AEW Mid-Year Awards: Jon Moxley, Orange Cassidy battle for MVP

Favorite Angle

Chris –  MJF whips Cody 10 times (Dynamite 2/6/20). In order to receive a one-on-one match against the man who betrayed him at Full Gear, MJF, one of the things Cody had to do was take ten lashes from his former friend. This resembled an angle Ring of Honor ran a couple of years prior with Bully Ray and Flip Gordon (which also featured Cody, so the idea either came from that or the Sandman/Tommy Dreamer caning from ECW back in the day) and much like that segment, this succeeded in positioning Cody as sympathetic — all the babyfaces came down to cheer him on — and making the fans want to see him tear MJF apart.

Jesse – Kenny Omega and Hangman Page teasing a breakup. Apologies to Britt Baker in advance as her character work has been spectacular. Brodie Lee and Matt Hardy debuting also deserve honorable mention. For me, Page and Omega winning the tag team championship in spite of Page starting to feel astray from The Elite has been compelling. Following their victory at Revolution, Page teased turning on Omega with a Buckshot Lariat, only to open the ropes for Kenny Omega.

Now they are winning matches as a cohesive unit after Page’s return before Double Or Nothing. It’s going to make their inevitable split very intriguing and very somber when it happens. The question now is, who breaks away from whom? Omega has been teasing a return as “The Cleaner” for almost a year now. Will he turn on Hangman first? Or will Page follow through and break off on his own to pursue a burgeoning singles run?

Erik – I gotta go with anything involving “Hangman” Adam Page. Until very recently, AEW creative was very heavy on Hangman’s drinking and him pulling away from The Elite at every turn he could. They haven’t necessarily stated that he has stopped the binge drinking and selfish behavior, but it has not been a highlight like it was for the first quarter of 2020. I think there has gotta be some kind of blowoff relative to Hangman and The Elite, with Kenny stuck in the middle – and it feels like every week COULD be that week, but so far, hasn’t.

I look forward TO that big blowoff and I hope AEW Creative delivers again, as they have done with so many other huge angles – Archer/Cody, Brodie Lee/Exalted One, Bucks vs. Omega/Page, Orange Cassidy’s comeuppance as a legitimate threat. All Elite Wrestling is the best wrestling show on American television week in and week out and I hope that they continue to be able to say that as we move into Act II of AEW: 2020.

Kevin – My favorite angle is absolutely Orange Cassidy not trying and then pushing Chris Jericho to his limit. I can’t get enough about everything Orange Cassidy, and he’s really becoming a star and one of the most memorable characters on AEW. This promotion does creative angles better than anyone else in 2020, but Cassidy’s recent story is the best of them.

Samantha – Jericho vs. Pineapple Pete. I love how organically this storyline came about. Jericho did an incredible job putting Pineapple Pete over on commentary & in the ring. He made people care about Pineapple Pete & root for him. I am still extremely disappointed that Pineapple Pete lost.

Sam – My favorite angle of the year has been just the slow build of Orange Cassidy to be a main event player. While his build started in 2019 I think it is impossible to argue that it has not gone into overdrive this year. I mean he beat someone in 13 seconds on Dark not too long ago.