10 Wrestlers Who Broke Kayfabe In Unusual Ways

4. Cody Rhodes Asks What We Want To Talk About

Becky Lynch
AEW

The 19th January edition of AEW Dynamite featured a number of segments designed to address numerous complaints about a real stinker of an episode the week prior.

There, interruptions and run-ins reached an insane and untenable level for a show keen on preserving the sporting framework they'd worked hard to establish. Promos didn't shine, matches didn't sparkle, and future combinations teased felt anything but elite.

The fix was simple and instant and achieved with aplomb. A far more concise show saw most matches deliver relatively clean finishes, angle advancement was logical and contrived, and signposted feuds boasted vim again. And then there was The Codyverse.

Yet again existing on his own plane, Cody cut promos on or related to (deep breath), CM Punk, Jay Lethal, Ricky Starks, NXT, WWE, Brody King, The Elite, FTR, ReDragon, before settling on actual opponent Sammy Guevara for all of two minutes at the end. He dipped between shoot and work with the usual undulation he saves for his heel/babyface shtick in a manner that was as engaging as it was utterly preposterous.

A fun watch, but impossible to view strictly through the prism of the one tenet always worth trying to protect.

In this post: 
Becky Lynch
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 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