Credit: AEW
Cody Rhodes defeated Olympic bronze-medalist boxer Anthony Ogogo in a grudge match at AEW Double or Nothing on Sunday.
Ogogo appeared to have Rhodes down for the count after landing a right uppercut. Rhodes’ arm was under the ropes, though, which caused the referee to force a break on the pinfall.
Eventually, Rhodes landed the Vertebreaker to put Ogogo away.
The issue between Rhodes and Ogogo began on Dynamite in March when QT Marshall and the Nightmare Factory turned on Cody and the Nightmare Family. Ogogo was among those who sided with Marshall along with Aaron Solow and Nick Comoroto.
Ogogo made his presence felt in a massive brawl, and it quickly became apparent that the former pugilist was Marshall’s star pupil.
After much anticipation, Ogogo made his in-ring debut on the April 14 episode of Dynamite against Cole Karter. Ogogo punched Karter so hard in the stomach that he couldn’t continue, resulting in the referee ruling the match in Ogogo’s favor.
Ogogo made an even bigger impact a couple of weeks later following a match between Rhodes and Marshall. After Cody picked up the victory, Ogogo showed up and put Rhodes down with a punch to the gut before placing a British flag over him.
That led to Rhodes cutting an impassioned promo the following week on Dynamite about his pride in being American. Cody ended by declaring that he would be with American Dream rather than the American Nightmare for one night only at Double or Nothing, which was his way of paying homage to his late father, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.
While some fans were seemingly apprehensive about a USA vs. Britain storyline, the match was an intriguing one for reasons outside that nationalistic trope.
Ogogo entered the bout with almost no experience in terms of actual matches, and despite that, he was put up against one of AEW’s top stars on a pay-per-view stage.
Ogogo had plenty to prove in Sunday’s match, and while he didn’t leave victorious, he showed plenty of potential and did enough to suggest he could be a major player in AEW moving forward.
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