Arn Anderson Makes AEW Dynamite Debut, Helps Cody Rhodes Beat Darby Allin

AEW Dynamite opened its first episode of 2020 on Wednesday night with a Fyter Fest rematch between Cody Rhodes and Darby Allin. But unlike their clash last June, Rhodes had his new head coach Arn Anderson in his corner advising him throughout the match. AEW recently announced that the WWE Hall of Famer had signed with the company back in late December, months after he appeared at All Out to help Rhodes with his match against Shawn Spears. The match ended with Allin attempting a Coffin Drop, only for Anderson to hop on the apron and instruct Rhodes to lift his knees up.

Rhodes obliged, causing Allin to take all of the damage once he hit the ground. “The American Nightmare” then rolled Allin up for the pin.

AEW announced prior to New Year’s that the win-loss records for everyone on the roster would reset annually, starting with Wednesday night’s New Year’s Day episode. Rhodes now has a record of 1-0, even though he still can’t challenge for the AEW World Championship because of his loss at Full Gear.

“2019 was the most successful year I’ve had in pro-wrestling,” Rhodes said during the press release that announced his partnership with Anderson. “Beyond the superfluous financial, it’s been incredibly rewarding on a spiritual level to be able to engage so many fans with a like-minded place in their hearts for the sport,” Rhodes said in the release. “That said, one of my greatest fears came true as I lost the opportunity to wrestle for the World Championship again.

“But, on the other side of that fear is freedom to chase every other accolade outside of that title,” he added. “I still want to collect all the accolades I can and dominate the singles division. That’s why I’m bringing in Arn Anderson as my personal advisor and head coach. He has been in business with my family for over three decades. Having been a wrestler throughout so many different generations of talent, he understands what ingredients it takes to look beyond the horizon and produce the best content and results.”