta promise to injure Rhodes' arm to the point that he wouldn't be able to pick up his newborn. Last night, he was going to send him to an early paternity leave after breaking the arm. It didn't come to that. The Lucha Brother went after it constantly, causing Cody and his injured shoulder considerable difficulty with stiff strikes and targeted moves, but The Prince of Pro Wrestling took the win after surviving the arm-snapper honed in Lucha Underground. A roll-up sealed the deal.
A somewhat deflating finish, particularly as the once-killer arm pull feels like it has been diminished to a transitional move. Still, the bout offered enough satisfying back-and-forth action to finish on the positive side of the ledger, with Rhodes targeting the knee as payback for his hurt arm.
The Nightmare Family (including a late QT Marshall) running Penta away from a post-match beatdown suggests there's more to come from this feud. Stay tuned.