In the opening days of the company, Khan was the man behind the curtain. However, “The Elite” as they are known, were the faces of the company. They were the ones out front in press conferences and at the top of the early cards. When AEW first began to run shows in the summer of 2019, Kenny, Cody, and The Bucks were staples of the show. Omega was in the company’s first world title match and Cody embarked on a personal feud against his brother, Dustin. On AEW’s first pay-per-view, Double or Nothing ’19, Rhodes and Omega had the two biggest matches on the card. Slowly though, Cody began to separate himself from the rest of the group. He took his own path after losing to Chris Jericho in November of 2019, failing to win the AEW Championship and, in the process, losing the right to ever fight for the title again. On last night’s episode of AEW Dynamite, they wrote another chapter. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows “invaded” from Impact (the companies have a working relationship) and reunited with Omega after he had defeated Rey Fenix in a title match. Jon Moxley also returned to the show and tried to attack Omega, but Gallows and Anderson helped neutralize him. Soon after, The Young Bucks came to the ring and tried to reason with them to stop the attack. Several years ago in Japan, Omega, Gallows, Anderson, and the Bucks were top stars as the original Bullet Club. After some back and forth, The Young Bucks superkicked Brian Pillman Jr. out of the ring and Dynamite ended with the group saluting with the “too sweet” hand gesture in the ring. The Young Bucks looked reluctant at first. Let’s be honest – their characters have been so unlikeable on the show for the last few months that running with them as heels is a good idea. Throughout the chaos, Cody was nowhere to be found. His absence wasn’t even noticeable. The announcers didn’t mention him and instead explained why no one in the locker room would immediately help Moxley, who has taken the path of a lone wolf. I don’t think any viewer questioned Cody’s whereabouts, despite his history with the group. Their paths will cross again, and when they do, the match will feel more important because of the discipline Khan has shown in his booking.
