Ranking Every MVP Of Every Major Wrestling Company
7. All Elite Wrestling: Cody
This is a far more pressing conundrum, for AEW, TNT rights fee aside, is still in its tentative infancy. But the promotion is also an outrageous success.
Who is deserving of the most credit?
Kenny Omega's legendary run as a New Japan Heavyweight opened a door more forbidden than that which separates AEW and NJPW: the gateway to a new trail not blocked off by WWE's monopoly. His new level of classic match galvanised fans, in deeply impressive number, into a world beyond. His match with Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 12 drove tens and thousands of NJPW World subscriptions in the west, and Jericho's excellent run as Le Champion has legitimised AEW Dynamite as a TV show that is here to stay. He is undefeated as a segment-by-segment ratings draw on Wednesday nights, and his wildly entertaining polymath work has lent it an absorbing episodic quality that accounts for its consistent viewership. The Young Bucks made real money, where they had absolutely no right to, and marketed this astutely to present themselves as big-time, revolutionary players.
Ultimately, Cody's audacious vision for All In incited all of this. His pitch was so inspiring to AEW's base, because challenging WWE seemed impossible, but in reality, he was intelligent enough to draw together the converging factors - a jaded fanbase, an alert TV industry, a new level of critical acclaim - to create a new alternative.
Beyond that, Cody is the company's most popular babyface and the best booker on its committee. His entertaining, dramatic and at times hilarious programme with Jericho peaked brilliantly, and his ongoing feud with MJF has created a shared universe beyond itself.
Between the agonising stakes of the Full Gear main, and that lashing stip, Cody just gets the essence of drama and how to arrive at its unpredictable crescendo.