I'm curious to get your takes on Cody and where he fits in AEW. Why do you think the fans have turned on him and was it always by design? When did he lose the fans?

Initially I was surprised at how well Cody presented himself during the early days of AEW. He was one of the only EVPs who wasn't afraid to raise his hand and try to be a star for the promotion and while he wasn't the best in-ring performer it really did seem like he was giving his blood, sweat and tears for the promotion. It was an endearing quality until something happened when the pandemic hit.

He got that ugly tattoo.

That and the decision to put the TNT Championship hurt his appeal. Cody had established himself as the heart and soul of the promotion who fought to prove himself after the WWE dressed him up, called him Stardust and buried him. Cody represented the rebellious spirit AEW fans desired, but that run turned him into the franchise and while plenty of good came from it (Eddie Kingston and Ricky Starks) the pendulum started to turn.

I think things really came to a head around the Jade Cargill program which was poorly promoted and started this trend where he started promoting his Nightmare Factory talents on the show. Since AEW likes to give their talents time, this ate up time that should have gone to more deserving talents and it really rubbed fans the wrong way that QT Marshall was getting more screen time than other talents. I think fans saw through the storylines and realised these sub-par segments were all being put together by Cody.

That's when stories started to emerge that the EVPs weren't talking and the writing process was leaked which painted AEW in a poor light.

There was also that time where Cody inserted himself into a sloppy multi-man ladder match and spent the majority of the time at the ramp taking all the attention away from a bunch of guys who were just trying to get noticed.

Which leads to the current day and the malaise surrounding the Malakai Black feud. I think outside of the odd segment the program has been fine but fans are so wary of this 'new star must go through Cody' routine that it's actually something of a turn-off and fans can't wait until Black moves onto something else.

I think obviously the direction would be for him to turn heel. I think the only way you could really do it is if you have him turn heel on a Lee Johnson and basically turn Cody into a lower-mid card heel.

Or you find him a tag team partner and get him away from singles for the time being.

Seems like a WWE guy to the Indy audience that AEW caters to alot. He did dip a little bit with ROH and NJPW but he is seen as an outsider to all of that. Punk, Cole, Bryan while their names got elevated while in the WWE, still had a huge standing in the Indies/ROH. Jericho is able to live off nostalgia, Matt Hardy & Christian are wet farts to the audience and as long as they aren't winning anything monumental, they serve their purpose. Add that he comes from "privilege" being Dusty Rhodes son and how much his wife is getting a Stephanie McMahon like push in Brandi and yeah.

Cody is in the prime of his career and is torn between doing what is right and getting guys a rub vs taking care of his character & worth and winning some big matches to save creditability. He's become the guy he sort of made fun of in HHH in a sense that while he wants guys to flourish with him down the road, he also doesn't want to give into too much of being a developmental wrestler for the younger/unknown audience. Rhodes was doing his best work when with the TV title in AEW or with his brother, he should embrace being a heel at this point as it will change his entire character up. Maybe lead QT's squad in an ultimate swerve and sort of "get" where QT Marshall was coming from all this time. You can also do a Randy Orton homage and have him be a "Legend Killer" in the sense that he would target all of the oldies in AEW, starting with the betrayal of Arn Anderson and in turn unleash his heelness on Brock Anderson.

His virtue signaling promos are god awful though because they seem ingenuine & forced. He should take a page out of Jericho and just stay away from that if your really about it per say. The "MY CHILD IS BLACK AND WHITE!" promo months ago was so bad it was good and he truly thought he cut an all time GOAT promo.

If they must insist on him being a face, stick him with Dustin Rhodes and keep them in the tag division. I don't think those two ever challenged for the Tag belts in AEW. 

For the most part I love Cody. But every thing about his character says I am above everyone here.

Using delicate subjects in promos.

Brandy in general is heel heat.

Wrestling is a second priority.

While AEW is a progressive company all their fans aren't. Cody seems to be the one mostly for involving LGBT+ members. And some of their fanbase isn't behind that.

I look at his feud with Ogogo as the turning point of Cody to the audience. Ogogo brought up health insurance being a disaster in US(Which it is) and having so much terrible history behind it and Cody went "RAHRAHUSARAHRAH" and "Get out of this country you immigrant if you don't cherish the freedom you have here". All we were missing is a flag match with Cody taking down the US Flag and crowd surfing in Mobile Alabama or some other place. The fact he beat Ogogo was a giant no-no and I think a lot of people tuned Cody out. His TV title defenses were good because he gave everybody like Sonny Kiss or WARHORSE or whoever else a legit chance to shine weekly on Dynamite. His feud with Brodie Lee was very good with the dog kettle match being the highlight of Brodie Lee's AEW time arguably. The Ogogo and QT feud with Cody was the beginning of the end, I feel anything QT Marshall touches, he has the Midas touch post gold powers. Everything he touches, turns to dead, cold, lifeless stone. Cody was no exception and he hasn't rebounded since. Anybody could be in the spot vs a new act like M. Black and have some good buzz around it.

Not giving Ogogo the win was and still is a terrible move, even if Ogogo's injury has soften that stance since he's been on TV for weeks.

Cody's problem is that he's trying too hard to be his father, this uber patriotic old school territorial champion character. His whole act is inauthentic, and the fans have seen through that for a long time.

To be fair, that act did work for him in AEW's early days. The Nick Aldis rivalry, the match with Dustin, the Jericho feud, and his TV title defenses. Not my cup of tea but those stories were well-received.

Then as Big Pete alluded to, he got the neck tattoo, turned his whole act up to 11, and it all started to go wrong. What worked then does not work now. Cody has failed to accept this, which is why he's stubbornly sticking to this and why everybody hates him.

One of Cody's best qualities is that he really knows how to put a guy over, he doesn't half-ass it, and I think he's done wonders for Malakai Black. I'm enjoying this feud, but it feels like it's time for Black to move on.

I think people are being worked. Cody mostly has been putting people over, so he wants the crowd to want to see him be beaten, even as a face. The way to do this, is to be the face, but not really try to get himself over. This way people get excited for guys like Kingston and Black to beat the shit out of him.

I do not feel it is time for Black to move on yet, but he needs to escalate it and give it purpose. Because right now, it is just the same stuff over and over again. I think he def needs more promo time to get over the feud.

Not really following AEW at all, but that neck tattoo alone was enough for me to go off Cody full stop forever.

I thought fans turned on him when he grew that awful ass moustache during his WWE days.

Hmm during AEW, I don't know where he stands, is he a mid card guy? Is he meant to be like a Triple H kinda guy?

Going to probably be a stretch here but his pinnacle in AEW for me, was before AEW for that Dustin Rhodes v Cody match.

He comes across as one of the most pompous people in wrestling.

That stupid neck tattoo. His awful wife. That awful early 2000s music. That awful bleached hair. Every awful promo.

I don't think he's creative enough for this to be a heel act, this is who he actually is.

He feels like the rich kid who no one really likes but gets to hang out with the cool kids because he's rich.

And recently, Arn Anderson compared him to The Rock and John Cena a few days ago, as he's about to apparently take over Hollywood and suggested fans only boo him because of his intentions to work in Hollywood and spend less time in wrestling. What a joke..

I think once Cody started feuding with Darby, the fans started to sour on him.

I’m convinced Cody is very aware of what he is doing and how he is being received and he’s doing meta heel work unlike anything we’ve seen.

At least I tell myself that because the alternative is that his head is so far up his ass he can’t tell reality from fiction anymore.

I feel like if Darby was the guy to beat Brodie & Dustin was simply leading The Nightmare Family against The Factory, with Cody not being the reason for seeking revenge, the heat on Cody wouldn't be that great.

To put a different spin on the narrative.

With Kenny, there's an argument to be made, that he's the best in the world (I may not agree, but nonetheless, there is) and was a megastar for NJPW. He was the hottest thing in the business. The Bucks, arguably the best Tag Team in the world (I may not agree..) and obviously big stars in NJPW and ROH. Adam Cole and later, Marty Scrull were seen as top prospects.

The embodiments of that rebellious, outsider mentally in NJPW that became synonymous with Bullet Club. That, and all being under 6'0" and barely 200lbs, they were the antithesis to WWE. Cody is the opposite. He looks like a WWE guy, to this day and always presented himself as a WWE guy. To this day.

Cody was never a big star in WWE, he was never a star amongst The Elite and when he held the ROH title, ROH was largely an afterthought with NJPW's popularity risen and NXT in its prime. He was never an ace or a drawcard. He needed a rub from KO before Bullet Club adoped him. And was more or less able to walk from WWE because he had family money.

While I don't discount his ambition, he bought his spot on the card with being an AEW Founder. He was previously awarded a spot in WWE because of his Father.

While I think he would have found some success in wrestling, he wouldn't have had this degree of success without being very fortunate in more ways than one.

So if you subconsciously dislike Cody, after witnessing his pompous promos and grand standing, virtue signalling and continual name dropping, this might be why.

like Emperor said he's trying to be Dusty. The problem is he's not. Plus I guess I'm a little burnt out. In the first year of AEW Cody seemed to be all over the place. Much like Dusty if something started getting hot or interesting next thing you know it seemed like Dusty/Cody was late to the party but somehow involved. To the point it seemed Cody was over involved. For me he's a big fish small pond. A mid carder pretending to be a main eventer, but if your a EVP I guess you can do that. Don't get me started on the neck tattoo or leaving his boots in the ring.

and the only thing Brandi seem to have going for her is her boobs.

I just hate his stupid face and thought if nothing else at least the neck tat (all tats are gross in general tbh) at least took focus away from his dumb face.

Sept 26, 2021 2:23:49 GMT NATH45 said:

To put a different spin on the narrative.

With Kenny, there's an argument to be made, that he's the best in the world (I may not agree, but nonetheless, there is) and was a megastar for NJPW. He was the hottest thing in the business. The Bucks, arguably the best Tag Team in the world (I may not agree..) and obviously big stars in NJPW and ROH. Adam Cole and later, Marty Scrull were seen as top prospects.

The embodiments of that rebellious, outsider mentally in NJPW that became synonymous with Bullet Club. That, and all being under 6'0" and barely 200lbs, they were the antithesis to WWE. Cody is the opposite. He looks like a WWE guy, to this day and always presented himself as a WWE guy. To this day.

Cody was never a big star in WWE, he was never a star amongst The Elite and when he held the ROH title, ROH was largely an afterthought with NJPW's popularity risen and NXT in its prime. He was never an ace or a drawcard. He needed a rub from KO before Bullet Club adoped him. And was more or less able to walk from WWE because he had family money.

While I don't discount his ambition, he bought his spot on the card with being an AEW Founder. He was previously awarded a spot in WWE because of his Father.

While I think he would have found some success in wrestling, he wouldn't have had this degree of success without being very fortunate in more ways than one.

So if you subconsciously dislike Cody, after witnessing his pompous promos and grand standing, virtue signalling and continual name dropping, this might be why.

This is an excellent take.

Sept 26, 2021 16:11:19 GMT @ness said:

I just hate his stupid face and thought if nothing else at least the neck tat (all tats are gross in general tbh) at least took focus away from his dumb face.

So is this.

Sept 26, 2021 16:05:47 GMT bodyslam said:

like Emperor said he's trying to be Dusty. The problem is he's not. Plus I guess I'm a little burnt out. In the first year of AEW Cody seemed to be all over the place. Much like Dusty if something started getting hot or interesting next thing you know it seemed like Dusty/Cody was late to the party but somehow involved. To the point it seemed Cody was over involved. For me he's a big fish small pond. A mid carder pretending to be a main eventer, but if your a EVP I guess you can do that. Don't get me started on the neck tattoo or leaving his boots in the ring.

and the only thing Brandi seem to have going for her is her boobs.

But this is the most excellent take.

Sept 26, 2021 16:05:47 GMT bodyslam said:

and the only thing Brandi seem to have going for her is her boobs.

Well she got the 1st ever AEW female figurine over Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida. #LilBranBran

She was good as a ring announcer and can def. pull off being a backstage interviewer given that was her calling in WWE but she wants to be involved more. Her AEW Heelz idea of charging people money to talk in a non-toxic environment was an epic fail, the nightmare collective of having her cut the hair of opponents was lousy and she had promise in her Cargill feud but she became pregnant, which swapped her with Red Velvet to eat the fall from Cargill. 

She's someone who tries to do too much. She has a role in AEW, just should not be in the ring or cutting promos borderline weekly like she would used to do. 

And her idea of black wrestlers not getting loved as the reason why they haven't been pushed was as piss poor of a take as one can have but we had a thread on that tomfoolery. She might be even more delusional than Rhodes but if you at all critique her or criticize her, the race or gender card gets played. 

Sept 27, 2021 0:18:11 GMT 🤯 said:

Sept 26, 2021 16:05:47 GMT bodyslam said:

like Emperor said he's trying to be Dusty. The problem is he's not. Plus I guess I'm a little burnt out. In the first year of AEW Cody seemed to be all over the place. Much like Dusty if something started getting hot or interesting next thing you know it seemed like Dusty/Cody was late to the party but somehow involved. To the point it seemed Cody was over involved. For me he's a big fish small pond. A mid carder pretending to be a main eventer, but if your a EVP I guess you can do that. Don't get me started on the neck tattoo or leaving his boots in the ring.

and the only thing Brandi seem to have going for her is her boobs.

But this is the most excellent take.

about Cody or Brandi's boobs?

This thread made me Google "cody rhodes neck tattoo" and holy fuck.

Sept 27, 2021 4:40:53 GMT bodyslam said:

Sept 27, 2021 0:18:11 GMT 🤯 said:

But this is the most excellent take.

about Cody or Brandi's boobs?

Both, brotha.

Blindy, bringing up that promo is fucking hilarious! my child is black and white! talk about an unnecessary line.

Sept 27, 2021 4:48:19 GMT Kilgore said:

This thread made me Google "cody rhodes neck tattoo" and holy fuck.

That is the look of a man who just realized he made a terrible mistake.

If there is video of the first time it was revealed to him I hope it looks like the Two Face unwrapping.

Cody Rhodes is awesome, the neck tattoo is hideous AF though.

I just don't understand that neck tattoo..

Why Cody? Why?

Maybe he needs to go back to that awful paper bag on the head character and do it to himself.

The best part about the tattoo is that it would have looked better literally anywhere else on his body (minus his face obviously). He could have tattooed that on his ass and it still would have been a better decision.

Yet another reason I’m convinced he’s 110% dedicated to this meta heel gimmick and knows exactly what he’s doing.

He has a chest tattoo on his neck, and a neck tattoo on his chest.

This is no gimmick. He's a twat.

Sept 29, 2021 18:52:02 GMT RT said:

The best part about the tattoo is that it would have looked better literally anywhere else on his body (minus his face obviously). He could have tattooed that on his ass and it still would have been a better decision.

Yet another reason I’m convinced he’s 110% dedicated to this meta heel gimmick and knows exactly what he’s doing.

So this abomination made it's debut last March. Last February he had worked MJF at Revolution and then Archer at Double or Nothing in May. He was a babyface.