10 Times AEW Took Advantage Of WWE Ignoring The Fans
3. Cody Rhodes
AEW wouldn't have come to be without WWE's incompetence.
It's something that gets said enough but still bears repeating, and there can be no better example than this than Cody Rhodes himself.
The second generation star didn't want the moon on a stick in WWE, though that does sound like something Stardust would have mentioned in a nonsensical backstage promo. What he did want was an opportunity to grab one one of the Vince McMahon's mythical brass rings, and he began feeling pretty f*cking aggrieved when they weren't offered out after he got over huge in 2013.
A run against The Shield alongside brother Dustin should have been the turning point for the burgeoning star. Instead, the midcard treadmill beckoned until the aforementioned gimmick change threatened to pigeonhole him forever as little more than a tribute act to his sibling's infamous (and charmingly now rather beloved) persona.
He's told his tale plenty of times, but every version ends with one lingering thought - AEW exists because WWE created the need for it.