10 Wrestlers Who REFUSED To Win
4. Cody Rhodes Wanted To Make Darby Allin A Star - (Fyter Fest 2019)
Cody Rhodes was a big supporter of bringing Darby Allin into All Elite Wrestling when it launched in 2019. He saw the ability and natural charisma Darby possessed on the indie circuit and pushed hard for him to be signed to a contract.
Cody squared off against Darby at Fyter Fest (2019) in a match he was supposed to win, with AEW President/Owner Tony Khan wanting the victory for Cody to help certify him further in fans eyes as one of AEW’s main eventers going forward. Cody was going to challenge Chris Jericho for the AEW World Championship in a big-time match later that year at Full Gear (2019).
Cody refused the win though, wanting to lose to make Darby a star. Cody and Tony eventually came to the compromise of the two going to a 20-minute time limit draw instead. Tony commented afterwards: “Cody absolutely did not want to beat Darby, absolutely did not want to beat him. God bless him for that. It was a great call.”
Tony finally saw the massive potential Darby had after Fyter Fest, so at Full Gear (2020) Darby went one step further and won the TNT Championship from Cody with a roll-up.