AEW Dynamite 2-19-20 - Cody vs. Wardlow IN A CAGE

Cody vs. Wardlow has been built up wonderfully - with Cody vs. MJF being the main goal, but solid steps being taken to make Wardlow out to be a badass. Jeff Cobb also debuts facing Moxley in what could be a temporary gig or permanent - hopefully the latter and he gets the Mox/Jericho dual contract deal. Pre-show ad hypes up Cody as the hometown hero and according to JR, it's SLOBBERKNOCKER TIME!

Tag battle royal is up for a Revolution title shot. Silly String to T-Hawk and Jungle  Boy is just chilling on the post! Dark Order recruiter stirs the pot by saying that Daniels isn't with them and saying that the Exalted One is near. The Dark Order guys toss out SCU leading to the Bucks taking them out. Sky dives over the barricade onto Grayson!

CIMA hits an iconoclasm and PNP jumps him. CIMA and Luke Perry's son fight on TNT. Dark Order offers CIMA a mask at ringside. Nick avoids a chokeslam with a backflip and a tornado kick! Corner knees and forearms by Nick! He gets tossed out! Silly String saves Quen, but Kassiy gets tossed onto Quen by PNP and they are out. Tony says that you live by the Silly String, you die by it. Four guys take out Luchasaurus and Jurassic Express is gone.

Trent hits a nice spear on the floor. Sole food/half and half BUT BUTCHER AND BLADE BREAK UP THE HUG! ORANGE CASSIDY SAVES TRENT! BEST BUCKS SUPERKICK PARTY AND HUG! FLAIR FLIP BY TRENT! Trent and Butcher chop each other on the apron before Bunny ballshots Cassidy and Butcher takes out Trent!

SUICIDE SPEAR BY MATT TO BUTCHER! Matt vs. PNP solo! Rolling Northern leads to Sammy helping PNP and the street sweeper hits! Matt superkicks Sammy and takes out PNP! Bucks celebrate and face the winners of tonight's Lucha Bros/Kenny and Page match. This was the best battle royal in AEW history so far.

Dr. Britt Baker gets Tony a latte to mock his Starbucks run while JR asks if it has Blue Chew in it. Shanna's out in her Goku gear facing Kris Statlander. Britt is called out as the fifth contender and she says that she's trending and Tony corrects Exalibur to make sure she's called Dr. Britt Baker. Kris cartwheels around and Britt says she's just trying to find a role model - and she's right here! TONY SHOWS OFF HIS COFFEE!

JR adds an AGAYNE mention in on top of his BUCKS OF YOUTH last week. Tree of woe doublestomp gets 2 for Shanna. AROUND THE WORLD SPIKE DDT BY SHANNA! Big Bang Theory spikes Shanna on her head and Kris wins it. Dr. Britt tells Tony to see her soon to take care of that smile - we can't go 20 years without Tony again. Nyla-Riho recap showcases that match as an all-time epic.

Tony brings out Nyla for an interview. She says that she deserved the title in the first match and she should be the highest-paid woman on the roster. BUT WAITING MADE HER HUNGRY AND WHEN SHE'S HUNGRY, SHE BREAKS BITCHES! She goes over a bunch of bee-related statements and says she's queen bee while everyone around here is a bunch of bees buzzing. Kris comes down and wants the belt! Big Swole wants it! Jeff Cobb hype video showcases his ass-kicking last week. MOX comes out with Taz on commentary.

MOX looks like the coolest motherfucker on Earth. Cobb's black and gold gear is fantastic and makes him look like a star. Le Champion's out with a ticket alongside Sammy and Hager. Fans still sing Jericho's theme - he should lose to Mox and turn not exactly face, but be less of a heel. Overhead belly to belly shows off Mox's DDP rib tape. DDP rib tape for Mox and Mox really does come off as hot as '97-era DDP.

Cobbs runs him down on the mat with holds. Mox rolls out of a German to get a kneebar, but Cobb gets the rope. Mox dives out to the floor off the top and eats an overhead belly to belly on the floor. Second rope flying knee by Mox! GERMAN BY COBB but Mox strong styles up and hits a big lariat! Revolving door forearm combos by Mox! Corner uppercut by Cobb! POWERPLEX BY COBB, but Mox cradles him to win and Jericho jumps Mox! Dustin runs down to make a save and brawls with Hager!

I love how just like in WCW, you can wind up with feuds logically winding up from other feuds. Dustin was a setup-guy for Cody-Jericho and now that logically leads to Hager vs. Dustin on the next PPV. Darby Allin returns! Moxley and Jericho get in a hockey fight. GODDAMN what a great segment to build the PPV. THREE matches built up nice and logically here. This feels like the right time for Jericho to lose the title and for Mox to be THE MAN. Kinda like DDP never quite hitting his peak because he didn't win the title in '97/'98 - strike while the iron's hot. Darby is this generation's Jeff Hardy. I hope Jeff winds up in AEW for either a team with Darby to pass the torch or a match to do so.

Lucha Bros!/MEXIKING are here. Page is out with the tag belt and it looks great on him. TNT selectively muting "COWBOY SHIT" is amusing. Giant cowboy shit chant starts things off with Fenix landing a slew of punches. Moonsault/SSP combo onto Fenix while Page triangle lariats Penta down to prevent a save for 2. Page unloads some cowboy shit in the corner on Penta with chops and kicks! Fallaway slam to Penta and a plancha to Fenix! During a break on Twitter, Britt attacks Shanna's teeth and reminds her it's time for her 6 month checkup. APRON CHOPFEST by Kenny and Penta!

Kenny avoids the apron driver with a backdrop but eats a Fenix shot before Page hits the top rope moonsault! Discus lariat gets 2 on Penta. Pop-up bomb from Page to Penta leads to a V trigger to the neck! BUCKSHOT TO OMEGA! PENTA HAS KENNY UP AND THE DRIVER HITS! FENIX HITS A TORNILLO AND IT ONLY GETS 2.9! SNAPDRAGON TO PENTA and an anti-air V trigger hits FENIX PERFECTLY AND THE TIGER DRIVER '98 ONLY GETS 2! Page blind tags in and the V-Trigger/Buckshot ends it! THIS RULED! Bucks and Page pull Kenny around for a bit

The story to Cody vs. Wardlow is told and the cage match is pin or submission only - no escape. "There's no victory in escaping!" YES. SOUTHERN WRESTLING LIVES! AEW has some really nice, dynamic shots of the cage lowering. It's the standard grating cage - but with the lighting trusses along all the corners and the top. It's a bit like WWE's cage, but looks easier to climb up thanks to the trusses along the sides and looks more dangerous as a result if things spill outside the cage.

Wardlow comes out to a great, ominous theme. Cody's epic intro gives the fans a chance to chant his name and damn does it ever work. We get a sound David vs. Goliath story with David trying to chop down Goliath - but he can't do it. A giant lariat takes Cody down hard. MJF tells Arn to smack the cage door into Cody's head - BUT HE HITS MJF! Wardlow presses Cody into the cage. Arn beats up MJF and Cody hits cross rhodes for 2! MOONSAULT OFF THE TOP OF THE CAGE GETS THE WIN!