Why Cody Rhodes Leaving Is Best For AEW

9. The Chance For Other Stars To Step Up

Tony Khan Cody Rhodes
AEW

While he's been kayfabe unable to challenge for the AEW World Title since losing to Chris Jericho at Full Gear 2019, that's not stopped Cody Rhodes from being a featured player in All Elite Wrestling in the time since.

Despite not being able to mix it up in matches for AEW's biggest prize, the American Nightmare has regularly had the spotlight for his rivalries with the likes of MJF, Mr. Brodie Lee, Malakai Black and more recently Sammy Guevara. And in all fairness, Cody absolutely deserved to be a spotlighted talent in AEW, for whatever you may think of Rhodes, he was undoubtedly a big-time player in Tony Khan's promotion.

With Cody now out of the picture, that gives other names in AEW the opportunity to step up to the plate and make the most of any additional TV time that will come their way. Likewise, Brandi Rhodes has been utilised on TV in a significant, if not questionable role in recent weeks, and the removal of Brandi from the company means that again frees up some ever-important TV time for other members of the All Elite roster.

But of course, it's not like Cody hasn't been unavailable for AEW programming before...

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.