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Cody Rhodes leaving All Elite Wrestling, company he helped found; rumored to be returning to WWE
- Thread starter Serene
- Start date
I am still baffled by all this 24 hours later, as it sucks to see him leave, if that is the case. It was a matter of time before some AEW talent started leaving when their contracts expired. To think how much Cody bashed WWE after he left, popping up at ROH, NJPW, NWA, and then the inevitable formation of AEW. Then he went to great lengths to trademark old WCW PPV names and match types that his dad had created just so WWE could not use again, failing on getting some of those and successful with others.
I know at times I would get irritated with his over the top antics, but he is a Rhodes, and he learned from the best on how to self promote. If he is indeed going to the WWE, I do hope that they do not mess him up. If he's smart this time and I think he is, get into his contract that no more Stardust, have some control over his character, a World title or two, and a lighter schedule. I haven't watched much WWE in the past few years besides the Rumbles and Mania, but if he does go over, I will check out RAW/SD the first time he shows up, but other than that I know it'll be the same WWE machine. The crazy part to all this is that Vince can use Cody to pull over guys like MJF, Wardlow, Jade, and maybe an Omega (depending on the terms that they are on). This could be a turning point for WWE where they do pluck AEW stars that are on the brink of breaking that ceiling.
I think before we know it, we will see Jericho back in WWE for one final run with a HOF induction. It is crazy how much a lot of these guys get mad at Vince, but he knows he is bigger than everyone so he probably holds no real grudge that is why he lets guys come back. Hell, let's look at Demolition. I bet if they apologized to him and dropped out of that lawsuit, he would take them back just for a legends contract/HOF induction. Vince is a business man for sure.
I know at times I would get irritated with his over the top antics, but he is a Rhodes, and he learned from the best on how to self promote. If he is indeed going to the WWE, I do hope that they do not mess him up. If he's smart this time and I think he is, get into his contract that no more Stardust, have some control over his character, a World title or two, and a lighter schedule. I haven't watched much WWE in the past few years besides the Rumbles and Mania, but if he does go over, I will check out RAW/SD the first time he shows up, but other than that I know it'll be the same WWE machine. The crazy part to all this is that Vince can use Cody to pull over guys like MJF, Wardlow, Jade, and maybe an Omega (depending on the terms that they are on). This could be a turning point for WWE where they do pluck AEW stars that are on the brink of breaking that ceiling.
I think before we know it, we will see Jericho back in WWE for one final run with a HOF induction. It is crazy how much a lot of these guys get mad at Vince, but he knows he is bigger than everyone so he probably holds no real grudge that is why he lets guys come back. Hell, let's look at Demolition. I bet if they apologized to him and dropped out of that lawsuit, he would take them back just for a legends contract/HOF induction. Vince is a business man for sure.
TONY KHAN GAVE CODY A WATCH, KICKED HIM IN THE BUTT, AND SAID "hey a former WWE guy took your place daddy"
THAT'S HARD TIMES
THAT'S HARD TIMES
So, as a total casual wrestling fan, am I wrong for feeling a distinct lack of despair due to the fact that I always felt Cody was the least interesting of the Rhodes brothers?
Man I cant believe this guy felt like he should have been booked over Moxley, Danielson, Punk, and Omega
No. Dynamite has honestly been great without him past couple of weeks.
I don't hate him, but it's also not exactly a crushing loss for AEW.
Him leaving is the most interesting thing he's done in years.
That's the bizarre thing, as a super casual observer, I genuinely have no distinct hate or dislike for Cody either...but I also have to say that from my laymans perspective, things like the bleached hair and the awful tattoo always reeked of a certain amount of desperation that always made it hard for me to get a grasp what exactly his character was supposed to be about.
The bizarre promos and total non-direction as a character didn't help. It all felt very out of place compared to the rest of the show.
He put on some really great matches. The parts in-between were the problem.
Oh totally, I absolutely respect his in ring ability. I guess that's why I'd describe my experience watching him as largely as an exercise in frustration.
I just saw that he's getting 3.5-5 million a year???
Umm yeah, can't blame him. If he isn't going to be the guy or have as much influence as AEW grows, then hell yeah he should go back to the behemoth and get that bag.
Umm yeah, can't blame him. If he isn't going to be the guy or have as much influence as AEW grows, then hell yeah he should go back to the behemoth and get that bag.
That sounds like an impossible number, where did you hear that lol
Various wrestling sites are insinuating Cody will get up to $5 million a year from WWE. I mean, KO resigned to WWE and he's getting around 2 to 3 million a year with them. It's not farfetched that WWE could offer what is being speculated for Cody. It's for damn sure he isn't getting that kind of offer from AEW.
It's not at all impossible. That's like a drop in the bucket for WWE to get one of the founders of their biggest competition.
That would put him just below Brock if I remember what the general top guys of WWE make.
That seems fucking insane
EDIT: Jesus, seems like Brock gets paid way more than that. Still, 5 million is top of the card babyface money.
That seems fucking insane
EDIT: Jesus, seems like Brock gets paid way more than that. Still, 5 million is top of the card babyface money.
Bryan Alvarez said that on WOR evidently.
Who knows how accurate that is, but I guess I can see it since Vince likes Cody and him leaving AEW brings buzz in the wrestling fandom.
Who knows how accurate that is, but I guess I can see it since Vince likes Cody and him leaving AEW brings buzz in the wrestling fandom.
I guess when your product is stale dog shit you make sudden huge moves like this.
I feel like Cody would legit cry if someone said this to him face to face, which just makes it even funnier to me.
Lol at you thinking Ricochet will still be employed by WWE in 4-6 months.
I watched AEW tonight and…they are going to be just fine without Cody and will be around in 2+ years. I stand corrected. AEW weirdly feels like what the WWE was over 10 years ago where every segment mattered and has a direction.
I'm not exactly sure where Cody Rhodes will fit in WWE in 2022 or what exactly Vince McMahon will see for him to be. I always feel like signings like these would lead to Vince McMahon using it to make a joke of the wrestler (and the competition the person came from) but I'm not sure this is the same Vince McMahon anymore. It doesn't mean that still won't happen, but I'm not sure if that will be the first thing to happen.
I don't see Vince McMahon giving Rhodes total creative control over everything in WWE but I don't see him punking him out either. I could very easily see Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns being the big feud at first post-WrestleMania and the inevitable feud with Randy Orton as well. I don't see Cody Rhodes feuding with Brock Lesnar and doing very well. Strangely, I could see Cody Rhodes having really good feuds with Bron Breakker and Walter once they start with the main roster.
But like others said, Vince McMahon holds grudges and his pettiness will show up. So I'm fully expecting Cody Rhodes to lose every match he's on during the entire time he's there.
I'm not exactly sure where Cody Rhodes will fit in WWE in 2022 or what exactly Vince McMahon will see for him to be. I always feel like signings like these would lead to Vince McMahon using it to make a joke of the wrestler (and the competition the person came from) but I'm not sure this is the same Vince McMahon anymore. It doesn't mean that still won't happen, but I'm not sure if that will be the first thing to happen.
I don't see Vince McMahon giving Rhodes total creative control over everything in WWE but I don't see him punking him out either. I could very easily see Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns being the big feud at first post-WrestleMania and the inevitable feud with Randy Orton as well. I don't see Cody Rhodes feuding with Brock Lesnar and doing very well. Strangely, I could see Cody Rhodes having really good feuds with Bron Breakker and Walter once they start with the main roster.
But like others said, Vince McMahon holds grudges and his pettiness will show up. So I'm fully expecting Cody Rhodes to lose every match he's on during the entire time he's there.
I think AEW will manage just fine without Cody Rhodes. He helped built AEW and he helped elevate Darby's career. But I think that was it.
He did shoot himself in the foot by refusing to go heel and not being able to challenge for the AEW title. The feud with Malakai was the perfect moment to turn heel. That storyline ended up going nowhere.
Now he is seemly going back to WWE. What is he going to do there except getting the pay he wants?
He is not going to be put over Roman or Brock. He will just end up in the midcard again.
He did shoot himself in the foot by refusing to go heel and not being able to challenge for the AEW title. The feud with Malakai was the perfect moment to turn heel. That storyline ended up going nowhere.
Now he is seemly going back to WWE. What is he going to do there except getting the pay he wants?
He is not going to be put over Roman or Brock. He will just end up in the midcard again.
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Some people in here talking like Cody is Stone Cold and The Rock.
He did some great things for AEW, like the amazing work he did putting over upcoming talent and making Brodie look like the king he deserved to be after years of shitty WWE booking, and putting on great matches in the process.
But he simply just doesn't have the mainstream impact as Punk, Bryan, Jericho, or arguably even Mox. AEW will be perfectly fine without him. They could definitely do with more mainstream eyes on them, but Cody wasn't doing anything the above four weren't, so I don't see where the star power hole is that he apparently left.
He did some great things for AEW, like the amazing work he did putting over upcoming talent and making Brodie look like the king he deserved to be after years of shitty WWE booking, and putting on great matches in the process.
But he simply just doesn't have the mainstream impact as Punk, Bryan, Jericho, or arguably even Mox. AEW will be perfectly fine without him. They could definitely do with more mainstream eyes on them, but Cody wasn't doing anything the above four weren't, so I don't see where the star power hole is that he apparently left.
AEW needed Cody early on, but they have sped past him and no longer need him to carry the brand (nor Jericho IMO). It's as simple as that. Once they started bringing in other big names no one was tuning into for the Cody Rhodes entrance hour
If he gets to WWE, I do think Vince is gonna use him good, specially because Cody's probably gonna push back on bad ideas. I know that WWE's pretty awful these days, but that's because they only have eyes for two or three names they consider a star, and they use the little creative they have on those. I may not like Cody, but going out of WWE, building a brand, becoming a star, and then coming back, yeah that's not gonna get wasted. Dude's gonna be considered a star. At least for a while. I mean, Bobby Lashley, Drew, they were somewhat "well" used for a while and are the few secondary stars WWE has. I know, I know, they're kinda wasted now, it's true. But they did got over during a time, and I believe this is what Cody will get upon arriving. After that? I don't know.
Cody will probably end up jobbing to Roman after a while, but that's fine if it's done right. But he's not going to go for the 24/7 or something like that. I mean, even with all the awful crap they put up, for all the pettiness they often display, we're talking about Vince, a guy that ended up bringing Eric Bischoff more than once, of all people.
Cody will probably end up jobbing to Roman after a while, but that's fine if it's done right. But he's not going to go for the 24/7 or something like that. I mean, even with all the awful crap they put up, for all the pettiness they often display, we're talking about Vince, a guy that ended up bringing Eric Bischoff more than once, of all people.
Yeah, exactly this. Cody is going to win one of the big belts, just as Lashley and Drew have. It's been *the* thing his career has been lacking, and on top of the rumored money, it's got to have been a draw for him. He's talked before about part of why he left was because he wasn't getting those kinds of spots, now he will.
He's not going to be Roman level, but Lashley / Drew level? For sure.
Here's why I think its a good move for Cody. Vince is going to use Cody as the example for anyone who wants to return to WWE from AEW, or any talent that both companies are looking into. Cody is going to be put right into the main event, which is a glass ceiling about 10 feet thick it seems. Question is, how long does he remain there?
The only good move part is the money
None of the creative moves is defensible lol because Cody isn't Roman or Brock.
But why would Vince listen to him if he did push back? To be honest, even if Vince wasn't Vince, why would he listen to him? Cody's management of his own character in AEW is enough to make anyone pause before giving him creative freedom. He was a face who came across as heelish despite apparently being sincere about being a face, and took his character from virtually face of the company to getting X-Pac heat.
I don't think that really matters in Vince's eyes. We're talking about a company that forced through Cena/Roman being faces when they were getting boo'ed out of buildings. If anything, he will probably value that.
Except Bray should have been that example.
Who's to say they don't cut Cody in 8 months
Cena/Roman were Vince creations though, which is why they were and are constantly pushed over guys who weren't. There's definitely a question as to how WWE creative treats guys and girls who get over on their own or away from WWE. So far it feels like AJ has been the biggest outlier, and maybe Cody gets the AJ treatment, but I wouldn't necessarily bank on it.
Yeah, I mean he's not gonna get booked over Roman, but yeah, I expect something like AJ Styles. Cody won't be sent to the 24/7 picture, that's for sure.
Yeah AJ is weird because he was never in WWE before so Vince will not have all the preconceived notions he had about Cody when he was in the 'E already and was a B-player at best in Vince's eyes.
On the other hand maybe Cody shattered Vince's expectations by doing what he did
On the other hand maybe Cody shattered Vince's expectations by doing what he did
lmaonever forget
this is why i compared Cody to Jeff Jarrett though.
Both are midcarders who delude themselves into thinking they're main eventers
Vince always, always finds a way to take credibility that talent can have by doing well elsewhere and using that as the fuel and motivation to embarrass them. I'll never get over how Gallows & Anderson went from saying "Shitstain Nakamura" in New Japan to doing The Old Day in WWE. The accomplishments talents have elsewhere are nerves to strike, not celebrate.
Cody will, eventually, be seen as a geek and all of his accomplishments in Ring of Honor, to wrestling at the Tokyo Dome, to winning the NWA championship, to helping create AEW be treated as bingo hall trash. I can already see a Miz feud being used to do precisely that, too.
Brandi gonna be either the Smackdown or Raw women's champion.
And yeah, Cody is mid-card for life though with a push he can at least be upper mid-card.
And yeah, Cody is mid-card for life though with a push he can at least be upper mid-card.
Reportedly she isn't going anywhere. Possibly not doing wrestling anymore.