AEW's Brandi Rhodes Breaks Down 5 Explosive Dynamite Moments

It's been almost a year since AEW Dynamite premiered on TNT, and Wednesday nights haven't been the same. The live weekly event showcases AEW's best and brightest stars duking it out in the ring and laying verbal smackdowns in creative segments. Who could forget when Chris Jericho's innocuous comment about enjoying champagne after his AEW championship win turned into a long-running gag and resulted in Jericho producing his own line of bubbly libations? Plus, Private Party's spectacular match against the Young Bucks in this year's World Tag Team Title Tournament remains one of the most talked-about matches to this day.

In celebration of all the great moments that have made AEW such a thrilling watch, TV Guide hit up wrestler, on-air personality, and AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes to look back at some of the most unforgettable matches and segments. The interview, which was part of TV Guide's 100 Best Shows ranking, touched on must-see moments like Orange Cassidy's hilarious gag on Jericho in which he doused the former AEW World Champion in orange juice. Rhodes admitted to being particularly entertained by Ortiz's eloquent sell of the incident, slipping and falling in the puddle of OJ.  

"There's nothing I like more than a good fall," Rhodes said. "I'm the person that watches the YouTube compilations [of people falling], so that was just gold for me."

Rhodes went on to discuss her own memorable in-ring confrontation, in which she found herself on the wrong end of Jake the Snake's signature reptile. The segment saw an incapacitated Rhodes laid out in the ring as Jake the Snake taunted her with his snake, even placing it on her body and allowing it to slither over her limp limbs. Though Rhodes said she's an animal lover, she admitted she had some trepidation about having the snake on top of her.

"That was probably the most on-edge situation you'll see me put myself in because there are some animals I won't mess with, like sharks," Rhodes explained, noting she generally stays away from any animal that lives in water, "because that's their territory."

https://www.tvguide.com/news/100-best-shows-tv-right-now-2020/">The 100 Best Shows on TV Right Now

Rhodes has no regrets about her terrifying encounter with the snake. "Not many people are able to say that they were snaked by Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, and I'm one of those people."

But even more than the Orange Cassidy gag or the snake segment, there's one match that stands out as a defining moment for the company, perfectly illustrating why fans clamor for new episodes of Dynamite each week. In a powerful segment, Cody Rhodes, who has been married to Brandi since 2013, agreed to endure 10 brutal lashes from MJF as a part of MFJ's long list of stipulations for a match at the AEW: Revolution pay-per-view. The segment hypnotized fans with its deeply emotional storytelling as Cody's loved ones, including Brandi and his brother Dustin, helped him rally to follow through on his word despite the considerable pain he was in. The outstanding moment proved that not every great wrestling segment requires body slams or suplexes, and that great character development goes a long way.

For more of Rhodes' thoughts on Dynamite's best moments, watch her break down Riho's historic win over Nyla Rose to become AEW's first-ever Women's World Champion, Kenny Omega and Hangman Page's high-flying spectacle against the Lucha Bros, and more in the video above.

AEW Dynamite airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on TNT and is available to stream on Hulu.