AEW Dynamite: 3 Reasons for Jungle Boy winning the TNT Championship
Cody to the dark side
Off the cuff, there’s been stirs among fans that emanated from Cody’s historical responses when questions of revolving around the introduction of a secondary title were directed towards him. He publicly answered by commenting that such an idea wouldn’t be a benefit. The fans persisted and eventually, an announcement was made that a new championship would land on AEW.
Shortly after this announcement, we see Cody ascend through the tournament and become the inaugural champion. He wants to be a fighting champion, just like his legendary father, the great Dusty Rhodes. Straight out of the gate, the TNT championship already feels credible, with a great talent holding it. It’s clear that he’s literally living his own dream.
On the other hand, dreams don’t last forever. In fact, reality can throw plenty of curve-balls along the way that can even change a person. Beneath the finely dressed, well-spoken, and modest demeanor, lies an obnoxious heel waiting for a triggering point. And a damn good heel at that.
Upon capturing the gold, Cody is making bold statements, he’s relishing in his own greatness. If you alter your perspective, those are hellish tendencies buried beneath it all. That’s not even counting his debatably hypocritical stance on bringing the belt into the promotion either.
This man has been starved of championship glory, after permanently taking himself out of the world title picture. The TNT champions confidence level is at an all-new high, he’s relishing this attention. Who’s to say that won’t be a disadvantage? What happens if he’s bested by a younger athlete, who’ll compromise his vision for the belt that ‘he’ wants to build a legacy with?
Well, Cody could become desperate to reclaim that opportunity, perhaps to a fault. By failing to win back the championship, his role of being executive vice president may force Jungle Boy into a fair few sticky situations. This can spell a classic abuse of authority angle, that surrounds the unjust punishment of perhaps the most sympathetic baby-face in the whole promotion, Jungle Boy.
That being said, there’s an ugly side to Cody, one we’re itching to see brought out to the surface. His promo work cuts straight to the bone, he’s passionate and when these traits are used for evil, it works wonders for creating a compelling story.
A hint of a turn showing jealous or resentful attitude against Jungle Boy would go a long way with future booking ideas, as well as develop Cody’s character with an air of caution that will keep the fans guessing when or how it will escalate.