8 AEW Double Or Nothing Impulse Reactions
4. Cody Vs. Dustin Rhodes
Cody's symbolic smashing of a throne decked in Triple H iconography was f*cking pathetic.
Needlessly triggered by 'The Game' himself being needlessly triggered at the Hall Of Fame earlier this year, the 'Grandson Of A Plumber' threw a -sigh - prop sledgehammer in to the prop chair to - hard sigh - bury the opposition on this, the biggest night of his new career.
He'd lost his first battle against WWE in the introductions. Justin Roberts was forced to announce him as "Cody with Brandi Rhodes" because those in Connecticut still have hold of his last name. He lost his second by lowering himself to this - the pettiest of unsubtle potshots. He lost his third because he insisted on flexing so far beyond his bloody brother before the bell rang that fans could be left under no illusion who the real rival was on this evening.
And more's the pity. A lot's already been written about the claret-soaked sibling war, but it'll be interesting in the aftermath to see how the use of blood gets analysed. It didn't just help the match - it was the match, but was an entire audience really asking for its return on such a grisly scale?