AEW Booms and Duds: The Elite reunite!

Boom: voices that command your attention

I think it’s pretty safe to say this segment didn’t disappoint.

Yes, while there were some moments that seemed clunky (mostly when looking for their spots to interject) and they’re not as sharp as they were over 30 years ago (understandable), both legends added gravitas to the match between Cody and Archer with their snipes at each other, explaining why their respective wrestler needed to win the TNT Championship, and why the newly-christened championship means so much (beyond Mike Tyson presenting it to the winner).

I loved the historical context that started the segment: Roberts and Anderson reminiscing about their years in the business overlapping with each other, but never intersecting. “A dream match” is what Anderson would describe as the potential match people clamored for in the 80s.

After a couple weeks of me criticizing Roberts for basically filming a softcore porn with his snake on top of Brandi Rhodes and his incel-like comments last week, Roberts was much better last night at toeing the line between outright misogyny and bigotry with classic heel storytelling.

“I wouldn’t mind bumping into her again” is much more benign than straddling an unconscious Rhodes while holding the snake like a phallus.

Roberts also described Archer as “a mean son of a bitch that’s going to tear [Cody’s] heart out.” He said people have dreams and nightmares which usually aren’t real, but Archer is real. Just those two lines alone from someone as legendary and credible as Roberts really conveys to the audience (if his matches already haven’t) that Archer is a serious threat to anyone.

“The Enforcer” didn’t fall prey to “The Snake’s” traps and mind games, though. While he did say he could feel “the evil permeating across this table” from Roberts, he also called himself a “vicious prick” who wasn’t scared of Roberts or Archer. He punctuated the segment by telling Roberts he hopes he’s limber from doing DDP Yoga because he’s going to spinebuster Roberts through a table and “shove your ass where the sun don’t shine.”

Anderson discussed just how much Cody needs to be the first TNT Champion. Pro wrestling is Cody, and he was a catalyst that “turned the wrestling world upside down in just a year.” What does Cody have to show for all of that after these last 15 months or so? Absolutely nothing.

He lost to Chris Jericho and cannot challenge for the AEW World Championship, a self-imposed stipulation. He lost to MJF after the latter turned on him (partly causing the aforementioned self-imposed stipulation). Cool, he beat Wardlow in a great steel cage match, but he still has no championship or ring (like MJF) to display.

Unfortunately for Cody, I think Archer wins the TNT Championship on Saturday night. Does this signal a turn to an edgy, aggressive, physical heel Cody who somehow usurps the clause and challenges for the AEW World Championship? If he doesn’t turn, does a face Cody look to dethrone Archer or go on a journey of self-discovery that may entail being written off television for a bit?