AEW Fyter Fest 2020: Staff Predictions Roundtable Discussion

Cody (c) vs. Jake Hager, AEW TNT Championship

Bryan Heaton: The TNT Championship is only a month or so into existence, so it’s still in the process of being defined as a prestigious title. Cody has declared his intent to be a fighting champion and defend it regularly, but is that how the title will always be used? Or is that just Cody’s way of doing business?

If it’s the latter, AEW can really do whatever it wants here. However, I suspect that the TNT Championship is unofficially a “television title” and will be defended often. I don’t see Jake Hager as the guy to carry that responsibility, so look for Cody to retain and continue offering opportunities to to any wrestler on the planet.

Chris Jeter: I hope that AEW isn’t dumb enough to even consider putting the title on Hager, but they were shortsighted enough to sign him in the first place, so who knows? Still, it’s too early to move the title off of Cody, so I’ll pick him to win here.

Jesse Velasquez: Ever since Cody won the inaugural TNT championship at Double Or Nothing, he has defended his title with reckless abandon. Rhodes has turned back challenges from Jungle Boy, Marq Quen and newly signed Ricky Starks. Now he has a defense at Fyter Fest against the muscle behind The Inner Circle.

Outside of the occasional attack from behind and a match here and there, Hager hasn’t been thrown in the spotlight. He does have a AEW championship match on his resume but he is usually seen as the bodyguard for Chris Jericho. I can’t see Cody losing this match but the story here could be that he may become weary after defending his title week after week. Rhodes will retain.

Samantha Schipman: I like that Cody is a fighting champion and want WARHORSE vs. Cody to happen. As much as I enjoy Cody, I have zero interest in Jake Hager. I do hope Brandi gets a bit of revenge on Hager’s wife (especially since she didn’t get any on Jake Roberts at DoN). I’ve got the champ here.