5 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dynamite (May 12)

2. USA Vs. The World In 2021

Cody Rhodes
AEW

USA vs. The World doesn't fly in 2021.

After all the social and political upheaval of the past couple of years, building a feud around national pride is a tough, tough sell, despite Cody Rhodes' earnest attempts at making the old format more progressive. The idea of the evil foreign villain vs. the noble American hero was already outdated. Now, it's untenable, and a tone-deaf yarn for a babyface (especially one of the biggest babyfaces in the promotion) to be spinning in this climate.

Anthony Ogogo has been criticising the United States for weeks, all while standing beside Americans QT Marshall, Nick Comoroto, and Aaron Solow, which is wonky enough. He has laid Cody Rhodes out with two gut punches. That's what brought us to this point - and what was admittedly a well-delivered Cody promo. Rhodes was fantastic on the microphone, tearing up believably as he spoke of his wife, Brandi, giving birth to a multi-racial child in the once-segregated city of Atlanta, but his passion couldn't compensate for the content.

On top of this, the segment also fed the oft-misplaced criticism thrown Rhodes' way for his supposed "vanity" in AEW. Such complaints typically come from a disingenuous place, or misunderstanding. Not so much here. Cody ate up several minutes of television time to announce he'd be competing as 'The American Dream,' not 'Nightmare,' at Double Or Nothing.

Anyone who's been following wrestling for five minutes knows the significance of that nickname, but did this "big announcement" need its own, puffed-up with patriotism?

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.