Copeland gives a title shot to his new ally in war against House of Black

Adam Copeland’s TNT title defense against Brody King was the last match on the May 8 Dynamite, but the champ opened the show by announcing that he’d spoken to Tony Khan (still recuperating from The Young Bucks spike piledriver) and received permission to make the match No Disqualification.

The leader of King’s House of Black faction later had a message for the Rated R Superstar. Malakai Black believes he has to kill Copeland so he can live again. He’s already brought out an (ahem) edge in the champ when he sprayed him with mist. What else does he have planned for Cope?

For the first half of this one, Big Bad Brody was what Malakai had planned. Announcers Tony Schiavone, Don Callis & Excalibur described it as a “mauling”, as King targeted Copeland’s surgically repaired neck. But the champ was able to evade a crossbody on the outside, and when Brody’s knees crashed into the metal in the barricade, Copeland was back in business.

King was busted open by a DDT onto a chair on the apron, not that he seemed to mind as smiled through his crimson mask. Momentum went back and forth in the later portion of the match as they fought with and around tables and chairs. After surviving a cannonball and a spike piledriver, Cope managed to keep his belt with a spear through a ringside table and another in the ring.

Probably on the orders of House of Black’s leader, Brody looked to inflict more punishment after his loss. As he said he would last week, Copeland’s fellow Canadian Kyle O’Reilly hit the ring to help fight off that attack. Then backstage, KOR approached the champ to ask for a title shot on Saturday when Collision and Rampage are in his hometown of Vancouver. Cope of course said yes.

Will House of Black let that one play out, or will Malakai again attempt to corrupt or punish Copeland?

Get complete results and coverage of everything on the May 8 AEW Dynamite here.