It was finally time for AEW Dynamite to air one of MJF’s stipulations to allow Cody to face him at AEW Revolution, Cody would have to endure ten lashes with a belt on live TV. Could Cody’s body take the punishment necessary?
Jon Moxley vs Ortiz
Ortiz was set to face Moxley here which was apparently his first singles match in about 4 years but he did have his partner Santana by his side and the backing of the rest of the Inner Circle on the commentary desk.
Despite it being so long since he’s had a singles match, Ortiz really held his own here against Moxley with him flying at his opponent and using his now trademark tiger style to combat Moxley’s aggressive technique. He also targeted Moxley’s eye heavily which would play into the post-match fallout.
#TigerStyle is here live in #AEWHuntsville! Watch #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama 8e/7c #AEWonTNT @AEWonTNT pic.twitter.com/nUA5G00wd3
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) February 6, 2020
A miscommunication on a distraction from Santana saw Ortiz accidentally take out his tag team partner and Moxley took advantage by planting Ortiz with the Paradigm Shift for the win.
After the match, Moxley got hold of Santana and looked up to Le Champion stating “an eye for an eye” as he pulled out the car keys for the Ford GT gifted to him by Jericho and stabbed Santana in the eye. The Inner Circle flooded the ring but Moxley had already gotten away.
This was a fun match with a nasty post-match angle that adds an extra level of animosity to the rivalry for the Inner Circle members outside of Jericho.
SCU vs Best Friends w/ Orange Cassidy
Best Friends looked to rise in the rankings here against the No.1 Contenders to the AEW Tag Team Championship as they started off with a strong opening against Frankie Kazarian before putting the pressure onto Scorpio Sky as well.
Some showboating from Chuck Taylor allowed SCU to take back control of the match as the pair were all over their opponents. Fighting spilled to the outside as all the competitors were knocked to the ground as Orange Cassidy decided to join them by taking the weight off.
Cassidy for the people ?#AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/9JfRxrzTSj
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) February 6, 2020
After the break, SCU were in the lead but Best Friends took the fight back to them and hit the Sole Food/Half and Half combo before going for a big hug. This would be their undoing however as the time allowed Sky to get back to save Kazarian from the Strong Zero and instead convert it into an assisted Yoshi-tonic for the win.
After the match, the Dark Order assaulted the competitors before Orange Cassidy stared them down. Evil Uno tried to recruit Cassidy but in an act of unbridled defiance, Cassidy put his hand deep into his pockets which unfortunately lead to a beat down of his own. Christopher Daniels came down for the save but the Dark Order refused to fight him as their target was now solely his loved ones.
This was a decent match and I thought the post-match angle worked but the Dark Order have got a while to go before they will fully click with the crowd and their gimmick gets over.
Britt Baker vs Yuka Sakazaki
Finally, we got to see the return of Sakazaki who was a real stand out from the pre dynamite PPVs and can easily get the crowd behind her with her natural charisma and likability.
This match was only about 3 minutes but Sakazaki brought the fight to Baker despite the D.M.D’s new vicious streak. Baker tried to put in the Lockjaw but Sakazaki countered into a crucifix pin for a surprise victory.
Incensed by her loss, Baker struck Sakazaki with a ring bell, before it was confiscated by referee Aubrey Edwards, then forced Sakazaki’s to bite the bottom rope and booted her head hard enough to dislodge a tooth out her mouth. To add insult to injury, Baker plunged her hand into Sakazaki’s bloody mouth with the Lockjaw.
Heel Baker is really starting to work and Sakazaki is the perfect sympathetic figure to really drive it home. I hope this wasn’t a one-off appearance from her and we see her get her revenge in the near future.
The Butcher and the Blade & the Lucha Brothers vs The Elite & Hangman Page
This was exactly the kind of spot fest you’d expect from seeing all these guys facing off with the action staying at high octane for the entire match.
It’s worth watching yourself rather than me simply the listing all of the spots here but it’s the Hangman Page angle in this match that really elevated it beyond a simple spot spectacle.
Have a turn, @theAdamPage! WOW #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/YKPAA60DSt
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) February 6, 2020
Page, first of all, refused to walk to the ring with the Elite and opted to head down by himself with his graphic hilariously stating that he “wasn’t happy with the music choice” as the Elite theme blared.
Throughout the match, Page refused to tag to anyone other than Kenny Omega and refused to participate with the Young Bucks.
Page hit numerous high-risk moves that seemed to damage his knee that he had had an issue with in the past. Near the end of the match, where the Elite were well in control of proceedings, Page’s knee was clearly affecting his ability in the ring and the Bucks were begging to be tagged in but Page refused. This led to the Lucha Brothers hitting Page with the assisted Penta Driver as he took the loss.
The breaking point of the Elite is probably one of the best storylines AEW has going for them and they’re taking their time with it and letting it stew. I can’t wait to see where this ends up in their long-term planning.
Kip Sabian w/ Penelope Ford vs Joey Janela
These two probably should have had a more exciting match due to their feud but something didn’t quite click here between the two. Both men performed well but it just didn’t feel very exciting or feel like it built on their feud in an effective manner.
Janela toyed with Sabian throughout and looked like he may have taken the match but a dodge from Sabian caused Janela to accidentally take out Ford on the apron distracting him long enough to let Sabian win with a tight pull roll-up.
Santana challenges Moxley
The Inner Circle had taken control of their backstage interview from Alex Marvez with Jericho hilariously bemoaning Moxley’s tactics and asking “what kind of piece of trash would take a spike and drive it into someone’s eye?” Truly the greatest heel of all time.
Santana followed up with a surprisingly fiery promo where he promised an eye for an eye retaliation. An interesting development that should lead to a brutal match between Santana and Moxley.
.@Santana_Proud wants Mox next week ?#AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/VYONtQCa3y
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) February 6, 2020
Cody takes ten lashings from MJF
Here’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for/dreading. A cocky MJF came down to the ring with Wardlow followed soon after by Cody who looked anxious but kept his head held high. If the lashings weren’t enough, MJF told Cody that his belt was too expensive to waste on Cody’s skin and asked Cody to provide his own belt to be whipped by.
MJF laid into Cody with each strike seeming more painful and anguishing than the last. As time went on a bunch of the heels came to the ramp to watch the onslaught but soon after some faces came too to show their support for Cody to hang on.
Dustin Rhodes came down to the ring about halfway through the beating and offered his own body to spare his brother. However, MJF stated that was not how this was going to work refusing Dustin’s offer and went as far as to give Wardlow a chance to land a lashing on Cody too with all of his might.
The Young Bucks came down too to try and support Cody but it looked like the ten lashes may be too much for his body to handle. Finally, Brandi came down to the ring shed of her Nightmare Collective persona to give her husband the final push he needed to take the final lashing.
Cody had done it and his friends embraced him. MJF stood alone and clearly shook by the fact that Cody had managed the ordeal he assumed would get him out of the match. To rub salt into the wound, he struck Cody in the groin and ran away like a coward to close out the show.
This was both heartbreaking to watch and difficult to sit through but the emotion on display here was unmatched. Cody is such a sympathetic character and they played up his resilience perfectly in this angle plus MJF has never been more despicable. It was certainly a controversial way to end a show but I think it was the perfect crescendo to a great episode of AEW Dynamite that expertly builds the anticipation to see Cody and MJF face off at AEW Revolution and puts plenty of irons in the fire on the way there.
All pics and videos courtesy of AEW