8 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Sep 23)

by Andy H Murray

1. Cody's Back

Cody 5
AEW

The 2020 MVP of television wrestling is back in a big way.

Clad all in black, including his newly-dyed hair, Cody hit the ring for the first time in over a month following Brodie Lee's win over Orange Cassidy. His anger was taken out on John Silver and Alan '5' Angels, who took the brunt of his beating while Lee and co. retreated to the back, leaving his grunts to die. This was an earned mauling. Lee and his Order put Cody on the shelf, beat up his brother and QT Marshall, and had Anna Jay choke his wife out. Angels' beatdown was punishment due.

Lee cut a furious, spitting promo soon after, roaring at Cody for taking time off while his wife "posts thirst traps on Instagram." He asked "what kind of a man sends another to do his work?" seconds after bailing on Angels and Silver, which is gloriously heelish, and threw down the gauntlet for a dog collar match, giving 'The American Nightmare' one week to respond.

Cody routinely smashes these old-school stipulations out of the park and Lee is in the form of his life, so there's no reason to believe this won't rule. The return was well-played, Lee's promo was tremendous, and Cody looked fired up, making this the night's biggest triumph.

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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.