How AEW Failed Cody Rhodes Before His Epic WWE Return

[@FLESHATTIC]

HE HAS FINISHED THE STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@SaulAguilar.]

Aew had Cody, punk, jade. Now they are all thriving right now.

[@wilsann.2279]

BEST STORY

[@Joshy04]

Hope he loses the belt

[@alfariztan4936]

​@@Joshy04atleast he became the undisputed champ

[@Joshy04]

@@alfariztan4936 i know made it worse

[@baffourappiah3853]

People don't get how over Cody is, I've never seen such backlash from someone not winning a championship than for Cody not winning at Wrestlemania 39. Not to mention, He got the wrestling community to turn on THE ROCK of all people, and #WeWantCody was the highest trend on X for three days straight. Nothing wrestling related has ever trended that long. Whether you like him or not, Cody Rhodes is truly UNDENIABLE!!

[@BlaxkSun]

Daniel Bryan?

[@sheevpapapalpatine6617]

​@@BlaxkSunDaniel Bryan was always going to be world champion at mania it was obvious then and obvious now

[@baffourappiah3853]

He never lost a world championship match at mania?!!!@@BlaxkSun

[@weswith360s]

​@@BlaxkSunDaniel Bryan was world champion before the Yes Movement. Cody never won a world title

[@BlaxkSun]

@@weswith360s so? Asked for a comparison, I gave one

[@reddragon0624]

The story of Cody Rhodes is The Lion King. His father dies, he leaves his home where he meets new friends that help him to become the best version of himself! Then he returns to his home to take the throne from a ruthless villain.

[@davidmcaninch4714]

He *HAS* to finish the story. This is his redemption arc from last year. He has to be the one to defeat the Bloodline, particularly, Roman Reigns. He has to win in the Main Event of WrestleMania, because if he doesn’t find a way to defeat him, nobody will. He has to do it for himself, he has to do it for his father, he has to do it for his brother, he has to do it for the fans, and if he doesn’t, then who can?

[@clintonweir7609]

Nah, Cody is going to become the first wrestler to win 3 Royal Rumbles in a row, and THEN he'll win the world title. At Wrestlemania, Rock is going to interfere, Ref counts a pin, Cody's the champion! Except no, it's a Dusty Finish. Cody spends most of the next year doubting himself. Next year's Royal Rumble he'll go in #1, and he'll win it, and it'll pump him up to win the world title at WM. @@davidmcaninch4714

[@sonic1fan94]

​@@davidmcaninch4714 Cody Rhodes is the main character of WWE. I've never seen anyone being built up like this ever, he's the chosen one, the protagonist, the one who will defeat roman reigns and finish the story once and for all.

[@magesentron]

Joseph Campbell called it "The Heroes Journey" and found it was a common structure of many stories throughout the years. Cody is doing a version of the monomyth, like many babyfaces have.

[@comeatmebr0o]

@@davidmcaninch4714Cody’s story is at msg, that should be the only place Roman could lose

[@deroistewart2548]

Cody Rhodes is legitimately a real life 10 year challenge and definition of betting on yourself. Definitely finishing the story this year

[@DarrellGrant-nw5nu]

Yeah

[@sandiletwala3001]

Facts

[@mihaimercenarul7467]

The thing îs this cody peaked. Yeah he finishes the story , then what? What is his purpose? Cut a babyface promo every week and defend The title? People will find him boring after that în no time, just like they did with many others, seth being the most recent example.

[@56Circular]

@@mihaimercenarul7467make him go on a run and build heels (other than roman) to compete with him

[@MissMedusa2000]

​@@mihaimercenarul7467Yeah, because wrestling fans are idiots. I'll still like him.

[@stefanjordan4770]

You can say. Cody pulled the Ultimate AEW heel move in going back to the WWE.

[@Ser_IanSheepington]

Thats bullshit.

[@doomnotron]

​@@Ser_IanSheepingtonCope 😂

[@rigoapple]

​@@Ser_IanSheepington Why so angry for no reason lil bro

[@silentspidergaming]

In story, He will be known as a traitor as a hypocrite, delusional that he's the face of the company regardless of what anyone says.

[@seandavis9320]

​@@silentspidergamingcope buddy he's the face of wwe now

[@icards7986]

A predictable story can still be a great story, and so far Cody has had one heck of a story.

[@carso87]

Cody's story since his Rumble win last year has been great. I didn't like that he lost to Roman last year, but seeing what they've done since, so long as he wins this year, it will have paid off.

[@DarrellGrant-nw5nu]

He should have the title at WrestleMania Cody should ​@@carso87

[@Sean-bf3lh]

Theres only so much stpry to go around after 40 plus years in wwe so its going to be predictible of course

[@Allexstrasza]

@@carso87 Don't underestimate WWE's ability to f*ck up good stories. I wouldn't be surprised if Cody loses this year as well

[@Rootbeerpapi1]

It’s boring 😂

[@jeremiahbsanchez]

Who's here after Cody winning Wrestlemania 40???

[@sarahsolomon2902]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😂😂😂😂❤ we're here ooooooh 😊

[@beep6437]

Cody didn't fail at Aew he was helping Tony K run Aew he was the TNT Champion

[@sunder739]

only to fall off in favor of those kids who call themselves EVPs

[@AaronJohnson-wl5vc]

@@sunder739Cody shorted himself by saying he would never pursue the world title in aew

[@H0tCh0c0-gr3qe]

@@sunder739the superkick guys

[@jrand2148]

Cody failed AEW in that he wasn't ready to focus so much on the otherside of the business. He's said as much.

[@saltoftheearth316]

@@sunder739 You mean his friends that are the same age as him?

[@franklingoodwin]

From boos and comparisons with Homelander to top babyface, top merch seller, biggest crowd pops, WWE 2K24 cover star all within the space of two years. How did AEW drop the ball so badly with Cody?

[@XxPlatinumChief]

Main evented WrestleMania (and will do it again) and won the royal rumble twice in a row

[@mohabalserafe3795]

He dropped the ball on himself no one else

[@mattpryokra2245]

@@mohabalserafe3795lol that’s definitely an assumption 😂

[@mohabalserafe3795]

@@mattpryokra2245 listen just because he's successful now doesn't mean he had his flaws before especially when he had so much creative control in aew

[@ryanSLF]

He refused to turn heel when the time was right to and left when he didnt get his own way, whats going to happen when its his time to turn heel in the WWE? Probably throw his toys around again lol

[@Taco0718]

I know it's corny to say, but honestly, Cody has been an inspiration for me. Like Cody, i have professionally struck it out on my own and bet on myself to succeed. Although my "story" as it were is far from over. So far, it has been successful. Hard work and self-belief, and honestly, a little bit of luck can do wonders.

[@chrisszyyy]

Me too. His story behind the scenes, leaving his “home” WWE and then proving them wrong is one of the greatest story in sports and entertainment. He even got the fans to boo the Rock. Great success story on betting on yourself.

[@sergioosorio369]

#finishthestory

[@bdukes8075]

Cody crybaby loser thread 😂

[@XcuzeTheMessDeer]

Same

[@bonzaicastillo6685]

What happened in AEW is that fans didn’t like how much the nightmare family started taking TV time. Brandi wanted to win the woman’s belt. Qt wanted to be a single’s star. Dustin was the only other guy beside Cody in that faction worth watching. The best moment of that group was Arn Andersons infamous Arn with the Glock promo when he was calling Cody out for being too soft. Cody did the right thing leaving because after that stipulation loss to Jericho, he basically wrote himself out of the big title picture and into a mid card guy. Whoops. It wasn’t worth the shock value of losing. He realized he still has the desire to be the #1 guy and he went to pursue it. If you noticed you haven’t seen Brandi wrestling on wwe. Not even on nxt. They didn’t cater to any of the bs she was doing in AEW. Tony’s a nice guy, but sometimes too nice. Cody has earned a lot of non believers including myself about his appearance in wwe. No one can take away what he’s done for wrestling.

[@edenton1974]

Word

[@lifebydanielsan]

The "cody cant win the title " angle booked themselves into a corner. Thankfully it helped MJF get more heat but still.

[@NeoNero83]

It was Cody's idea. Blame him

[@not-an-astr0naut]

cody did that to himself

[@ds1448]

Cody was the second biggest problem in his run in aew. He needs someone to put him in check and not let him do whatever he wants. Aew had a lot of flaws but Cody's stuff always felt like it was some weird bubble away from everything due to the stipulation . Tony Kahn is the main problem for allowing all this stuff.

[@NeoNero83]

@@ds1448 I'd say he was his own biggest problem. Everything was a self-indulging moment with him. Pretty much the same way in WWE, and now that he's on top it'll wear thin quickly with fans there, too

[@jiop5137]

@@NeoNero83 have you been saying this since 24 months ago, in april 2022?

[@rajathabib]

Can't believe how a storyline can make u boo someone and later cheer for the same guy...I'm a a #codycrybaby....this time story needs to finish...#codyrocks

[@DarrellGrant-nw5nu]

Yep

[@mihaimercenarul7467]

Ngl he wins and The cody will be a Boring champion. Admit it. This has no direction

[@19floyed]

​@@mihaimercenarul7467explain how? They have hella match up now, unlike the world championship, that Damien guy for judgment day is gonna be so much butt, he's just not it and Drew should have kept the belt, or Damien beat Seth and the drew beats Damien but the taking a big chance on him

[@jesussalazar1020]

The best thing Cody ever did was leaving WWE and joining NJPW with the Bullet Club faction. Adopting the American Nightmare (HEEL) persona. In doing so, his matches and his ideas of a good storyline were must watched across the world, along with building a trusting friendship with the Elite and other indie wrestlers. Hence, the creation of AEW was made for wrestlers who want to get recognized by western audiences and live up to the 90s wrestling fans. A succession AEW has become, all while he became a standout star and the company can succeed without him, as he was ok with. Now that WWE brought him back again, he proved to HHH/Vince that he can live up to his dad reputation...and he has so far. All while trying to obtain a WWE title that his father was robbed for throughout his career. I do believe he will become the WWE Champion at Wrestlemania 40, he'll finish the story.

[@darmok4878]

Dusty Rhodes did NOT lose the match for the WWF title against Superstar Billy Graham, he WON the match but it was on a count out so the title didn’t change hands.

[@leongregorio]

I watched Cody Rhodes for the first time this past Sunday (after more than a decade of Pro Wrestling hiatus) and I am already a fan of his. I am doing a deep dive on the guy on YT and this is one of the best videos I've seen. Also shout out to Dustin "Gold Dust" Rhodes. He was one of my favorites back in the attitude era.

[@WWE2KUNIVERSEELITE]

Actually what he is doing now is basically WHAT HE WANTED TO DO IN AEW! BE THAT BABYFACE WITH A STORY. I believed locking himself out of the AEW Championship in 2019 working with the young guys eventually with the TNT Championship he was on the way to possibly challenging again for the AEW Championship but with new renewed babyface gimmick but what did that AEW faithful do? They didn't give it a chance to blossom and Cody took it to WWE and made himself the most prized commodity in wrestling today. HE BASICALLY SKYROCKETED INTO THAT JOHN CENA LEVEL CATEGORY OF BEING THE FACE OF THE COMPANY.

[@dranzerjetli5126]

Brandi Rhodes was the real reason Cody wasn't clicking in aew. His stories were also very bizarre

[@tedytedy5598]

Hangman adam page got more hype with dark order more than cody

[@ItsSoMuchToast]

the thing is, the stories he came up with himself were dogshit during the pandemic

[@twobrosgamers8426]

Its because AEW fans hates Babyfaces in general. They cheer the heels more than their babyfaces.

[@javi994]

@@dranzerjetli5126He also couldn’t challenge for the world title because of a stipulation

[@breonwilliams7]

Cody has to Finish the story, because I’ve never seen someone as over as him besides Daniel Bryan in 2014.

[@stevenwoods5787]

This is completely different than DB. WWE never planned on him being the guy, the fans forced their hand. Cody was Vince’s pick and the fans actually got behind it

[@breonwilliams7]

@@stevenwoods5787 i gotta agree with this because when Cody Returned to WWE in 2022, I thought he would be booked the same way he was in 2016 when he first left the Company.

[@MrAjking808]

It’s not his story to finish

[@breonwilliams7]

@@MrAjking808 yes it is, he has to win this year.

[@MrAjking808]

@@breonwilliams7 no it’s not lol .. he was in aew when it started

[@lostapostle76]

Cody previously used the American Nightmare name in the WWE. Funny enough Dustin originally used that as his ring name in the indies and WCW.

[@MuhammadAli-xw4yc]

You sir are bona-fide bad ass without a shadow of a doubt. I forgot about these facts. I always dismissed Cody as a second rate jobber living off of his father and brother dustins legacy. But I'm finna give him a chance. He just looks so corny to me like a basic bitch. I prefer hard ass edgy hombres like Malakai Black with his brutal move set.

[@कृतार्थयादव]

Cody Rhodes is just simply beyond just being a PRO Wrestler. He is a genuine great HUMAN BEING. And also, what he's done for the Pro Wrestling World in general, and so many young, grooming Wrestlers over the past decade, will always be instrumental & will NEVER be FORGOTTEN!! He's just, altogether, CHANGED the whole the LANDSCAPE of the Pro Wrestling Business!!!!

[@Obscusion2]

While some of Cody's time in AEW was definitely due to his own decisions, I'm sure Tony Khan never really bothered to push Cody towards any other ideas & directions, instead simply allowing Cody to do what he felt was best, even when it really wasn't for his own benefit. In essence, and it kind of matches what was recently happening with the whole Rock situation for Mania this year, Cody seemingly wants to be the least selfish guy in wrestling, even when said behavior actually might do more harm to him than good &, ironically enough, may actually be selfish, in its own way.

[@willg1088]

Cody was the founder Tony didnt wanna get into a backlash with him

[@ramenrider1792]

To be honest, bit of a tin foil hat moment. I think a WWE return was likely always on the cards for Cody Rhodes. I think the formation of AEW was maybe a means to an end for Cody to prove to WWE higher ups that he could be "the guy" in front of an American audience as many within WWE at the time didn't really care much for fame in Japan and didn't believe their audience did either. I think the lack of a heel turn when the AEW audience began to turn on him was because he maybe had 1 eye on what Roman Reigns was doing in WWE and thought "I cant be the guy to return and take on Roman if my character is also a heel." I also think the ring gear, the presentation all lead to him being portrayed as a very new age Hogan/John Cena-esque, All American hero type superstar. The kind that WWE historically have always liked to have as one of, if not their main guy. Even the Anthony Agogo feud was a very typical older WWE style "I'm the foreign heel and I hate America!" type feud which is probably why the AEW audience didn't exactly eat it up and became more divided on him. You could also say the timing fits the bill too, as he was one of, if not the first big AEW star to jump ship to the WWE. Meaning he would become the precedent and WWE almost needed to push him to the moon to show other big stars within AEW that "if you jump ship, we wont bury you, we wont screw your character, we will welcome you and help you thrive!" All of that, while also not forgetting or short selling his own mic and in-ring ability resulted in his current super stardom. These things always require a bit of luck and fortuitous timing. But I don't think you can say there aren't at least shadows of a plan for a big return there. Just in my opinion at least. I'm also not saying this is a bad thing. Much like Drew Mcintyre/Galloway slightly before him, he took himself from being forever mired in the mid card, bet on himself on the indies and in Japan and turned his career around to become a legitimate main eventer whilst also (unlike Mcintyre) leaving a path behind him, making each place he stopped on the way more relevant in the eyes of the wider wrestling fanbase so that other wrestlers may legitimately be able to follow his example and do the same. Already you can see a lot of the people he inspired/coached along the way starting to follow his foot steps. Jade Cargill being one example. All in all, his rise has been great for fans of wrestling and helped lead the industry into a boom period. But I think it's misleading to say AEW failed him, because I think the way things have unfolded, with the exception of AEW fans calling for a heel turn after a fairly average feud, may have always been according to plan.

[@kimberlygaeta7205]

DUHHHHHHH. Ya think, professor?

[@SlamSessions]

Cody Rhodes is 38 years old, he might still be active for ATLEAST 5 years from now, but there have been more miraculous appearances and with older wrestlers, even if temporary

[@Htown5]

He will become 39 this June but yeah, not many years left.

[@reddragon0624]

@@Htown5my guy Chris Jericho, Edge, Sting, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, and Christian Cage all have wrestled weekly on television over the past 12 months. Cody has plenty left in the tank he’s not on his death bed LOL

[@franklingoodwin]

He's got at least another decade in him if he doesn't suffer a life changing injury.

[@CollegeBallYouknow]

Didn’t you hear? 40 is the new 30 in this business.

[@mason_walls910]

@@CollegeBallYouknowyou win with this comment 💯

[@BobZombie8806]

Cody walked past me on his way out of the arena at Dynamite once. He realized he had missed my hand and actually doubled back to slap it. I’ve been a fan ever since

[@venubabukotapati7432]

Cody from zero to hero from aew to WWE from tnt champion to undisputed WWE champion 🏆

[@jesterr7133]

I think you encapsulated the entire aura around Cody really well at the end of the video. People are behind Cody, not the character. In real life, he did what we all dream of doing. He knew what he wanted, bet on himself, worked his ass off, and went out and got it. On top of that, you have the history with his family to add to everything. The real story is better than any storyline that even the best writer could come up with. Because of the real life drama in his story, people believe like they did in the kayfabe era, and that hasn't happened in 30 years. Cody has captured something special, and I hope he finishes the damn story.

[@jacobsteinmeyer9859]

AEW was always just a part of the long game Cody played to get to the top in WWE

[@willg1088]

Damn

[@ssj2camaro21]

Cody is still not the top. He never will be.

[@Eric.Fitness]

​@@ssj2camaro21he is now

[@leongregorio]

@@ssj2camaro21 This comment didn't age well.

[@Adiat-Reza]

He made people turn on The Rock. THE ROCK. That's all you need to hear

[@MrAjking808]

Fanboys did lol .. a lot of you weren’t even born when the rock was full time

[@President_Shin]

@@MrAjking80810% of the fanbase cried, most wanted rock/roman.

[@dark_antihero]

people stop liking the rock like 10 years ago

[@NotToBeMessedWith]

Roman vs Rock is what a worthy WrestleMania main event should be unlike Roman vs Dusty's son.

[@momelendez9691]

@@NotToBeMessedWithThe Rock gets tired and out of breath during a promo nowadays and he gets to be main event⁉️😂 Roman vs. The Rock will be a repeat of Brock Lesnar vs. Oldberg💀

[@rajathabib]

WM 39..I wasn't a fan of Cody (as I wasn't into WWE) yet was tired of Roman..hence wanted him to win..but the loss didn't matter WM 40- oh God I'm such a cody cry baby..Id never watch wwe ever ever again if he doesn't win..

[@PhilMiCoochie]

For someone who wasn't into WWE, you sure know a good bit

[@clintonweir7609]

I'm another guy who's "not into WWE". I don't watch the weekly shows and I only watch a few PLEs (Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania, Survivor Series usually, and sometimes I watch a big match here and there). But I read recaps now and again, which is enough to know what's going on.@@PhilMiCoochie

[@KoolKeithProductions]

​@@PhilMiCoochielol these AEW clowns swear they don't watch WWE, but somehow know everything that's going on within it 😂

[@avengersendgame9706]

Same situation with me

[@nworder4life]

@@KoolKeithProductions You don't have to watch WWE. You can see clips on social media or be up to date on news through wrestling news sites.

[@SkellyHell]

Time to put Heyman with Punk again, and work on Punk vs Rhodes.

[@nathanghoul684]

Cody is the main protagonist of Wrestling at the moment

[@scottthomson3575]

I tore my pec and i remember looking at my chest/arm 20 minutes later and it was exactly like how codys looked for a good week or two. I take nothing away from that gutsy move, but once you tear your pec major, not much else can happen. Its not like you can end your career. It cant get worse and surprisingly its not really painful as much as it is annoying that you literally have no strength on that side. In orher words, it looks much much much more painful than it really is. And yes... i think the 4 steel anchors drilled into my bone holding my pec tendon in place makes me quallfied to speak on it

[@kellymays5138]

Cody Rhodes, a real American. Give that man the title.

[@MisterBourgolini]

There's only one real American, that's Hulk Hogan. Cody's drawing power dwindled before SummerSlam.

[@adeviantproduction]

The Homelander version of his entrance gear is still very Homelander. I can't believe that was unintentional.

[@symdollak9924]

If wwe plans on turning him heel later down the road,him going full homelander is what I'm definitely gonna be all in for..

[@enriquejimenez8322]

This kid earned every single one of us that night in back watching the show

[@thexposer9778]

I think he can a great heel , idk why but his face feels like a final boss type of person. I really wish that at some point he turns heel in his WWE run but keeping current gimmick 🖤

[@franklingoodwin]

Everyone turns heel eventually except Rey Mysterio in WWE (he turned heel in WCW but wearing don't like to talk about that)

[@falcaoEUW]

@@franklingoodwin There's a lot more people who never turned heel in WWE other than Rey, I can think of 3 from the top of my head rn, Goldberg, Sting, Ricky Steamboat. Pretty sure Ultimate Warrior and Sammartino also never turned, but I could be wrong on those

[@williamwolfxrivera9929]

They never turned either

[@KRob10]

Up until his AEW run...Cody was heel majority of his career, you can see glimpses of heel work during his 1st run in WWE.

[@twobrosgamers8426]

@@franklingoodwinWhat about Cena?

[@JoseSanchez-mz9fz]

Just the same way WWE blew it before, AEW also blew it. They had a real SuperStar in their hands and did not know what to do with him. Finally WWE is making it up to him and he should finally make it to the top, where he belongs.

[@beep6437]

Cody was in Aew to help Tony K run it and when Cody wanted to wrestle in Aew he did so

[@AwesomeCardGames]

Cody made the decision to not be world champion. Tony did not make that call.

[@Maverick512000]

I'm a Cody fan but WWE didn't blow it the first time around. Cody had to go outside the WWE to really get a sense for who he is and build that brand and confidence in order to come back to be the face of the company. The Cody Rhodes that was in Legacy or was dashing or was stardust would never have been able to reach these heights even if WWE had pushed him. As Jim Ross says sometimes you have to go learn a new hold.

[@erikthered9670]

@@Maverick512000 yeah of course none of those would have worked, and after Stardust had run it's course WWE wanted to keep him there instead of giving him a real character again and giving him a push. WWE wouldn't let him be himself back then, so he left.

[@Maverick512000]

@@erikthered9670 See here's the thing WWE really can't afford to let everyone be themselves because in most cases their self doesn't draw money. I'll give you an example, Ryback talked about an idea that he pinched where WWE would let him go away and train UFC style for a year while still getting paid, have some UFC matches to make it seem legit, then he would come back being seen as a legit fighter and he would beat Lesnar for the title and therefore become the new dominate figure in WWE. Now anyone with half a brain, which does exclude Ryback, could see how this was a bad deal for WWE all the way around and wouldn't draw a dime as the fans already hated Ryback but in his mind it was a great idea. Everyone in wrestling thinks they should be the guy but very few actually have all it takes to be the guy and for WWE there is to much money involved for them to take a chance that X maybe the guy. Cody went away, built himself and his character, became a big deal outside WWE and then the hottest free agent in the market and since coming back has consistently sold out arenas as the headliner, stayed top 5 in merch sales and overall has gotten himself over even when put against other guys that are over like Punk and the latest the Rock. In other words he has proven he is ready to be the guy.

[@chaeffer1606]

I've been a fan of Cody since his heel turn as the Undashing heel turn where I realized he has the mic skill and charisma despite him being in the mid card at that time. Most of the time, his Undashing theme entrance always gave me goosebumps like chills

[@OhMyGersh]

I’ve actually been expecting for an Endgame way of finishing this saga. I hope wrestlers who were wronged by Reigns come back and show their support for Cody

[@edenite]

The answer is brilliant in its simplicity, WWE took Cody the talent and stripped away the Codyverse and his own terrible booking. Cody is an incredible talent and one of my favourites (I got the chance to see him on his NJPW circuit when he was running heel in 2018). But my gosh his creative is the absolute worse, I'm happy that he just gets to be Cody without trying to come up with creative now. As much as AEW supported him during this run, giving him creative freedom and carte blanche was the writing on the wall. For what it's worth I found that AEW overall for the better once Cody left, and WWE found their next babyface Cena.

[@oliverquach9614]

Mocking fantasy bookers really got me. Never stop.

[@zerosonfire]

Man, you are one hell of a video producer and narrator. I love your presentation and informative description of everything. You leave no questions to be asked. Very informative and to the point. Great stuff! You got yourself a new sub!

[@ATL13n]

AEW didn't fail Cody. It was always in his plans to return to the WWE and prove them wrong for not recognizing what he truly brings to the table. The dude is solid and is going to succeed wherever he goes. The way folks from AEW continue to give him the "nod" only enhances what we are seeing now. Bravo to Cody and to what he helped establish on the Indies, AEW, and what we are witnessing in the WWE.

[@zaneplatt3533]

Not sure this is true. Cody alluded to some shitty treatment Brandi recieved by people at AEW, and that clearly factored into his decision to leave

[@Nidel24]

This is genuinely just a really good video about Cody Rhodes‼️ Great Job, man‼️

[@truthspeaks1813]

The aew fans were the problem

[@ds1448]

No Cody was the problem, as well as tony Kahn. He was given too much control and it ended up with a mess where a top guy couldn't challenge for the belt which created a weird bubble when Cody was involved Then he was involved in awful feuds like the nightmare factory and other things. This could have been solved by him turning heel and going back on his promise but again he was too set on his ways Cody was his own problem and Also Tony is at blame for not putting him in his place and controlling things properly He's a good wrestler but he needs someone to keep him in check like HHH

[@TheLike_Button]

The moment Cody came to wrestle with that torn muscle, that was the moment he became a made man

[@willg1088]

Well many wrestlers fight injured and even with broken bones ( bryan . Cena roman...) But they dont cry out loud seeking attention from the média and fans 24/7

[@AbhishekMesta2601]

waited for this video

[@kingsleycasper]

He's the only reason I'm back into wrestling the clips on instagram with the rock won me over

[@TJAidoo14]

It seemed they booked him to help talent and they failed at that. Not sure if that was his idea or someone else but he should of had a world championship run first before dropping to that someone and being in the midcard for a little while

[@javi994]

Well he did help get heat on MJF

[@willg1088]

He booked himself" Even his wife wanted to win some titles at aew

[@OdinSmilesRavensLaugh72051]

Well.... banning him from winning the AEW world title was the first mistake! 2nd was trying to use him to put absolutely every new signing over, thankfully it didnt damage his career, he helped make AEWs top guy MJF look like a megastar in every promo and every match! He deserved so much more and although I understood why they went with Jericho being their first world champ BUT i really think Cody should have had that title first

[@Big.Stepper.]

Kevin? Yeah ok Patton Oswald.

[@MattRumm]

Every time you say, "I was there." 👏

[@StoningXStephen]

I still feel like an AEW heel turn would have been fantastic for Cody. It makes sense with the Homelander costume and Cody has always done great character work.

[@edenton1974]

If he would have turned heel on champion Hangman it would have been great

[@eastwaters4082]

They didn’t fail him, he failed himself when he booked himself out of the title picture, and refused to turn heel. Could’ve easily been a Homelander like character, but he was too afraid. 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@brandonmaddox4862]

Just to be clear tony khan doesn’t own the jags, his dad does

[@zurlac9548]

Yes his father owns the Jags but they are partners so he does also own the Jags just to be clear

[@donrightgaming1455]

That match w Seth Rollins at hell in a cell was an epic match one of my favorites of all time

[@Roshand-pl9tn]

People love cody not the codyverse

[@ThePrimalOne]

Outcome: Cody REIGNS supreme!!!!

[@tomingram4108]

I'm sure WWE was promising Cody the world the entire time he was in aew. Much like triple h did when having so called secret meetings with punk while he was out the first time he was injured in aew.

[@SIREB-WONKRU]

I haven't watch WM- in decades but ima watch this one..

[@davidkosiba624]

Cody failed himself and not AEW, it was his idea that he can't challenge for the world title, he sometimes went over in feuds where he wasn't supposed to and he just didn't work in AEW as a face , a heel Cody would have been gold in AEW but Cody refused to turn heel and the crowd let their opinion heard which Cody didn't like , it is not AEW who failed here

[@Strazz217]

kudos to being the first person capable of real observation in here.

[@willg1088]

​@@Strazz217tired of ignorant people blaming aew for his fails

[@ehouse33householder74]

this might be a mark saying this.. but i knew Cody was gonna be huge when i saw his Stardust promos. Yes go watch them again and you ill see how he improvise all of it. When left WWE, Indie Wrestling knew that was the case. but now its a new era of wrestling. Just because you came from the indie scene and "you can wrestling" doesn't mean you can entertain in a global scale or finding a new audience. This man is getting ready to fight THE ROCK and Roman fricken Reign.. Cody Rhodes is One of the most important figures in wrestling today.

[@PTGKChrisHD]

AEW did not fail Cody, Cody was actually pushed to the moon 2019-2022. The AEW Fans are the one that derailed Cody’s Run. WWE capitalized on his Popularity. If it wasn’t for AEW, Cody would still be wrestling in the indies

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

Cody wrestling with a torn pec elevated his stardom and certified him as a badass

[@m4sterb1rd]

Cody failed himself in aew because he couldn’t handle the boos

[@hi_im_willow]

Both Drew and Cody stories amazing Both went out showed who they are came back with a banger after banger

[@Hakeem990]

😮😮What happened to AEW it had so much potential

[@TheIslandDivision]

Easy. It never materialized.

[@CABNoLimit]

Tony Khan

[@jessebunnell6442]

AEW has never recovered from the loss of Cody Rhodes!

[@romishrj]

Cody also won the nwa championship against Nick Aldis at All In

[@thenhl1015]

i rememeber everyone wanted him to turn heel again in aew before he went to WWE. heel cody will slap. cant wait for heel cody in WWE. its gonna be sooooo good

[@ItsSoMuchToast]

Cody Rhodes failed Cody Rhodes in AEW. Not AEW

[@AJ1725]

Loved this video!!

[@Enema27]

It's pretty dumb to say AEW failed Cody when it was Cody himself who was responsible for pretty much all of his own AEW run. So in that sense Cody failed Cody. The WWE move made sense - Cody needed the fresh start, & Cody benefits from not being in control of his own booking, partly because, as evidenced by AEW, he's bad at it, & perhaps more significantly, at least when WWE books him badly, it actually bolsters his fan support rather than hurts it.

[@freddienaga398]

The the true journey of tough calls is what the public relate. Thats why most of us root for Cody. He worked his ass out taking losses to make others shine. Now is his time

[@abbyfarris5578]

His dad owns the jags

[@Abdur__Rahim]

I'm very happy to see cody as undisputed Champion

[@CadenCerisano]

Let’s go Cody

[@DarrellGrant-nw5nu]

Win that title

[@anilshrestha_]

Signing Cody Rhodes and CM Punk was the best decsion made by WWE ove AEW.

[@coneil76]

Cody made the mistake of being a serious wrestler in an unserious company

[@docproc144]

Cody is a mega babyface at a level that we haven’t seen in years. He’s pretty much got the entire WWE fanbase on his side, which is rare. Like with John Cena for example, there was a good 10 years where he was at the top and half the crowd booed him. The fact that they were able to get him this over, and get people to choose him over THE ROCK of all people is nothing short of incredible, especially considering how many boos Cody got during his time in AEW. Even Steve Austin wasn’t a mega babyface like this, he was the most over guy in the company, but not from being the good guy, he was usually this anti hero character that was against authority and looked out for himself. The last true good guy “American Hero” type character that people unanimously accepted was Hulk Hogan in the 80s. What Cody’s doing is special. 🙌

[@Entertainment-is6ex]

Perhaps also Bret Hart before his heel turn and attitude era.

[@diplomat022]

Salute to Cody for persevering. Very admirable. But I look forward whatever story they come up with to elevate the next champ. Cody is too corny for my taste.

[@WillyKillya]

Didn't WWE have Cody before AEW? Did you see how they treated him then compared to AEW? WWE got the idea from putting Cody in the main event scene from AEW, which put him in the main event seen as soon as the company was founded. Cody is the one who took himself out, AND prevented himself from being able to get back in!

[@bigtatsu]

Cody's character arc is absolutely epic. You can't write a better story of a hero.

[@Linkonpark100]

He followed Giant Baba's style of booking, place the booker below the main event in order to give big stars or rising stars a chance to shine. The difference was that Giant Baba was past his prime while Cody still had more years to give in his career.

[@dlee4236]

How did aew failed cody? You presented absolutely nothing that relates to your title.

[@wrestlingwarden]

Oh cool. I’m in this video😮

[@rajithfernando6200]

Personally AEW didn't fail Cody, he failed himself. He was an EVP. He went for the Homelander stuff along with his Ogogo promos and fans booing him constantly and he refused to turn heel. He put himself in a position where he cannot challenge for the championship.

[@f1s7PumP]

Nah the fans were annoying, AEW dropped the ball letting him go

[@Snotzalotz]

@@f1s7PumPbut they’ve not been effected by Rhodes leaving whatsoever? WWE only pushed Rhodes because he was an AEW guy, when before they couldn’t care less about him.. it shows the lack of depth of the WWE roster if anything

[@collinskanazache8682]

Well put video 🎉

[@renatoarauz7784]

Wasnt he booking his own segments in AEW? I believe had he turned heel AEW would be very diferent today much bigger for sure.

[@Redpillbeaner]

Yup, this 100% people don't remember how bad the Cody verse was, especially with brandy. Then he booked himself into a corner by not allowing himself to win the world belt when everyone wanted him to. Also his main goal was never gold, it was to create an actual alternative to wwe which he did.

[@DundaMifflin]

cody and otis together is my fav thing in wrestling

[@jerrym1218]

I didn’t truly realize it until watching this video, and that was the fact that Brock Lesnar’s last great match and feud was with Cody Rhodes in 2023, even though Brock still had a match or two after that, his best matches of 2023 was against Cody Rhodes. It’s also another fact that Brock Lesnar seems to always dominate at Summerslam, it’s basically his marquee Live Event PLE, similar to Undertaker with Wrestlemania, and Randy Orton with Survivor Series. Brock Lesnar even made his name known & much bigger at Summerslam 2002 the year he debuted for WWE mind you, and challenged the biggest name in Wrestling at that time who was Champion which was The Rock, and despite Rock’s best effort, a young Brock Lesnar was just too much for him, which Brock actually shocked the world and defeated The Rock to achieve his first ever WWE Title win. It all came full circle for Brock Lesnar 21 years later at Summerslam as he fought against the younger & hungrier Cody Rhodes, with Cody actually defeating Brock in their final match against each other to end their feud. Brock then rose Cody’s arm up because in his eyes the better man won that day and the kid earned the Beast Incarnate’s respect. Brock Lesnar has definitely dominated the Summerslam event over the years that he has been in the WWE, simply by defeating big names like The Rock, Triple H, CM Punk, John Cena, Undertaker, and Randy Orton. It was kinda a big deal to fight Brock Lesnar at Summerslam, and it only made things better for Cody Rhodes because he actually defeated Brock Lesnar at Summerslam 2023.

[@Louis-du9it]

AEW is literally the reason why cody rhodes is a big name in WWE, without AEW he would be a jobber like he used to be, or wouldnt even be in the WWE

[@Podgorski37]

You realise he wrestled elsewhere?

[@sohailaarif9087]

Brother is salty, he's the reason AEW even exists

[@stephaniehernandez_90]

Cody winning Wrestlemania 40 made me truly respect him. He demonstrated that you can have the family bloodline but you still have to do the work yourself no one is going to give it you. Truly an inspiration!

[@luluco283]

people liek to run this narrative that aew failed cody . cody had the most creative freedom in that company the codyverse was hot garbage and the fans booed him

[@dranzerjetli5126]

Brandi Rhodes was a curse

[@cerebralsamurai8382]

The biggest mistake Cody made in AEW was restricting himself to Midcard by never being able to challenge for the World title that was the end of his AEW story

[@ononyerealestste8387]

Wasn't that his company how the hell they fail him in his own company?😮

[@JontayaKing-Kelly]

I think they pushed it that way cus I could of sworn aew was literally created by Cody . I guess not tho

[@ononyerealestste8387]

@@JontayaKing-Kelly Yeah thanks to ALL IN that he and his pals built

[@UnrealDerek]

I'm so damn glad he finished his story. God that gold around him is DESERVED. One of my current favorite wrestlers out now

[@WrestlingIsReal649]

Tony khan can’t book case in point look how he book cody 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

[@ts1975]

Cody booked cody and he sucked at it, that's just the truth

[@mohabalserafe3795]

Chody had too much creative freedom he screwed himself That's why him going to WWE was saving grace for him

[@tylervincent8424]

@@ts1975 anything to protect Tony. Dude can’t create a storyline outside of “we love pro wrestling let’s do some pro wrestling”

[@WrestlingIsReal649]

@@ts1975so tony had no says in Cody booking then why is he the head of booker in aew 😂😂😂

[@KyloSZN]

It's well known Cody booked himself out of the world title picture and that forever ruined his run in AEW @@WrestlingIsReal649

[@AbA-wk7yp]

At first Cody Rhodes was done with pro wrestling as an active wrestler, he wanted to be in the management, hence why he set himself to lose and never compete for the world title. But when he saw how bad these indies pro wrestlers were he had to help them getting better in promos, storytelling, etc. And then he was getting frustrated because the other EVPs apparently getting titles for themselves and he was kinda stuck in purgatory. Maybe he should have turn heel but he probably had his reason why not turning to heel. Then when his contract expiring he was looking for another option and he somehow managed to convince Vince and others in WWE to sign him as a top star. Now he finally won the world title and the story is done. On hindsight, AEW marks helped him massively by booing his out from AEW. Now AEW is in desperate mode (as always) and released CM Punk footage that just make them look silly.

[@kushagrasharma5402]

Sorry, but AEW didnt failed Cody, Cody failed himself in AEW. A heel turn was all he needed but refused.