10 Iconic Wrestling Images That Show History Repeating

2. Game Of Thrones

Cody Rhodes Throne
AEW

People loved Cody smashing the throne.

Grabby symbolism to pander to ardent acolytes it might have been but wrestling's got a rich history of that - as well the 'American Nightmare' knows. Vince McMahon trained his audience to loathe any form of wrestling outside of his own vision of it, and this was Cody's personal take on it.

The smart acknowledgement that Triple H was as much to do with the current monopoly as Vince himself was inspired too. It took a shot at somebody that had been partially babyfaced thanks to a well-liked NXT product and the general consensus that he could "fix" much of what was wrong about WWE. Cody found his own billionaire rather than trying to battle the existing one and his son-in-law.

The AEW EVP isn't a man of the people in spite of this grandiose statement aiming to suggest otherwise. He's the latest promoter/power player to heap dirt on the old ways in an effort to plough forth with the new. Just as Vince McMahon reduced other rivals to "rasslin' in smoky bingo halls" and Eric Bischoff gave away results on Nitro, Cody used 'The Game's ridiculous weapon to smash an accepted institution.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett