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Since returning to WWE at WrestleMania 38 in April 2022, Cody Rhodes has been on a straight shot towards superstardom as he seeks to control his destiny and become WWE Champion. That did not always appear to be the case, however, as when AEW first launched in 2019, many fans expected Cody Rhodes to be the leading babyface for the new promotion. He would be, for much of his time in the company, though a self-inflicted booking wound that prevented him from winning the AEW World Championship would ultimately sabotage his time in the sun within All Elite Wrestling. With Cody Rhodes cemented as a WrestleMania headliner in 2023, it's time to look back at his AEW run and see where things went so wrong, and where they've gone so right for him in WWE.
RELATED: Why Cody Rhodes Should Win At WrestleMania 39 (& Why Roman Reigns Should Continue The Historic Run)
Cody Rhodes Was Once The Hottest Babyface In Wrestling In AEW
Double or Nothing 2019. This was the setting for AEW's debut, as the company would launch a year after the first All In event. At this PPV, Cody Rhodes took on his brother, Dustin, in one of the most talked about matches of the year. It was an emotional bloodbath that sold fans on Cody as a main-event player in this new company, with him playing into the anti-establishment vibe that AEW was aiming for, as his entrance saw him use a sledgehammer to destroy Triple H's throne. It set things off with a bang for Cody in AEW, with the fanbase behind him from out of the gate.
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As the company later debuted on TNT in October 2019, they began building towards Full Gear. At the show, Chris Jericho defended the AEW World Championship against Rhodes, who would add his own booking stipulation to the match that saw him not being able to challenge for the belt ever again if he lost. He did lose, preventing him from ever being AEW Champion in the process. By December 2019, Tony Khan took full booking control of the company and said that the stipulation Cody chose was never official, and that he would not enforce it if Cody wanted to go for the belt.
The AEW Fanbase Turned On Cody Rhodes, Eventually Leading To His Exit
As Cody exited the world title scene in AEW, he carved out a section of the midcard for himself. This would eventually be dubbed "The Codyverse" by AEW fans, as his stories often felt totally disconnected from the rest of AEW during the COVID-19 Pandemic, for better or worse. He no longer interacted with The Elite and would feature in some of the most polarizing stories within the company. Feuds with NBA Legend Shaq, Anthony Ogogo, and Malakai Black broke the walls down in terms of fan support for Cody.
RELATED: Cody Rhodes' First 10 Matches Since His Return To WWE, Ranked From Worst To Best
Following some truly bad storylines, AEW fans began turning on Cody in 2021 as his stories felt like some of the worst, most confusing outings in all wrestling. The Malakai Black program, which seemed to be clearly hinting at Cody turning heel, would see Cody lose to Black before immediately teasing retirement out of nowhere, only to lose to Black again before defeating him. The AEW fans ended up practically begging for Rhodes to turn heel, but it would never come. Instead, he had a bizarre exit from the company which saw him cut a promo burying Gunther from WWE and AEW's recent signings of reDRagon before losing the TNT Championship to Sammy Guevara.
Cody Rhodes Is Playing The Same AEW Character In WWE, But The New Setting Makes Him Stand Out
One thing that was never in doubt was Cody Rhodes' passion. In AEW, that was always in the forefront with his promos. Cody gave it one hundred percent every week, even when stories were not connecting. That is something that has made him stand out so much in WWE, with his very genuine, down-to-earth, real promo style. In a promotion like WWE where most promos sound so scripted and homogenized, Cody Rhodes stands out.
Since his arrival in WWE, he has been the same AEW character across the board. The same music, the same gear, the same character, the same promos. What did not work in AEW is now taking Cody to the promised land thanks to his ability to stand out from the pack of generalized WWE Superstars.
