AEW Fans Rejecting Cody Rhodes Was their BIGGEST Mistake

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AEW Fans Rejecting Cody Rhodes Was their BIGGEST Mistake
0:00 Cody Rhodes' final promo in AEW
1:20 AEW fans turn Cody Rhodes heel after Anthony Ogogo Promo
2:46 Cody Rhodes debuts with WWE
4:00 Cody Rhodes' WWE Story

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Writer/Narrator: Alfred Konuwa
Senior Producer: @scenarioitsma
Associate Producer: @mavthefilmmaker

Cody Rhodes is WWE’s biggest star—whoa, whoa let’s do that again. Cody Rhodes is WWE’s biggest babyface since John Cena.

With WWE spending one generation after another fighting its own fanbase trying to coronate a top guy, Cody clicked—for a myriad of reasons—Cody perfectly timed his free agency, immediately ascended to the WWE main event, and most importantly—started his story. One that fans became inescapably invested in for years. We’re living in a whole era of WWE’s long-term storytelling at its finest, good, bad and ugly.

I’ve spent two years, and almost 1,000 days studying the Cody Rhodes story and everything that comes with it. Cody’s story was an imperfect journey that at its best—was an Emmy-caliber tear-jerker. And at its worst—was the biggest meme in wrestling. There was a real chance that Cody Rhodes could finish his story too late. Or, worse yet, not finish this story at all. In which case he’d go from the grandson of a plumber, to the son of Roman Reigns.

So what was it that made Cody such a conquering hero to such a fickle fanbase? Why didn’t the unpredictable WWE fanbase never leave his side, even during his darkest moments. And is his story really finished? Or are they writing the epilogue before our very eyes? The answer may surprise you.

The Story Begins Continues

“So…what do you guys wanna talk about?”
These were the first words spoken during Cody Rhodes’ last AEW promo. Cody was working without a contract and speculation ran wild that he was jumping ship to WWE. And that’s exactly what happened in March of 2022. The great paradox about Cody Rhodes is that he fits in anywhere, but not always at the right time. During his early days on the main roster, he seemed like an AEW guy in WWE. Once he left for the indies and joined forces with the Young Bucks, he was like an ex-WWE guy competing in the indies to show WWE what they missed. Cody succeeded at that goal through the success of All In, and All Elite Wrestling—where he seemed like a WWE guy in AEW.
AEW fans never truly accepted Cody Rhodes the way he wanted them to. He lost a match that banned him from competing for a world champion, and even his martyrdom wasn’t good enough for Jacksonville. An apparent effort to unite AEW fans in his corner backfired. In May of 2021, after a polarizing patriotic speech against the British Anthony Oggogo, Rhodes became an internet heel in AEW. He was massacred online due to the promo—which gave birth to the sarcastic Cody Solved Racism meme. Probably better fit for a political rally. Looking back, the promo wasn’t all that divisive, and would have killed in WWE for a top babyface. But that was the problem in AEW—where it was rejected by AEW’s fat, mouth-breathing neck-bearded troll of a fanbase. Ruby Soho’s words—and mine.

Cody Rhodes was an unapologetic babyface in AEW who refused to turn heel for an older demographic that valued inside baseball over entertainment. And as WWE guy in AEW—Rhodes sealed his fate by leaving the company he helped start. Rhodes literally went out in a blaze of glory, going through a flaming table in one of his final matches against Andrade. He set himself on fire trying to win the approval of the world’s most smart-mark fanbase. And it still wasn’t good enough.

So, for Cody Rhodes, it was off to WWE…to start his story

* Cody Returns to WWE (Reaction; Animation)


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