Why Cody Rhodes Leaving Is Best For AEW

7. No Need To Deal With The World Title Situation

Tony Khan Cody Rhodes
AEW/TNT

Kudos has to be given to AEW and Cody Rhodes for adhering to the stipulation put in pace as a result of Cody's Full Gear 2019 loss to Chris Jericho.

There, as part of a pre-agreed condition, Rhodes would never be able to challenge for the AEW World Championship again, period, should he lose to Le Champion. After being screwed by MJF, the American Nightmare came up short against Jericho, and the subsequent 27 months of Cody's AEW career never saw him get so much as a sniff at AEW's grandest prize.

Still, this stipulation was at some point going to present AEW with a headache.

At 34 years of age at the time of Full Gear 2019, and clearly one of AEW's biggest names, it seemed unfathomable that Cody wouldn't get an AEW World Title run at some point. But to get to that point, how would AEW go back on a cemented stipulation without losing face? After all, WWE has long been lambasted for how flimsy they are with their own rules and for treating their audience like idiots. AEW was meant to be different to WWE in that regard, and AEW has been different to WWE.

If Cody were to have turned heel in AEW, then this stipulation could've brilliantly played into this as the power-crazed EVP who bends rules to his will in order to give himself a World Title shot, but alas, that never came to pass.

Now, this is a matter AEW no longer needs to concern themselves with.

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.