Cody Rhodes is making his case for being the industry’s best babyface, and is reminding us how powerful a personal issue can be in wrestling.

Rhodes and nemesis Maxwell Jacob Friedman were the centerpiece of arguably All Elite Wrestling’s most powerful segment since debuting “Dynamite” on TNT last year. And it didn’t involve any wrestling.

Rhodes, who entered dressed to the nines and to plenty of pyro, needed to take a full 10 lashes from a belt as part of the checklist of stipulations MJF laid out in order for Rhodes to earn a match against him at the Revolution pay-per-view on Feb. 29 in Chicago. It all feels like an old-school video game where the hero had to navigate his way through challenges to get to the boss at the end.

The story dates back to MJF, then Rhodes’ protégé and best friend, throwing in the towel for one of the company’s four executive vice presidents at Full Gear on November. Doing so cost Rhodes his match against Chris Jericho and any future shot at the AEW world championship. MJF, who is out to prove he’s better than his former mentor in every way, then proceeded to kick Rhodes below the belt to set all of this in motion.

Wednesday night’s segment again centered around quitting — with MJF telling Rhodes to give up or stay down after each vicious lash, with long breaks between most to let the pain set in for the audience. They left red marks and cuts all over Rhodes’ back and a look of excruciating pain on his face — likely because it was exactly what he was feeling. It’s the type of segment the TV-14 rating, unlike PG, can help you pull off.

There was nothing fake about the blows Rhodes was taking. He made the audience feel it, too. The crowd consistently chanted “Cody! Cody!” to try to power their hero through as a number of the promotion’s villains watched from the stage.

After the first few lashes and moments of defiance from Cody, members of his wrestling family kept coming out — each showing true concern and some likely real-life encouragement during the painful undertaking. Rhodes dropped often to the mat to sell the pain and he could not touch MJF, another stipulation for the match to take place.

First it was Rhodes’ manager Arn Anderson who came to his aid. Then it was brother Dustin, who earlier warned MJF that Cody is “tougher than you think” and later offered to take the rest of the lashes. Then the Young Bucks appeared and finally Rhodes’ wife Brandi — sans her on-screen Nightmare Collective attire. Her wardrobe only added to the more realistic feel to the segment, and so did her telling him, “It’s just one more, you can do this. I love you so much.” It’s a bond and message most people with family or a significant other can relate to.

MJF added another kick to Cody’s nether regions. He wore a look of disgust that he couldn’t break Rhodes and their match was still on course to happen.

The segment was a continuation of Rhodes making his big matches personal — he fought his brother Dustin at Double or Nothing, put his world title hopes on the line against Jericho and now needs to repay the man who betrayed him and helped take the AEW championship away from him.

It was also AEW making good on its promise of delivering stories without some of the goofiness we often see in pro wrestling. While Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley for the AEW championship has been built well, Cody and MJF’s feud has so many layers, and it features the company’s top babyface and one of the hottest heels in the business.

There is more to come. Rhodes still needs to have a cage match with MJF’s massive bodyguard Wardlow in two weeks — the Wednesday before their potential match at Revolution.

When AEW made the decision to take world title opportunities away from Rhodes, it removed their best babyface from the equation. But time and time again he has proven you can have the match the audience wants to see most without it involving gold.

Yes, AEW has had its story missteps and had a few more small ones Wednesday. But if WWE is going to move its main roster talent down for NXT cameos here and there like it did this week with Charlotte Flair, AEW needs to continue to deliver powerful stories and fresh stipulations that the audience can emotionally connect with so it doesn’t change the channel.

It continues to be Rhodes who is consistently delivering that in a way that feels both fresh and has a touch of nostalgia similar to the ’80s and ’90s. He and MJF continue to make their case for being in the elite at what they do in pro wrestling, and it’s only adding to a strong start to 2020 for AEW.