Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara, from the October 2, 2019 episode of AEW Dynamite (the first match on AEW’s first episode of television)

All Elite Wrestling put on eight events prior to this show, but it’s fair to say the company’s first night on TNT served as an introduction to the promotion for a large portion of their audience, with all goodwill being undone with an underwhelming opening contest. That said, while there was no doubt who was going to come out on top in this match, it otherwise made for fine television, with defined character roles, a crowd eager to play along with the storyline, and enough big spots to keep things interesting. Better than the first match on the first Nitro.

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