10 Storylines AEW Dropped COLD
3. The Codyverse
Cody Rhodes leaving AEW brought about the end of his time with the company he helped launch, but it also kiboshed a dream match list going into double figures and a series of stories 'The American Nightmare' had half-started with no clear intention of finishing.
What to make of it now he’s gone? On any given week between late-2020 and his final ever match against Sammy Guevara on a January 2022 Dynamite, Rhodes was working 40 angles in his own mind even when he could at best wrestle about six other guys in a match at once.
AEW’s fairly discerning fanbase felt this unfocussed energy deep in their souls and responded with loud boos. This was spun, just as it had been with John Cena for over a decade in WWE, as a good thing (“any reaction is better than no reaction”) and in keeping with ‘The American Nightmare’s philosophy that goodies and baddies were a thing of the past.
Alas, a lot of the words were for naught. Brody King can’t f*cking batter him for the strange verbal sideswipe that time, the CM Punk dream match remains just that, and Shaquille O’Neal’s ambulance disappearance will remain as mysterious as Cody’s ability to no-sell Penta snapping his arm in two in the middle of a random Dynamite bout.
Canny fun, if not always functional.