Cody Rhodes and Sammy Guevara couldn’t wait to determine who the one true TNT champion of AEW is. They made their entrances at Beach Bash in Cleveland tonight (Jan. 26) before the show even started!
Rhodes won the belt for a third time in December at Holiday Bash — from Guevara. Sammy claimed an interim title at Battle of the Belts earlier this month, beating Dustin Rhodes while his brother was home dealing with a COVID issue in the family. Their history goes back even further, too. The two men faced off in the first ever match on Dynamite in 2019, another match won by Cody.
Unlike their first two encounters, this one was a ladder match. And unlike when they met 2+ years ago, Rhodes now has an antagonistic relationship with the AEW audience.
The Wolstein Center was pro-Sammy, but they weren’t too anti-Cody. At least it didn’t seem that way when the two men brawled into the seats early in this one.
Cody and Sammy take the fight out into the crowd here in Cleveland Ohio!#CodyRhodes vs. @SammyGuevara for the Undisputed TNT Championship at #AEWDynamite: #BeachBreak LIVE on @TBSNetwork right now! pic.twitter.com/A4ZMFmVGkS
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 27, 2022
When they first climbed a ladder, we heard dueling “Let’s Go Cody”/”Cody Sucks” chants. We saw the very definition of a high spot, as the American Nightmare opted to go for a big move instead of trying to grab the belts suspended above the ring.
#CodyRhodes bringing Sammy all the way back down to Earth! #AEWDynamite #BeachBreak #AEWonTBS pic.twitter.com/K1YOBMaTyP
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_gif) January 27, 2022
Rhodes was far from done using ladders as weapons...
That was flesh crushing into metal!#CodyRhodes vs. @SammyGuevara for the Undisputed TNT Championship at #AEWDynamite: #BeachBreak LIVE on @TBSNetwork right now! pic.twitter.com/4KoTwgwymP
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 27, 2022
... and it got the crowd PUMPED for Guevara’s comeback. And when that comeback included a leapfrog cutter off a 10 foot ladder?
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!!! Good LORD @sammyguevara!! #AEWDynamite #BeachBreak #AEWonTBS pic.twitter.com/cJaHpGmMgH
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_gif) January 27, 2022
It only got wilder from there. A Cross Rhodes off the ladders. Both men dangling from the bar holding the titles. A run-in from Fuego Del Sol, who apparently was on Team “Cody Sucks” tonight because he stopped his mentor from inflicting too much damage to his best friend. Rhodes made him pay for that, but it allowed Sammy to recover and finally hit this insanity...
.@SammyGuevara launches himself into Cody from that insane height!#CodyRhodes vs. @SammyGuevara for the Undisputed TNT Championship at #AEWDynamite: #BeachBreak LIVE on @TBSNetwork right now! pic.twitter.com/C2H3jbBNco
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 27, 2022
Both men recovered for a battle atop a ladder in the ring. There it wasn’t a high spot that won it. Guevara clocked Rhodes with one of the belts, he fell to the mat, and the Spanish God has unified the belts.
There wasn’t much advancement in Cody’s meta-heel turn here. But his reaction to this loss will probably be very interesting in that regard.
For now, congrats Sammy G!
Get complete results and coverage of everything that happened on tonight’s Dynamite‘s here.
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