El-P

Let's be real, it must be pretty bittersweet for him. I don't think after all this he visualized himself leaving the company he helped build to go back to Vince, 6 years after he left.

Back in AEW in three years on commentary, talking about going to the pay window and the mothership. In 2028 he'll turn heel and join the Bullet Club.

Well, apparently now the word is that Cody is going to WWE, but without Brandi. Plot thickens. Of course, rumors...

I jokingly talked about Cody getting the creative of NXT2.0, but objectively, he may have this on the back of his mind in the never ending quest of chasing his father's shadow. After all, who was more instrumental in developing the best (of you believe the hype) years of NXT than Dusty ? The issue is, as always, is that whatever you did outside of WWE doesn't really count. I mean, it does, but it doesn't. Also, for as much as Cody was a positive influence backstage in AEW in term of working with younger talent, he was never the booker. The idea that everybody was doing the booking has been debunked a long time ago, TK always was the man in charge in the end. Maybe they others EVP had more leeways before the infamous Dark Order beatdown episode (the worst Dynamite finish ever), but it was never a booking committee of sorts. No idea how Brandi fits into this either. She wants to be a worker again, but she always shines the best as a heel valet, she's actually great at it. Her AEW stint really has been a miss for the most part, when you look back at it, in term of in-front of the camera stuff. I gave her the benefit of the doubt over and over again, but there's no two ways about it. In WWE she'd be Maria Kanellis, basically.

I totally can see Jericho going back to end his career. Mox ? Doesn't seem likely at all.

Also, it's kinda fascinating that people act like now everybody will want to jump. Wait, because Cody was unhappy after a year of screwing up his own character and being overshadowed by everybody in the Elite and newcomers, that invalidates everything that has been said about WWE's management of talent for the last years and AEW's success ? Like, really now ? Wow...

Well, Jade did not go for the "We're your family now" cult sell-job, MJF has still time on his contract and it will be a very different deal then. WWE can take Wardlow any day.

It won't change the incompetent booking one iota. Like I said before. Cody was a nobody in an unsuccessful promotion, but now that he's gonna jump all of a sudden it's a huge deal and a game changer (wait, I thought AEW wasn't a success anyway, so how does it change the game ?) .

You mean 2020 ? Ok, it works. Seriously though, I think some people are way overestimating what Cody back to WWE would mean. In 6 months he's just another guy.

Which is ?

Even without the shots, WWE is incompetent at booking anyone not made by them. And it's nothing new. Cody was lost in the last year of AEW already, I have no idea how anyone would think Vince in 2022 would make the most out of this guy. He's the one who released Adam Cole and Keith Lee.

Steve Austin : I may do Mania this year. How about this for headlines ? Cody Rhodes : hold my beer.

Cody in charge of NXT 2.0 anyone ? Then at Mania next year, Cody & Brandi vs HHH & Stephy for Brand Supremacy ! I know. I'm shivering just at the thought of this actually happening...

The heel reactions he would get then... Especially if he goes "Well, I've got a new contract, I can challenge for the World Title now", Mr. Liar style.

Since when do we actually believe what pro-wrestler say ? It was going so well for Cody. And then he got the neck tattoo. And then Omega & the Bucks finally got pushed to the top as they should have and the company grew more than when Cody was seen as the guy. And then the baby gender reveal and the Ogogo promo. And then while it was all about CM Punk & Danielson & Adam Cole, Cody was fighting his own audience with semi-shoot promos about "not turning heel". In the end, something had to give, especially if he wanted more money than TK was willing to give him considering his current status on the roster.

Expected reactions from idiotic WWE stans : "lulz AEW iz dEaD". Just give us Cody & Brandi doing the Cardona loop and show up in GCW already. He knows how to take a bump into fire now.

After working in a such talent-oriented company, I have no idea how anyone could bear the WWE toxic cultish corporate environment though.

Mania results : Steve Austin beats Dashing Cody Rhodes with the stunner in 3:16mn. Earlier on the show Brandi appears in a backstage segment being talked down by Charlotte.

Coach Tony K. was giving us the 1-2 punch of Adam Cole & Brian Danielson while Cody was giving us... well... what Cody was giving us. I guess those boos did get to him after all.

Which also begs the question, what happens with PVZ ? Thunder Rosa is going against Baker, but there is certainly potential for PVZ in pro-wrestling and honestly Brandi would not have been the one to carry a match. Time for Red Velvet as a stand-in again ? All jokes aside, I sure hope we get a PVZ match and Velvet wouldn't be the worse choice considering what she did with Jade.

Hum... He's more like Jeff Jarrett in 99 going back to Russo's WCW, honestly. Adam Cole showing up right after main-eventing Takeover was Lex Luger, plus AEW is the WCW of the times, the rising promotion challenging Vince, not the other way around. It would be a total masterwork if that was so.

I'm not 'Murrican and although I'm turning 46 in two weeks my tastes and social habits are no boomer-like , yeah, I've lived through the MNW in the infancy of the pro-wrestling internet community (although really I wasn't active on DVDVR before 99) so yeah, this totally reminds me of back then. Well, of course all the guys signing TO AEW and the NXT debacle was already MNW-like, but this is the first time a major name from the hot new promotion is leaving. I asked the question a few months ago. My answer then would NOT have been Cody, although he hasn't jumped yet (but really now, what else is there to do for him in term of getting fat money ?). Yeah, it makes things more fun for everyone involved and better for the workers because of the opportunities. Even though I don't care one bit about the WWE product, I would certainly watch Cody & Brandi show up just for the fuck of it.

No shit ? Some people are calling this a work already, because pro-wrestling... Anyway, when I thought me finally beating Dark Souls III was the biggest news of the day... (well, it is, really)

There you go. Maybe he wants to get that NWA title back from Aldis, who will most probably get it back from Cardona sooner than later... (where's that Kappa emote again ?) Not gonna lie, whatever people think of him (and her), I'm gonna miss Cody in AEW. Brandi, well, she really never shined at all there apart from a few spots. I guess most of her valuable work was backstage.

If HHH was in shape, they had one "dream match" (notice the quotation mark) for Mania right there. But, oh well... It would be kinda ironic to have Cody & Brandi show up and be treated as huge stars though (and really, they would get a ridiculous pop showing up)... like... So AEW is a big deal after all ?