MJF Sets Stipulations for Cody, Riho Looks Great and More AEW Fallout

After an extended holiday break, All Elite Wrestling busted out an epic showing for a special New Year's Day edition of Dynamite.

And "special" is a good way to describe it.

The episode was packed—almost exceedingly so—with good matches, important storyline advances and laid some interesting groundwork for the next month or so. It wasn't perfect, but it was a welcome return after a brief hiatus and helped get things moving again.

Here's a look at the top moments and takeaways.

Darby Allin and Cody Put on Another Show

It was only right AEW got these two in the ring again. Their first bout was a way for Cody to help get Darby Allin in front of as many faces as possible to display his talent.

Since, Allin has done nothing but put on a show and grow in popularity.

The rematch here featured an interesting twist—Arn Anderson is now Cody's manager. Rest assured this will come up often and get used in different ways as he works his way back up the ladder and eventually gets his clash with MJF.

In the short term, it was disappointing to see Allin take a loss, though his more vicious nature this time out was a fun wrinkle. It feels like he's just biding his time before a main event run, provided he doesn't take too many losses.

Jon Moxley Wins and Receives His Offer

Jon Moxley taking down Trent was never really in doubt going into Wednesday night.

It just didn't feel right to pull an upset here, though the match did work as a good showcase for Trent and fans got a fun, brief Orange Cassidy interaction.

But the real meat of this whole thing was the aftermath, where Chris Jericho made his final invitation to Moxley to join The Inner Circle, topped off by an ownership stake and a sweet car.

But here's where things fell flat—AEW had seemed to bill Moxley as responding to the invitation Wednesday night. Instead, he grabbed a mic, noted Jericho was a former mentor and he'd respond next week.

It didn't play well with the audience, which shows just how polarizing it was...a crowd turning on Moxley isn't a good sign.

There are ways for AEW to rectify this, but it hurts in the short term to have things skid to a halt. Moxley and Jericho's affairs can't sidetrack everything else, but it can't fall short of what fans might have expected to see, either.

Women’s Title Scene Gets a Bump

Let's be blunt for a moment: The women's title scene has been underwhelming lately.

Champion Riho just hasn't been around much and hasn't said much. The rest of the division has gone on wonderfully in the interim, but it was a little strange to see the top title so sporadically.

That changed Wednesday. Riho got a win in a 4-Way over Hikaru Shida, Nyla Rose and Britt Baker in what was indeed a fun match and a reminder of what the champ can do. Riho then lost out on a verbal confrontation with Baker, adding some much-needed spice to the title scene.

Meanwhile, Riho has a bout with No. 1 contender Kris Statlander, who has been one of the best surprises of AEW as of late. She's also got some interesting bad blood with Baker, one of the rising stars.

In short, it's nice to see a dormant scene get such a big spark to start 2020.

MJF Lays Down the Stipulations

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The waiting game might have fallen flat with the Moxley situation, but it sure paying off with MJF vs. Cody.

MJF hit the ring Wednesday night after The American Nightmare had previously begged him for a match, even offering cash for the chance at revenge.

And with Wardlow backing him, MJF outlined the way he'd let a match occur, saying it must take place at the Revolution pay-per-view on Feb. 29, Cody has to win in a one-on-one with Wardlow in a cage and Cody must let MJF whip him 10 times with a belt.

Now, some of that sounds odd (the belt part) and some of it sounds great (the cage match). But knowing MJF, these stipulations could go awry in some fashion and dash Cody's chance at revenge. In part thanks to MJF's skill on the mic and the intensity of the feud so far, the anticipation isn't slowing at all.

As of now, this is the best thing going in AEW, even if it is just a promo exchange on a weekly basis for now.