AEW Booms and Duds: Are Butcher and Blade a worthy threat for FTR?

Boom: a solid match and continued growth from Jungle Boy

Dud: the contender process for the TNT Championship

This was your standard Cody match: probably three to five minutes too long, a huge spot, hope spots for his opponent, Cody bleeding, and Cody winning with the Cross Rhodes.

(Depending on if you think Cody is booked above his abilities, this version of his championship might tickle your fancy.)

It wasn’t really Cody that drew my attention in this match, for better or for worse. Even Arn Anderson was more interesting to me with his play sheet that had “JUNGLE BOY” written on it so you just knew they had a plan tailor-made for this opponent.

Jungle Boy was who kept my attention. He came out looking both confident (sending Jurassic Express to the back) and nervous; it was his first championship match in AEW after all. Much like a different match last night, Jungle Boy used his advantages in speed and athleticism to befuddle Cody for a bit.

Yes, Cody won by countering Jungle Boy into the Cross Rhodes (a pretty fluid sequence), but coupled with his match against MJF at Double or Nothing (also a loss), AEW has given a pretty good blueprint on how to elevate young, emerging talent even through losses. It’s much like Jungle Boy lasting 10 minutes for a draw with then-AEW World Champion Chris Jericho.

Jungle Boy continues to improve with each match. Him vs. MJF was my favorite actual wrestling match on the pay-per-view, and last night’s match showed his performance at Double or Nothing wasn’t a fluke, but the beginning of what will hopefully be a long pattern.

Speaking of MJF, I love how they’ve continued this feud between the two with the battle royal last week and their spat during the match last night. MJF was upset that Jungle Boy received any championship shot before he did, and from MJF’s perspective, he has a point.

Again, MJF did defeat Jungle Boy in singles competition. MJF has also been ranked #1 for several weeks, seemingly putting him in line for a World Championship or TNT Championship match. He’s had both opportunities snatched from him by other wrestlers winning gimmick matches.

He wasn’t in the Casino Ladder Match that Cage won, but why wasn’t the wrestler ranked #1 already in line for the next shot? Why did he have to be in the battle royal ranked #1 when he should have just been granted the first match against Cody for the TNT Championship?

This should lead to another match between Jungle Boy and MJF, but what happens first: the rematch or a championship match for MJF?

That brings me to the “dud” of the weekly TNT Championship matches: how are Cody’s opponents determined? Shortly before the match, AEW informed us Marq Quen faces Cody for the title next week, but how and why was he chosen?

(I’m shocked a wrestler of color is receiving a TNT Championship match so quickly. Then again, I quipped this might be where AEW slots men’s wrestlers of color for a while and justify it by saying they’re receiving championship matches even if they’re not World Championship matches as promised.)

There just doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason, any process in determining Cody’s next challenger. I wrote in this space last week on how I would have liked to see title defenses every other week with a contender’s match between each defense. That way, there would at least be some coherence and story reason for any given wrestler receiving a TNT Championship match.

It’s early, true, but these are little things that tend to irk fans when they watch WWE programming. I guess, at the very least, the next title match didn’t go to the person who confronted Cody and demanded a match as it so often happens in WWE (like Seth Rollins losing at WrestleMania only to be the first person to challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship).

Even just taking a look at the rankings, one would think it should be MJF next with World Champion Moxley locked into a match with Cage. #2 Lance Archer just lost to Cody, so he probably needs a win or two before another shot at the TNT Championship. #3 Brodie Lee is in the same boat as Archer after losing to Moxley.

#4 Omega is Tag Team Champion with Page, but I also questioned in my predictions for Fyter Fest how Omega’s singles record may affect their partnership. #5 Darby Allin has his eyes focused on Taz and Cage, and also needs to pick up a victory or two.

Looking at Quen, he hasn’t had a singles match in AEW. While Private Party is ranked #3 in the tag division, I’m still trying to figure out what Quen did to warrant a shot at a singles championship besides not being involved in a distinct feud.

Maybe his new association with Matt Hardy as the “Hardy Party” led to some backstage workings to give Quen his match. Questionable booking aside, I’ve thought Quen has more potential than his partner in Isiah Cassidy, so I’m excited to see how he fares in not only his first singles match on Dynamite, but a high-profile championship match to boot.

Hopefully, AEW provides some sort of justification or path that determines who Cody faces every week rather than just throwing a wrestler out there. Yes, I might be nitpicking here, but it’s something to note; why have the rankings if they don’t actually determine title challengers?