Dynasty was the last time Judas had stepped into the ring to defend his title. Three long weeks ago, where he had fought tooth and nail against his boyfriend of all people to retain his title. The very title he worked his entire AEW career for. The most common speculation was Judas wasn’t ready for this match against Cody Rhodes, but he wasn’t left with much of a choice — defend his title with the chance of retaining or not compete at all and willingly drop the title to Cody. So despite barely getting cleared for the ring, his arm taped up almost excessively and leaving him with a giant bullseye on his body, Judas defended.
Both men stood across from another in the ring, staring daggers at one another until the bell would ring. It was instant, both charging at one another and throwing closed fists, desperately trying to get the upper hand. A constant back and forth, the more dominant one in the ring shifting from one man to the other.
Unfortunately, with the poor condition Judas’ arm was left in, he would be the first to pull back in an attempt to create distance. It wasn’t allowed of him, immediately being pulled to the mat to create pressure on that injured bicep in a submission hold. It was a simple hold, yet Judas seemed to struggle more than usual in such a position, yelling out that he would not quit although his other hand trembled above the mat. Getting his feet to the ropes didn’t quite matter, as Cody had the upper hand now, targeting that injury that constantly wore Judas down.
With how much of a fast paced performer Cody was, it was no surprise that Judas struggled to keep up in his current state. Every moment Jude seemed to return to the top with Cody, he was shut down almost every time. Every pin attempt had failed, the two count leaving Judas screaming in frustration. His moments of weakness and anger had assisted in Cody regaining his composure, giving him enough time to counter for Jude’s next moves.
As Jude went to grab Cody to pull him near the center of the ring to seemingly setting up for the praying moonsault, Cody had grabbed him by the injured arm to pull him back down to the mat as he had done throughout the match. It was too quick for him to do a thing about it as Cody maneuvered into an arm bar, applying immense pressure to that injury. With no choice, Judas’ hand slammed on the mat to tap, the pain too intense to allow it to go on.
Cody’s music hit the moment he let go of his arm, leaving Judas to put himself in the corner of the ring as he watched on. Cody holding his title above his head, being the victor of tonight’s match and ending Judas’ reign of 149 days right before his eyes.