Since AEW's second event, Fyter Fest, Cody and Darby Allin have been tied at the hip. The two men battled to a 20-minute draw at Fyter Fest and then fought once again on the first AEW Dynamite episode of 2020.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Cody had nothing but praise for Darby.
"Darby was somebody that came to my house and I got to look in the eyes and feel a sense of confidence about. I knew right away, not only are we going to sign this guy, I wanted him to debut against me and I want to do everything I can as far as -- wrestlers, we try to make one another, give him the rub, put him on the map -- I want to validate people who follow him already and people who have seen what he's done. Because he was building up quite a resume," said Cody. "A real telltale sign about Darby and his connection with the fans is he went out against Pac, and they had seen a lot. They had seen Jericho, Moxley, The Elite. And Darby was received very warmly. When you're backstage and you hear a pop, and you know what they've seen and know what's happened, that's the most important thing. If you're a money paying customer and you're excited to see Darby Allin. And when Jim Ross comes back from commentary and the first thing he says is, 'Damn, that Darby Allin,' thats really exciting. I want to keep him healthy. The guy is already a straight edge guy and a wonderful person to talk to. He does all the extra work, which isn't extra work at all, you gotta do it if you want to get to the next level and chase the guy working hard. Very very special is Darby Allin."
Allin has built up a cult following in AEW with kids painting their face to show off the "half-dead" look. Cody and Allin teamed to defeat The Butcher & The Blade on the Dec. 18 episode of AEW Dynamite, setting up their singles match on Jan. 1, which was won by Cody.
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