AEW Booms/Duds: Britt Baker doesn’t give a you know what
Boom: a good match to open the tourney
The Cody-Spears opening match of the TNT Championship Tournament main evented the show last night, and it was a solid match.
AEW hit a proverbial homerun with the two video packages hyping this match during the show. Particularly with the second one, it reminded us of two important developments and one important statement.
First, Spears enlisted the services of Tully Blanchard and became “The Chairman” only after he struck Cody in the head with a chair at Fyter Fest.
Second, they’ve had a match in AEW before, which Cody won. Last night’s match wasn’t just a rematch, but also a rematch of the two best entrance themes in AEW (shoutout Josiah Williams).
Third, they both reiterated how much it would mean to them to be the inaugural TNT Champion. Spears said there aren’t many firsts in professional wrestling anymore, but this is his chance at being a first. Cody basically said since he can’t compete for the World Championship, being ranked so high and becoming the TNT Champion would be just as special.
Cody has always been a great technician and workhorse, and he has been able to highlight those skills in his high-profile matches in AEW. Cody understands character and ring psychology to a higher degree than most, and this was evident in the finish.
He hit Spears with consecutive Cross Rhodes (seamlessly chaining them together) only for Spears to kick out at 2 and 7/8. Visibly frustrated, Rhodes dragged the listless body of Spears to the center of the ring and applied the Figure-Four. Spears, still suffering the effects of two Cross Rhodes (an X-Rhodes?), was also in so much pain from the submission he was actually pinned while locked into the Figure-Four.
That was an ending common from before I was even born in 1988; it is very novel in modern times. It made me appreciate the match and rivalry even more. It also left me wondering what other creative but historical match finishes we may see in the future.
This also sets up an intriguing semi-final match for Cody regardless of his opponent being Sammy Guevara or Darby Allin (I chose Allin to win the Tournament). Cody has history with both, and the athleticism that both his potential opponents bring always makes for a great match with Cody.
Side note: maybe Spears lost because he split his focus in continuing his search for a tag partner by scouting Nakazawa during his tag match with Omega against Best Friends in the battle for the right to be called “Best Friends.”