8 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Oct 7)
1. Cody Reconquers The Throne
"Burial" is the most overused word in professional wrestling today, and one that has already been attached, needlessly, to Cody's TNT Title victory over Mr. Brodie Lee. Such complaints should be discarded. It should be abundantly clear to anyone paying attention that this was no burial. Question whether or not it was the right booking decision, absolutely, but let's stop throwing the B-word around with such disregard.
The dog collar match was fantastic. Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine was watching on from the stands as Cody and Brodie produced a match in keeping with the stipulation's most famous outing: Valentine vs. 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper at Starrcade '83. It was classic Cody in a lot of ways, as 'The American Nightmare' took a classic format's most timeless elements and updated them for modern palates, and that he literally had to wrap a chain around Brodie's big, thick skull and squeeze the life out of him to score the win preserves Lee's aura. Cody had to come close to killing him for the TNT Championship.
From the blood running down the faces of Cody, Lee, and John Silver to the various choking spots and the package piledriver through a ringside table, the match brought a level of brutality appropriate for the feud. Moreover, the stipulation was used extremely well. It's easy for such bouts to become stodgy, broken messes, but Lee and Cody incorporated the collars and chain into almost everything they did. Forced to adapt their offensive styles to suit their tethers, they took cues from the likes of Valentine vs. Piper and made it their own, as 'The Hammer' nodded on with approval.
One senses that this feud is far from over, too. Trust the process, even if you didn't like the outcome.