WWE Just Changed The Wrestling World Forever

Only smoke and mirrors, or a new paradigm shift...?

by Michael Sidgwick
AEW The Elite
AEW

The paradigm has shifted again.

In an inconceivable development, Cody Rhodes, the leader of the revolution, has left AEW and is bound for the WWE establishment. It's a wild story, possibly the biggest since the very formation of All Elite Wrestling. Would the promotion even exist without him?

Tony Khan had surveyed the shifting landscape ahead of All In, which was Cody's brainchild; indeed, negotiations for an as-yet-unnamed wrestling league were so advanced that Tony Khan flew Chris Jericho into the event to facilitate his cameo appearance. All In didn't act as a pilot for AEW, though the proof of concept could not have hurt the talks with Warner.

The 2018 Kenny Omega Vs. Chris Jericho mega-match, itself driven by the new stratosphere of critical acclaim Omega entered alongside Kazuchika Okada a year prior, first sparked within Khan the realisation of his e-fed. But make no mistake: Cody's ambitious thinking, networking and sublime character work elevated the counter-culture into something that felt massive. He took an amusing after work f*ck-about, in Being The Elite, and catalysed a movement that felt too important not to monetise. He was, at the very least, indirectly responsible for the formation of AEW. It doesn't exist without Cody, Omega, or the Young Bucks - or any configuration of that group that isn't the whole. In an astonishing development, one of the original Executive Vice Presidents is longer All Elite.

What does the Cody news tell us?

CONT'D...(1 of 6)

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!