8 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Oct 7)

2. Another Dubious Title Shot

Cody cut a phenomenal promo after besting Brodie Lee, pouring out his heart as he said every second from when he was 15 years old right up to the present moment was spent vying to feel the audience's love, vowing to stand with them until the very end. This led to him promising to defend the TNT Championship next week - and out came Orange Cassidy as his opponent.

This is a fun pairing and they'll likely have a good match together. Regardless, it makes little sense, as Cassidy is fresh off losing a TNT Title match with Brodie Lee just two weeks ago.

Not every title fight needs to be engineered, precisely, through wins and loses, and the rankings system needs to be fluid enough for contenders to emerge via other means, though this latest questionable title shot comes at a time when this is almost becoming the norm for AEW. TH2 had a Tag Team Title shot out of nowhere last night. The Butcher, of all people, wrestled for the World Championship last week (no shade on Andy Williams, who rules, but the booking doesn't fit).

Making title shots feel earned has been one of AEW's great successes since launching. Straying too far down this path will undermine that, so here's hoping they right their course.