Wrestling Fan Fools WWE Fans Into Believing Cody Rhodes Was Heading To Elimination Chamber 2022

Here's how you were duped into believing the American Nightmare was heading to Jeddah via Poland.

Feb 20, 2022 February 20th, 2022

Friday saw an image circulating online that purportedly showed Cody Rhodes in a Polish airport on his way to Saudi Arabia for WWE Elimination Chamber. Of course, the American Nightmare didn't appear at this premium live event, and neither was he anywhere near the Jeddah Super Dome venue which housed this show.

Since then, PWInsider has moved to report Rhodes as being in Orlando, Florida this weekend, with it believed he's at the Orlando-based WWE Performance Center to film vignettes ahead of his return to the company.

So, how exactly did so many get duped into thinking Cody was heading to Saudi Arabia via Poland? Quite simply, this is all down to someone named Manieq on Twitter.

As Manieq detailed, he made a fake photo designed to make it appear as if Rhodes was in Warsaw Airport. This was done as a joke suggesting that the three-time AEW TNT Champion was heading to Poland's Prime Time Wrestling to become the promotion's new CEO.

In reality, the faux picture took an image of Cody from a December 2021 meet-and-greet event and doctored it to make it appear as if he was elsewhere.

I wanted to hit a joke in Polish wrestling groups in connection with a polish federation Prime Time Wrestling where Rhodes would be making his debut as the new CEO (that's why "Cody landed in Warsaw" and not in another country). [2/7] pic.twitter.com/2ShM5yfokQ
— Manieq (@mvnieq) February 20, 2022

because I didn't connect all the fun of it to the events in Saudi Arabia. I must admit that the most entertaining part was not the "taking of the bait" itself, but the analysis of this photo by many internet users [4/7]
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— Manieq (@mvnieq) February 20, 2022

Also respect to the people who suspected from the beginning that something was going on and started to look for evidence for the bait. [6/7]
— Manieq (@mvnieq) February 20, 2022

Thanks for the time we spent together, if you were fooled I'm sorry, if not - congratulations for your attitude towards every rumor published on the Internet.
I'll see you at Wrestlemania, where Kenny Omega will step in between Reigns and Lesnar ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). [7/7] pic.twitter.com/M8sKtfffBQ
— Manieq (@mvnieq) February 20, 2022

After he and his wife Brandi officially departed AEW this past Monday, Cody Rhodes is expected to return to WWE imminently - with his free agency status meaning he could theoretically appear on WWE programming as soon as tomorrow's Raw.

Andrew Pollard

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.

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