Cody Beats Shawn Spears at AEW All Out

Cody defeated Shawn Spears at All Elite Wrestling's All Out in a heated grudge match on Saturday night.

While the pair have long been real-life friends, they have been embroiled in a feud since Fyter Fest in June when Spears fired the first shot.

After Cody and Darby Allin fought to a 20-minute time-limit draw, Spears entered the ring with a steel chair and hit Cody in the head with it. That resulted in Cody suffering a cut on the back of his head, which created a bloody scene.

Spears later stated his actions were retaliatory after Cody referred to him as a "good hand" during an interview. By attacking Cody, Spears hoped to get his attention and prove he could be a top star.

After making a statement with his attack on Cody, Spears impressed in a winning effort at Fight for the Fallen, as he teamed with MJF and Sammy Guevara to beat Allin, Jimmy Havoc and Joey Janela.

In an effort to reach the next level, Spears hired Four Horsemen legend Tully Blanchard as his consultant. The WWE Hall of Famer was by Spears' side during the build to All Out and helped him negotiate the contract for the match.

Cody attempted to play mind games with Spears and Blanchard when he arrived late to the contract signing and quickly penned it without looking it over or interacting with Spears.

With AEW's weekly television show set to debut on TNT on Oct. 2, both Cody and Spears had plenty to gain and lose from the match at All Out.

Cody is one of AEW's executive vice presidents and is viewed as one of the top stars in the company, but anything short of a win at All Out likely would have left him well outside the world title picture.

Meanwhile, Spears has never been positioned as a main event-caliber performer during his career, although beating Cody could have helped him take a step toward that level.

While Cody emerged victorious and got revenge for his rival's actions at Fyter Fest, the fact that Spears hung with Cody and acquitted himself well could still be considered a positive step in the continued development of his career.

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