February 25, 2018 - BTE #94
Matt Jackson is on a plane traveling between shows, doing the same thing as Kenny from the previous BTE episode: watching Casablanca.
The story at the heart of the film is a love triangle: cynical club owner Rick, his first love Ilsa, and her rebel husband Laszlo, enhanced by a background of espionage and war with the local police chief, Renault, at the crossroads of the entanglements.
It’s foreshadowing the story to come. In the film, Rick and Ilsa had a passionate love before the events on screen, but they split up and Ilsa then wound up with her now-husband Laszlo, a Czech rebel carrying vital documents for the resistance against Nazi Germany. Rick and Ilsa reunite and rekindle their romance until Rick – knowing she’s better off with her husband – convinces Ilsa to leave with Laszlo before local authorities catch them. Rick stays behind, killing the evil Major Strasser who was attempting to stop the married couple from escaping Casablanca. Renault, who has been playing both sides (Germans and Resistance) up to this point, is touched by Rick's sacrifice. Other policemen arrive and see Strasser's dead body. Rather than identify Rick as the culprit, Renault instructs the cops to "round up the usual suspects"... And of course, that classic line provides the name of the film The Usual Suspects, from which Punk, and MJF, and Don Callis have all quoted the final line:
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was making you believe he doesn't exist."
The Usual Suspects is a tale of a mysterious crime lord who manipulates and controls multiple criminals to achieve his ultimate goal and get away scot-free. It is tightly designed so that if you rewatch it knowing the ending, you realize and notice dozens of things you missed on the first viewing.
As Casablanca ends, Rick says to Renault: "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship", implying that if they work together, they can get away with almost anything…
This BTE episode ends with the group all in Japan. The Bucks approach Kenny and Ibushi to have a conversation, but Kenny doesn’t have time for them. Later that night at the event, Cody pulls the Bucks into a hallway and implores them to listen to the promo Kenny is cutting in the ring at that exact moment, where he declares the Golden Lovers the greatest tag team in the world. Cody pushes them to go handle it. The Young Bucks go to the ring while Cody flashes a devilish smile.
Matt:
From this day forward, my brother and I have decided to move up and compete in the heavyweight tag team division.
It puts them directly in opposition with the Lovers. Kenny and Ibushi confront them backstage, but the Bucks don’t take anything from him, saying they’ve always been there to support him but it’s never been returned. All those times they were there to pick Kenny up off the mat, where was Ibushi?
March 5, 2018 - BTE #95
In Vegas, Matt and Nick are in the dressing room talking when Bury the Drug Free Bear enters and seems desperate to tell them something. Bury is about to remove the head to his costume when Hangman bursts in. He is angry with Matt for not helping him during his confrontation with Joey Ryan the week prior. Cody enters and asks Bury why he hasn't got his Bullet Club shirt on and pulls him away to get changed. Everyone looks confused and Matt wonders what the bear was trying to tell them.
Cody is in the production studio and calls Nick over to suggest that Matt is holding him back and that he should consider wrestling in singles matches, but Nick looks unconvinced. Later that night, Cody is in the ring celebrating with Brandi and Bury after his match. As Cody goes to hug Bury, the bear pushes him to the floor. Standing over a prone, confused Cody, Bury removes his costume head to reveal Kenny Omega, who decks Cody with a knee strike as the fans erupt.
Cody is demented after the match:
“What a time. What a time to be involved in this great sport… Everybody’s eyes in this sport are fixed on New Orleans, on Supercard of Honor… my very first encounter with Kenny Omega. So wouldn’t that be enough? As a professional… that feather in your cap, that everybody is talking about your match, that everybody wants to see your match, that you have stolen the [Wrestlemania] weekend from the rich and you have given it to the poor… wouldn’t that be enough?
So why the… escalation? Why come to Las Vegas? … You’re supposed to be the best wrestler in the world! A hero! You’ve got a bag full of them [match rating] stars, well I have a book full of dates, full of cities, full of towns, because I’m not a hero once a month! I’m a hero every single night!
Perception is no longer reality. Reality is reality.
And the reality is that I am the leader of the Bullet Club… that I am the hero in this story.”
March 20, 2018 – BTE #97
Just like he did with Nick previously, Cody sequesters Matt and says his brother has been holding him back and he needs a singles push.
In Japan, Kenny records a message to the Young Bucks apologizing, saying how Cody has gotten into everyone’s heads and divided the group, and hopes to make amends… Unbeknownst to him, Cody has Nick’s laptop so he intercepts the message and edits it down to an insulting challenge. Matt is enraged, but Nick is suspicious.
March 25, 2018 – The Elite Fight It Out
In Los Angeles at NJPW: Strong Style Evolved, the Golden Lovers face the Young Bucks in a deeply personal grudge match. After a brutal, back-and-forth war where the Lovers emerge victorious, Kenny attempts to bury the hatchet. Nick accepts the olive branch, but Matt refuses to shake Kenny’s hand. Cody hits the ring and berates Matt for eating the pin during the match. When Nick intervenes, Cody spins around and shoves him to the ground.
Later in the locker room, Cody comes in to ask what happened out there. The Bucks are challenging him for his actions, but Cody shouts them down, saying he thought it was Kenny in the ring and that he would never do such a thing to them. Cody apologizes profusely and leaves.
Nick:
“I don’t think we can trust this guy.”
April 7, 2018 – Supercard of Honor XII
With the leadership of Bullet Club at stake, Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes square off in a hard-hitting match. Having grown wary of Cody and his schemes, the Bucks come down to the ring and decide to attack Cody. They launch double superkicks… but Cody ducks and the kicks land on Omega, allowing Cody to hit his finisher and claim the win. Matt and Nick attempt to explain, but Kenny refuses to listen.
In the backstage area, Cody is ecstatic at wresting control of Bullet Club away from Kenny. He wants to celebrate, but the Elite leave the dressing room and leave Cody sitting alone in his ring gear, sweaty, bloody, with a black eye and a gym towel draped around his shoulders, looking starkly similar to another guy post-match four years later…
June 4, 2018 – BTE #105
After a busy summer in which Cody and the Bucks have assembled the looming All In event, Matt and Nick try establishing lines of communication with Kenny in Japan. Ibushi implores him to reconcile with his old friends but he’s reluctant. Cody is obsessed with running a Senate election campaign in Texas and practices his speeches in bathroom mirrors, but it almost sounds like he’s talking to his stablemates. Meanwhile, a package that Matt and Nick sent him weeks ago has been collecting dust the whole time. Ahead of his fourth match with Okada, Kenny decides to open the package…
June 9, 2018 – Omega vs Okada IV
Everyone is in Japan for the Dominion. Hangman approaches Cody and asks what the plan is for tonight. Cody looks sullen and calls off whatever he had been plotting to ruin Omega’s big night.
Kenny triumphs in possibly the greatest match in wrestling history, claiming the IWGP heavyweight championship. He reunites with the Young Bucks afterward, and it’s revealed that in the package are Golden Elite shirts, honoring the pact they made in Hotel Room 710 at the start of the year.
Cody approaches the locker room with congratulatory gifts for Kenny and to make peace, but he stops short and leaves them outside the door.
July 7, 2018
At the Bay Area NJPW show, Cody challenges Omega for the IWGP championship. After Kenny triumphs, the Elite gather and celebrate… until the Bullet Club OGs attack them in retribution for the dysfunction and strife they’ve brought to the group over the previous two years. Cody returns to the ring and is given a chance to brutalize Kenny, but instead he defends him and rejoins the Elite in full.
Over the coming months, Cody, Kenny, Matt, Nick and Hangman solidify themselves as a core group leading up to:
September 1, 2018 - All In
By far the greatest triumph in indie wrestling history, the show was a massive success both at live gate and on PPV. In its main event, Cody wins the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the same world title his father had claimed 31 years earlier.
After this monumental night, the Elite ceded the war for control of Bullet Club to the OGs and stepped away from the group, turning their attention to the establishment of something new entirely: All Elite Wrestling. This new national promotion came into being on January 1, 2019, and at its forefront was the core group of five. As the inaugural and omnipresent face of the company, Cody’s claim to AEW gold is surely just a matter of time.
May 25, 2019 -- Double or Nothing
AEW holds its first event ever.
In 944 days, on the Christmas episode of Rampage, Cody claims his final championship in AEW.
August 31, 2019 -- All Out
As the clock strikes midnight, Chris Jericho pins Hangman Adam Page to become the first AEW World Champion.
In 944 days, Cody Rhodes rises onto the WrestleMania stage and returns to WWE.
November 6, 2019
With the support of his friend, protege, and personal recruit MJF, the public face of AEW prepares to challenge for the championship of the company he helped build. He seems destined for it, it’s damn near his birthright, and yet there are whispers he’s only in position to claim it through politics.
Cody:
“Eddie Graham... Cowboy Bill Watts... The American Dream Dusty Rhodes... For the cold and sterile historians of our business, there's an air of controversy that surrounds them, it's from the simple fact that those men were also, in addition to being competitors... they were management. Not unlike myself. And for the last year I've told everybody: every podcast, every radio, every correspondent. I've shouted it off the rooftops how proud I am of AEW, how proud I am of the all-inclusive nature, of the schedule, of the pay, of the fact that we will listen. This! This is Ellis Island for a professional wrestler! This is freedom! So, when I hear the same criticism attached to my name for being management and being in a title match… I can't not hear it... And with that said, I am announcing that if I do not defeat Chris Jericho at Full Gear... I will never challenge for the AEW World championship again.”
And so Cody faced Chris Jericho at Full Gear 2019 with destiny in his grasp. There, with MJF in his corner, Cody and Jericho pushed each other to their limits. Late in the match with the challenger locked tight in the Walls of Jericho, MJF throws in the towel for Cody and costs him the match, effectively locking him out of the title picture thereafter.
MJF’s ascension begins. He wins the Dynamite Diamond Ring and begins climbing the rankings. Winning isn’t simply enough, though. If he wants everything, he needs chaos. He needs to flip the world upside down. He needs the world to know its heroes are the villains and its villains are the heroes.
November 14, 2019
MJF:
You wanna boo me as if I’m the villain… Meanwhile, you people have been cheering for the real villain the whole time. That villain is Cody… Cody Rhodes couldn’t give less of a shit about any single one of you… You sheep don’t want to admit it. There’s only one man on this planet who knows the real Cody Rhodes, and you’re looking at him.
December 11, 2019
MJF:
"What are you gonna do Cody? Are you gonna try to fire me? Are you gonna pull Tony Khan over to the side and get me fired? Well how bout you do that Cody. HOW BOUT YOU FIRE ME. Oh wait. That's right. You won't. Because the one thing you want most in this world is to get your hands on me... And to top that off, you'd be letting down each and every one of these people you claim to care about.”
February 29, 2020 – Revolution
After weeks of taunting and enduring the original gauntlet of trials MJF sets in order to get a match, Cody gets his fight with MJF… but he falls short, defeated and humiliated by the young man he brought into AEW himself.
March 5, 2020 – Bitten by the original Snake
Jake Roberts emerges from the thickest of weeds and slithers down to the ring. He nearly devours Cody. He mocks him… “Hail Caesar”. He neither fears nor respects him.
“What a Snake wants, a snake takes. I’m not in AEW for the whole pie.. Just your slice”
Two weeks later the world screeches to a halt as an unknown virus spreads rapidly around the globe. For months AEW is patchwork, assembled from whatever talent is available. A tournament for a new title belt is announced. Ahead of its opening round we get the darkest promo we’ve thus far seen from the purest babyface in the company’s short history.
April 8, 2020
Cody sits ominously at a table, in a pitch black room, and lights a cigar… just as he’d done before when laying out his machinations against Kenny Omega for control of Bullet Club.
Cody:
"Why do I wanna be TNT Champion? Wrestling is so linear you're gonna hear the same answer to that question over and over again. You'll even hear the announcers strike some of the same hyperboles as they describe the stakes. The wrestlers will give you that real wrestling school, paint by numbers interview where they say things like --- you see: ‘The boys in the back.' Or my favorite: They perpetually say their own name or the person they're wrestling against or the person who's interviewing them over and over again. Like I said, wrestling is linear. They might even do the – [Cody gestures around his waist where a belt would be worn] - that thing. You see, where you pantomime, where you indicate that you want the belt. I've done it a thousand times. We've all done it, we're all guilty. Wrestling is linear. But these are not linear times, are they? I think we'd all give our last dollar for a little bit of normalcy, a little bit of linear. It's my personal hope that we get through this just fine. We wanna live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery, right?
So why do I need to become champion? It is not the fame. It's certainly not the added money. It's not the specialized lower third that they put on the screen. It's not even my specific, unique circumstance of trying to carry a last name that is worth 58 years in gold. It's much simpler. It's because I don't wanna lose. AEW has four major pay per views: Double Or Nothing, All Out, Full Gear, Revolution and I'm 50/50 and I have felt lost and I don't ever want to lose again…The motto, the expression, what the Nightmare Family means, it's sitting at the side of my neck is when we say: DO THE WORK! It's not: Do the work and lose.
And this tournament is flush, it's rich in talent. Take Colt Cabana. Probably the second most experienced guy in the tournament. Does a better flip, flop and fly than me, Dustin and Bully combined. Ask anybody in any locker room the world over – they'll tell you they love Colt Cabana. Well frankly: I do not trust a wrestler that doesn't have any enemies... Darby… I feel like I handpicked Darby. He's clearly the fastest rising star in all of wrestling in any company, hands down. He's putting on weight by the day, he's assassin quick. But Darby is a freshman on the varsity squad. I don't think he has the mental aptitude to finish this tournament... My oldest friend… Shawn Spears...he will mentally defeat himself before we ever even lock up…
Every one of those guys, they want to be TNT Champion. The difference with me: I NEED IT!
It was an outright heel promo, preceding his entry into the tournament which he ultimately won, facing Jake Roberts’ client – Lance Archer – in the finals. Cody is the conquering hero he always aspires to be, and he rattles off five straight title defenses in five weeks. Someone’s not very impressed, however.
July 7, 2020
Cody stands with Arn in the ring, congratulating himself on the recent string of victories against… let’s say, less than impressive competition.
Onto the stage charges Eddie Kingston, who’s heard enough:
"No, no, no, we're gonna get this right, we're gonna do this real quick. Cody, you talk about grinding, you talk about living this rough life, all that jazz. No one's gonna 'out-grind' you, all that stuff. My man, it's easy to say that when you grew up around used-to-be legends like Arn Anderson. Yeah, you heard me. Keep shooting murder-ones at me and I'll knock your jaw right off your face, partner. You know what I grew up around? You know what I grew up around? Alcoholics! Junkies! I GREW UP AROUND THAT... AND I HAD TO SURVIVE. I HAD TO GRIND. You couldn't last a day in my shoes, so you don't tell me nothing about grinding. You talk about the sport of pro-wrestling... that's a joke. Because every person you faced has been a child. I am a grown-ass man and I will put you in the ground and smile.
But here's the best part about this whole thing: the guy that you like to mention because you like to be best friends with the boss, Tony Khan… He paid me to show up. And now he's going to pay me to kick your ass and take that championship.
Infuriated that he would be upstaged like this, Cody accepts on the spot. He survives an incredibly violent match to continue his reign.
August 13, 2020
Mr. Brodie Lee whips Cody’s ass. In just over three minutes, it’s done and his beloved championship is gone. The Exalted One and The Dark Order put a massive beatdown on Cody and he’s carried out on a stretcher… Then they continue attacking him on the stretcher.
September 23, 2020
Cody is MIA for over a month until after Brodie beats down Orange Cassidy in a title defense. It’s a surprise attack, which incenses The Exalted One.
"You gotta be kidding me! The audacity of a man, the audacity of you Cody to return like that! You have been gone for five weeks while I’ve been here doing the work, being undeniable! Oh my God, the audacity of you Cody... What kind of man stays away in a little bubble? A man like you, Cody. But YOU are no man! YOU are a coward!
Mr. Brodie Lee grabs a pair of dog collars and looks into the camera.
Cody, you can run on for a long time, but sooner or later Brodie Lee is gonna cut you down! And I am gonna take this dog collar, Cody, I am gonna wrap it around your neck, I am gonna wrap it around that God-forsaken tattoo! And you, Cody, will have nowhere, nowhere to run and nowhere to hide!
Two weeks later, Cody reclaims his belt in the first dog collar match in AEW history. He would hold it for only a month until a youngster pries it away from him, marking Darby Allin’s ascension to the main event scene... And sending Cody spiraling into the Codyverse of excess and absurdity.
February 17, 2021 - “It’s a girl!”
Despite a litany of viral media and news segments addressing how excessive and even dangerous pregnancy gender reveals are… Cody and Brandi have theirs live on Dynamite, with full entrance and theme, as well as what still to this day is among the largest pyro displays in the history of AEW. It’s shockingly tone-deaf.
May 12, 2021 – Cody defeats Racism
Just before the one year anniversary of the George Floyd murder that rattled America and stirred racial dialogue in a manner unseen for decades…
Cody addresses Anthony Ogogo and delivers an all-time terrible promo.
Here's a link if you absolutely need to see it...
When AEW returns to touring, all the cheering and adulation Cody was accustomed to at AEW's beginning starts to dwindle. A smattering a boos begins to arise. The fans grow tired of his phony, self-fellating act and want something different.
July 7, 2021
Still nursing a vicious eye injury incurred at the hands of Kevin Owens on WWE programming the previous October, Malakai Black posts on Instagram a video of him in a mental institution where he's been locked up for 5 years, coincidentally the same length of time he was in his old company... He viciously attacks and kills the doctors and staff.
Walking out, he says "The Devil made me do it."
Later that night, the lights go out and when they return Malakai is standing in the ring with Cody and Arn. Malakai is dressed head-to-toe in black, his counterpart in all white, but the live crowd sees it another way. Malakai is their hero and Cody is their villain.
The fans erupt when Malakai delivers Black Mass to the old man. Malakai’s merch shoots to the top of the sales charts, and the message is clear.
July 14, 2021
Cody, again in all-white, comes out to the ring and demands for Malakai to face him. Malakai appears on the tron:
“Well, I’m glad you're standing up for yourself, Cody, because the fans last week? They didn’t. Did you hear them? When I kicked you and Arn in the face? Did you hear them cheer? Do you know why? Because they’re violent, Cody. They don’t care about you as much as you care about them.I once saw a man kill a horse. I walked over to the man and I asked why he did it, and with a tremble in his voice, tears streaming down his face, he explained to me that this was his prized stallion. This was his prized stallion. This was the horse that brought him all over the world and won him titles. But one day, he woke up and looked the horse in the eyes… and it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t the same horse that he had since she was young…When I looked you and Arn in the eyes last week… it just wasn’t there anymore.”
July 28, 2021
Cody is sitting in Gorilla alongside Tony Khan, directly underneath a sign that says “EVP” when Malakai’s foot comes flying into the frame and knocks him out.
August 4, 2021 – Dynamite Homecoming
The bell rings and exactly 4:49 later, Paul Turner raises Malakai's hand after a squash. Once the ring is cleared, Cody peels himself off the mat. He’s selling an injury to his left foot, similar to an injury that would occur to someone else a year from now…
Tony Schiavone tries to speak to him. Cody sounds loopy and rambles off a stream of conscious monologue:
“You know, legacy is a funny thing. When I got into wrestling when I was 15, I was a referee… All I wanted to do was win the title that they took away from my daddy in the Garden… God, that was a goal then but… goals change… Time flies. I’ve had so much fun…”
Tony helps him struggle to his feet and for the first time in a long time, the crowd cheers Cody.
“Hey… Thank you… Thank you very much… I love you too, thank you… Yeah, that was my goal then. And then an unprecedented thing happened… I fired them, they didn’t fire me… And I didn’t know what was going to happen… I met Matt, Nick… I met Kenny…Believe it or not folks, three years ago people were laughing at us when we said that we were going to be a Revolution. Literally, they laughed at us. And now… Now it’s commonplace that this is destination viewing… hell.. This isn’t an alternative. We’re competition. And we set this table. We set this table and now, maybe some new people can eat…For three years, my face has been on everything… I’ve got to carry the banner… I’ve been so damn lucky… and yeah, maybe some outside interest came my way, maybe some infighting amongst the EVPs… but the truth is, if those guys don’t know, let me let you know right now: I love them very deeply and I will forever be tethered to them… There is no better place than here… There is no better place than here and there is no better time than now… I say this with absolutely zero bitterness in my heart… I thank you guys so incredibly much, I love you so incredibly much… you have made my life incredibly special…”
The crowd is cheering and he even gets a "CODY" chant for the first time in ages. He takes off his left boot... JR notes the tradition of wrestlers and the time honored tradition of leaving their boots in the ring...
Excalibur:
“Malakai… has he... retired Cody Rhodes?”
Two weeks after Malakai Black dismantles the entire image of Cody Rhodes, CM Punk arrives in AEW to one of the loudest ovations in wrestling history while Cody, who has wrestled damn near every week, up and down the card, through a pandemic and with no fans in the arena… while Cody has to dwell on retirement just to earn a few cheers?
It’s just another insult to this man who has given everything to try to “save” professional wrestling. The insults continue piling up. It wasn’t even a year earlier that Cody’s childhood hero, his favorite wrestler, showed up in the company he helped to create. Before we move forward, let me take you back…
December 9, 2020
Sting walks to the ring after his shocking AEW debut one week earlier at Winter is Coming. He chats with Arn Anderson who is in disbelief that his old nemesis has returned. He chats with his old friend Tony Schiavone, who was there every step of the way during Sting’s legendary run in WCW. But those two old acquaintances clear the ring, leaving The Icon alone with the professional wrestler who worships him more than anyone else: Cody Rhodes.
Cody, with a tremor of nervousness and awe in his voice:
“Welcome back! I should start by asking you… well, rather, thanking you for the assist last week [when Sting’s return kept Team Taz from beating Cody and Darby to a pulp]. But I think it would be more apropos if I just got to the point… I have been waiting to share a ring with you for a very, very long time.”
Cody looks like a kid meeting Santa Claus. It might be the happiest moment of his career.
Sting:
“Cody… I’m not here for you.”
Cody looks heartbroken. Sting, ever the good-guy, notices and gives him a consoling pat on the shoulder, saying “At least not right now…”
Sting continues on as if Cody isn’t even in the ring:
“There’s something that makes me feel at home in this place… There’s something really familiar about it… I mean something really, really, really familiar.”
The camera cuts to Darby Allin, sitting alone in the highest point of the arena, draped in the TNT championship he’d taken away from Cody just two weeks earlier.
“As I look at ringside, the animals are the same but different in a lot of ways. Bottom line: I’m in the jungle. This is the jungle and the Stinger has come full circle. The Stinger is in the jungle and on TNT once again.”
The fans chant “WELCOME BACK! WELCOME BACK!” Cody notes them and pipes in with pain, but also a hint of scorn to his voice:
“Like I said… Sir… Welcome back.”
Sting is amused at the petulance.
“Cody, I know that you know everything that goes on around this place. But you know me too. And you know what I say: The only thing for sure about Sting is that nothing’s for sure… I plan on spending a lot of time right here… But the way I choose to play, Cody, is my business.”
Sting gives Cody a forceful pat on the back that bumps him forward. He grabs Cody around the neck and brings him in close, before giving his parting words:
“See ya around, kid.”
It didn’t go at all like how Cody would’ve dreamed. But neither did a lot of things. Surely, he dwelt upon that while the fans cheered him and he thought about calling it quits after being dismantled by Malakai Black.
August 11, 2021
Malakai Black:
Am I really the bad guy in this story?
It’s funny, because I sense doubt from a lot of people… See, I made good on everything that I said… But somehow, we have flip-flopped the narrative in this society that he who speaks the truth is labeled the fool. There’s no room for fools, there’s no room for second-guessing, or doubting the House of Black. We’re both lonely men, Cody. You’re lonely because you surround yourself with people. I’m lonely because I choose solitude. As for the subject of you, Cody, it seems to me that you have one foot in the grave. Let me know when you want me to plant the next one… I’m gonna make you feel so desolate and alone that the only things you have left to talk to are shadows… Then, you will truly understand that the volume of your voice is so low, you’ll realize… That you’ve been arguing with God.”
Malakai proceeds to follow the Brodie Lee blueprint, knowing Cody is predictable. Cody will allow those who love and defend him to fight his battles until the point comes where Cody’s honor demands he return to face the demon that defeated him. A month of assaults on the Nightmare Family passes, each attack being more savage than the previous.
September 22, 2021 – Grand Slam
Cody enters with the Homelander outfit for the first time. His pyro is even more over the top. He’s ready for payback. The crowd is booing him mercilessly.
He takes the fight to Malakai and is holding his ground in this match… Until Malakai sprays him with the vile mist, hits Black Mass, and pins him again.
The next few weeks we get Armed Anderson, who says Cody is the type of man to let someone else come in his house and take everything. He's too Hollywood now. He's not focused on winning with and in AEW. Says he might as well paint a star on his face. Arn takes him to Dustin's gym for Rocky III-style training. Instead of the Eye of the Tiger... Cody adds a Tiger Driver to his moveset, a move teasing the finisher of the man he spent years mocking...
October 23, 2021
Cody wears the darkest version of his Homelander gear and enters with the most ridiculous entrance of all time. American flags, flamethrowers, pyro... The reaction from the fans is nuclear, in a very, very bad way.
Cody finally beats Malakai Black and gets the most hostile reaction he's ever received from an AEW live audience.
The next day, as Cody celebrates on social media, Malakai responds:
"The entire world is a graveyard, and if you think this was about putting my shoulders on the mat; you're rudely mistaken. My job was to destroy you and your world. The entire world hates you, you've become the beast I set out to make you, and I was willing to sacrifice my blood for it. Enjoy the seeds I planted for months. House always wins."
From this point, Cody never regains the fans in AEW. In his hometown, he has to literally set himself on fire to get anything more than disdain.
December 21, 2021
In the main event of Dynamite, the man who has been receiving unyielding adulation for months and months since returning in Chicago, walks to the ring with his face painted. CM Punk stands in the corner alongside Darby Allin and the man his facepaint honors: Sting. They cheekily wear colors honoring each other’s careers, they laugh it up, they have fun, then they go beat up the bad guys.
It’s a moment that so obviously should’ve been Cody’s. He’s the one who built this company and carried its flag for three years. He’s the one who has spent thirty years worshipping the ground upon which Sting walked. He’s the one who made Darby Allin with the kid’s first championship victory. But no… It’s CM Punk.
Later that night, Cody goes out and reclaims his TNT championship from Sammy Guevara, getting booed the whole time.
On December 28, 2021, Cody makes his final appearance on Sammy’s vlog in the episode titled “A Christmas Nightmare.”
“What am I thankful for this year? … I’m just really, overall, thankful for everything. I have no complaints. I am thankful to the fans that cheer me and I am thankful to the fans that boo me, because both sets of fans are getting ready to go on a ride that is just bizarre and not… It’s not the path that you think we’re doing. We’re not doing what’s been done before.
Sammy vs Cody rematch is scheduled for January 8, 2022.
Ahead of the match, however, Cody gets pulled from the event due to being exposed to COVID-19. Cody did not actually contract the illness and would be able to return quickly. Title matches have been postponed before, so with Cody certainly returning in two weeks, surely a slight delay isn’t that big of an issue… right? Something strange happened though. For the first time ever, AEW introduced an Interim Championship and established its precedence in the company. Sammy won the temporary belt in a match with Cody’s brother Dustin, setting up a unification match just around the corner where he would send Cody out of AEW with no championship and no fanfare.
January 19, 2022
Cody’s last words to an arena full of AEW fans:
"So… what do you guys want to talk about? I'm reminded from that last match about a man who once sat on a stage just like that, in a ring just like this, and he gave one of the most important addresses in the history of our sport. It inspired thousands of would-be wrestlers. It mobilized literally millions of fans. It was the first hint of a revolution. I am talking about CM Punk and the pipe bomb. Someone told me to save this promo but I honestly don't know if I'm going to get the chance so I'm going to do it now.
In that interview, that was the first whiff of a Revolution. He laid out a roadmap. He listed things. Things that for him, for somebody like me, were taboo at the time… Things like going to New Japan Pro Wrestling, working with Ring of Honor, and ultimately he would talk about teaming with The Young Bucks. As destiny would have it, as fate would have it, he was unable to do those things… But in his absence, in the void that CM Punk left behind, somebody did do each and every one of those things. I did them.
You wanna ask why I won't turn heel? It's because you cheered me… when I needed it the most. When it says there is more than one royal family in wrestling, I am talking about me and ALL OF US!
In all likelihood, Cody’s farewell speech alludes to that famous pipebomb way back on the 944th episode of Raw. But in light of everything, it’s worth revisiting one other pipebomb – lesser known certainly, but no less important to history and to destiny.
January 7, 2013 - Monday Night Raw
Preparing to face The Rock ahead of the Royal Rumble, CM Punk lights a second fuse:
The time has come to tell you all something very personal. See, I keep my ear to the ground and hear everything everybody says, and for the past year and a half the words "pipe bomb" have been completely misunderstood and misused. It doesn't seem that anybody in the "Universe" understands what it means, anybody in this company doesn't understand what a pipe bomb is.
Basically what a pipe bomb is, in its truest form, is the truth. It's honesty. You boil it down and the essence of a pipe bomb is exactly what all of you lack; honesty. Seems the perception of me is somebody who's a little disgruntled, sat down on a stage in Las Vegas and aired his grievances and said pipe bomb. I became the voice of the voiceless, and then maybe my ego was like a runaway train and I suddenly bitched and moaned and complained about respect and how I didn't get enough of it. And then I turned my back on the people…
Well, that's a lie.
Don't be mistaken, I meant everything I said when I said it... I was short changed and I was disrespected and sure, I could've just swallowed that bitter pill and accepted my position in the company like everyone else in the back, or I could've left. Instead, I made a conscious decision... and I sold out. To you, I sold out. To me, I cashed in. See, I created this persona, this rebel, this anti-hero that you loved to cheer for because you all love to cheer for your super heroes.
Because here's the truth about Las Vegas, here's the truth about the WWE, is that it doesn't matter if you're the best wrestler. It doesn't matter if you're the best talker, it doesn't matter if you're the best overall performer, it doesn't matter if you make the two clowns sitting to my left on commentary look like amateur hour. There is a glass ceiling and nobody is allowed to break it.
That's the simple story of this place; the more popular you are, the more money you make. The more you people cheer for any given superstar, the more opportunities you're afforded. Why do you think a guy like John Cena, who's admittedly had the worst year of his career, gets title shot after title shot after title shot after title shot? Or, why a lethal grappler, why a serious submission specialist like Daniel Bryan puts a smile on his face and saddles himself, belittles himself with catchphrases?
The crowd chants support for the man in the ring who is burying them.
Look, YOU'RE DOING IT NOW! You're falling for everything I say. You're playing into my hands, but this is the way it is. And this is the way YOU want it to be, because this is the way you handle it. It's easy. It's saccharin. It's simple to digest, because you people can't handle anything complicated. You people can't stomach anything interesting. This is the way it's been since the beginning of time. We're all here in the circus to entertain you! And nobody has been able to attain a modicum of success without... you.
Except for now. Until I showed up...
I am successful not because of you. I am successful in spite of you.
There's good guys and there's bad guys in this world and make no mistake about it ladies and gentlemen, I am a bad, bad man. And I can freely admit it. But Ric Flair will come out here and he'll cry his 182 year eyes out and say "Oh, I did it for all of you!" Now they're woo-ing! Shawn Michaels can come out here and lose his smile and find his smile, but then in a tearful Hall of Fame speech he'll say that his entire career was just to gain your acceptance. Then a man like Edge, who's forced to retire, and he'll say that he misses competing for people like you. Now these people, these men are either weak or they're dishonest and they're liars. It's either one or the other. But I am neither weak nor dishonest.
I'm the Best in the World.
There’s two types of people on this earth. Those born to be in the spotlight and those born to pay to see the people in the spotlight. Ladies and gentlemen, there's winners and losers. Guess which one you are. You're born to pay to see champions like me, it's not the other way round. And I'll be the first guy to come out here and admit it, I'm honest. I have never ever done this for any of you. There's superstars and there's nobodies. I am a superstar, you are all nobodies. And I'm a real superstar. Those superstars, hell, if they're your friends, why don't they come out here and give you the millions and millions of dollars they earn? Why don't they line your pockets? 'Cause that's not your position on earth.
Uh, I'm being told that we have to take a commercial break. I'm not done, let me explain something to you. Let me explain something to everybody in the truck. We don't go to break when you wanna go to break. We go to break when the champ wants to go to break. Listen up and understand something 'cause the Rock's gonna come out here and he's gonna talk a whole lot. Well, I will now tell you the most important thing you're gonna hear tonight.
You do not matter.
None of you matter.
What you want doesn't matter.
I stand here on the first RAW of 2013, your WWE champion and I promise you, in one year's time I will stand in this ring on the first RAW of 2014 still your WWE champion. What fuels me is your constant disappointment in your self-appointed superheroes to be able to drag this title away from me. And every time after that when I beat one of your superheroes... I wasn't just beating them, I was beating all of you. And for 414 days that's exactly what I've done. I have stomped you out under my oppressive boot and I'm gonna do the same thing to the Rock...
The Rock’s music hits and he marches to the ring.
The Rock:
"The Rock wanted to wait until you said everything you had to say, so the Rock knew exactly the kind of man he's dealing with at the Royal Rumble. And now it's become crystal clear to the Rock. You are straight up delusional…
You wanted change, you wanted a revolution. You say that when you became WWE champion, you rejected the people. No, no, no, no. The people rejected you. You talked about change. You couldn't do it. You talked about revolution, you couldn't do it. You came out and you promised everybody ice cream bars. Ice cream bars for everybody! And you couldn't even do that...
Crowd chants "Rocky! Rocky!"
Here's why the Rock is back. For three reasons. The Rock is back to entertain them. The Rock is back to stop you. And after ten long years, ten long years, the Rock is back to win that championship.
The Rock has watched the show. Every Monday Night RAW watching you… watching you, your deceiving, your backpedaling, your lying. The Rock would watch the TV and he'd scream at the TV 'Good God Almighty, somebody tell this man they respect him, just so he shuts his punk ass up.'
CM Punk… CM Punk, you have one of the most creative and innovative minds in the history of the WWE. The Rock knows it. You fail to use it. You became WWE champion and you also became the biggest jerk the world has ever seen... When the Rock is here, don't you ever say the people don't matter. They matter. They've always mattered. You're the one that doesn't matter..."
CM Punk:
"Unlike a lot of people I'm glad you're back. I don't care what your schedule is. I don't care if you work here 16 days a year or 365 days a year. You could be Santa Claus and have his schedule, one day a year. I'd still kick your ass. I don't care how many movies you film every year. I know how hard that schedule probably is, but every time you come back, whenever you decide to grace us with your presence, I'm gonna kick your ass. Because this isn't candy land. I'm like nobody you've ever faced before. You can make fun of the color of my t-shirt and you can talk about pie and you can sing songs and you can rhyme and you can do your tired, lame-ass schtick... You need to understand that your little jabs and your insults, it's all kiddie games. You can't leave a mark on the champ's face. Come Royal Rumble, understand, when you step in the ring, your arms are just too short to box with God."
For all his bravado and all his bluster, at Royal Rumble 2013, CM Punk could not hold onto the championship that validated his beliefs, gave weight to his opinions, and made them near to Gospel. He lost the WWE World Championship to The Rock and would never reclaim it. One year later, he left the WWE and would go seven years before walking out to the warm embrace of the AEW fans.
April 2, 2022
Five weeks after losing his beloved TNT championship and – unknown to all – bidding farewell to the company he founded, Cody Rhodes returns to WWE and defeats Seth Rollins at WrestleMania. He is cheered and celebrated like the conquering hero finally returning home.
April 4, 2022 – Cody Rhodes addresses the WWE Universe
"So... What do you guys want to talk about? It has been 47 days since the abrupt news that I was a free agent. Amongst that I chose to remain silent and I heard stories, defamatory whispers, theories that surmise to be nonsense. Everyone thinks the decision to return to WWE was difficult. It was not.
It was simple, really. The star that left them in the dust. The man standing here now, having signed a multi-year agreement with World Wrestling Entertainment. And if there was, if there was…
The crowd begins to chant “You deserve it!”, something he could never have imagined hearing just weeks earlier.
If there was a glimmer of doubt, a shred of trepidation, the moment I rose up in front of seventy something thousand fans, the moment I made the walk at a WrestleMania and defeated one of the best superstar wrestlers in any era, that being Seth Rollins, that doubt was eradicated.
I'm an avid reader and I stumbled across this quote. It said 'A man often finds his destiny on the path he takes to avoid it.'
So if you'll humor me, let's all take a look at the Tron, if you will... This photo was taken in 1977, Madison Square Garden. That very photo right there [Dusty Rhodes] is holding the championship belt that eventually Hulk Hogan would get his hands on, the Undertaker would get his hands on, the 'Heartbreak Kid' Shawn Michaels on.... Oh, and uh... Triple H too... And many other greats. So I'm going to tell you a quick story which made this all very simple to me. This photo... This very photo was on the mantel in my parent's bedroom until my dad's last day and as I got hip to the industry, I worked up a little courage. And I remember I asked… 'I didn't know that you were a champion like Hulk Hogan....'
[Cody’s lip starts quivering]
And he looked at me and he said, very stern and very patiently, he explained to me the champion's advantage. He said that he had won the match, but because it was by countout, he did not take home the championship belt.
So I'm eight years old. What's a boy to do? Right then and there at eight years old, I knew not what I wanted to do… but what I needed to do.
Cody points to the championship belt that Dusty is holding aloft on the 'Titantron'.
And there are many here tonight who have followed my journey. But for those who are new to it... Unfortunately, that dream died. It died right in front of me… That opportunity passed.. Or did it? Yes. I cannot physically put that title belt into my father's hands. I cannot bestow it upon 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes, but I certainly can put it around the waist of 'The American Nightmare.'
The crowd erupts into a chant of 'You can do it!' that brings a huge smile to Cody's face.
With that in mind, the silence is broken, my intentions are clear. I've made them clear to all of you here. I stand before you ready. Finally ready. And I'm going to do it. I'm going to give the distinction that my family has long since been denied. And I'm going to do it for you. I'm going to do it for me. I'm going to do it for my family. And I am going to do it for 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes."
It’s the celebration and the support Cody has craved relentlessly. But one man above all others is skeptical. It’s a man very familiar with Cody, but also familiar with CM Punk.
Long before Seth Rollins had his latest WrestleMania moment snatched away by Cody, he was first brought to Monday Night Raw by Punk. In a way, he’s Punk’s protege. He even tried pulling the same stunt as Punk on the way out of Ring of Honor, trying to leave with the ROH world title. But also like Punk, he failed. And then he watched Cody’s failures, taking note the whole time.
Seth Rollins has long been the standard bearer for WWE as others were given higher profile, more favor, more prestige, and he’ll be damned if redemption comes at his expense.
May 30, 2022
Seth Rollins:
Cody… You can wax poetic all night long about my motivation. But I'll make it very, very easy for you to understand, it's really quite simple. I don't like you… I don't like you, and I don't want you here! See, I tried after WrestleMania, I tried to accept this new version of you. But every week, the pandering got worse, and worse, and worse. And the 'Cody' chants got louder, and louder, and louder…
You left WWE six years ago because you weren't good enough. And then, every single day you were gone, you and your little friends, you tried to tear down what I was building here! And when that didn't work out so well for you, you came running back! The prodigal son returns home to fulfill his family legacy? Not on my watch pal! You don't get to be the conquering hero in my kingdom, oh no, no, no, no! You don't get to take a sledgehammer to the throne and then come back and try to take that throne from me!
I'm gonna say it again: I don't like you and I don't want you here.
But Seth Rollins fails to stop Cody, even as the latter suffers a massive pectoral tear in training. Rollins attacks Cody after a third defeat, sending him out of the company and into rehabilitation for several months.
Just prior to the Royal Rumble, at which it is strongly rumored Cody will return, Seth Rollins gets interviewed by Nick Hausman.
January 28, 2023
Seth:
The only disrespect I had for Cody Rhodes was he tried to come in and steal my spotlight... I shouldn't say ‘try to steal’. He tried to use my spotlight to catapult himself to where he wants to go. There's nothing more selfish in the world. Don't let anything fool you. Cody Rhodes is a selfish SOB. He's not coming back for anything but himself.
Hausman starts asking about FTR, who have teased leaving AEW in recent social media posts and podcasts.
Seth:
Great guys. Would love to see ‘em back.
Hausman then asks about CM Punk.
"Phil, stay away. You're a cancer. Get away from me forever. I don't like Phil. He's a jerk. Did we just figure that out? We figured it out over there, we figured it out over here. We don't want him back. Go do something else.”
To Rollins, it’s clear that Cody and Punk are, at their cores, no different from each other. Later that night, as it seems Rollins and Cody are destined to collide within the titular Rumble match, plans go awry when Rollins gets shockingly eliminated by Logan Paul.
Cody saunters in at #30, spends only a few minutes in the match, and secures a challenge against the undisputed champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. While Cody seems destined for The Big One, Rollins is mired in the mud. In an interview shortly after the Royal Rumble, he explains how Logan Paul, CM Punk, and Cody Rhodes are all one and the same.
"I don't need to repeat what I said about Chicago Phil in an interview last week. The bottom line is, it's the same as with Logan Paul… Punk and Logan Paul are two different personalities, but they're as selfish as it comes. If you're not gonna help, then I don't want you to be a part of our industry. I don't want you to be a part of our company, and that's all there is to that.
News later surfaces that Rollins and Cody’s animosity nearly spilled over into a fight backstage.
In an interview with Dan LeBatard, Cody admits:
“I almost would say that I like less people than I dislike in terms of the backstage setting. The competition that exists in wrestling, you see that suspension of disbelief on-screen, but backstage it is very real in terms of the competition, who is going to be on top. For example, who is going to headline WrestleMania. This year, being Roman Reigns and myself, it doesn’t garner a lot of friends. Seth Rollins is the closest I’ve ever had to backstage turning into a fist fight in front of all of our peers and upper management. It didn’t happen, but him and I absolutely can’t stand one another. I’d probably try and rip his eyes out.”
As Rollins is occupied with Paul, Cody prepares for Roman Reigns.
January 30, 2023
Fresh off his Royal Rumble victory, he addresses the Raw fans who love him more than ever.
I hear some of you singing the words to 'Kingdom' - that's my song, it has gone everywhere with me... the first words on that track are my own, and that is where I say 'Wrestling has more than one royal family.' Actually WWE has more than one royal family. But for that to be... true, for it to be real, for it to be venerated, validated and vindicated in my heart, I have to stand across from another. I have to stand across from an entire Bloodline. I have to stand across from the 'Tribal Chief', the 'Head of the Table'...
WrestleMania is in 62 days - Roman that might just be 62 days for you, it is 62 days for the rest of my life. At WrestleMania, 'undesirable' has already become 'undeniable', but 'undeniable' remains uncrowned, and on that night it ends.
February 6, 2023
Preoccupied with everything other than his imminent challenger, Roman Reigns dispatches his counsel Paul Heyman to address Cody Rhodes in lieu of doing it himself. Cody and Heyman catch up on the history between the old ECW figurehead and his legendary father, Dusty. Heyman steers the conversation to Dusty’s history with Roman, noting how he personally trained so many others but never Cody himself. When mentioning that Roman was one of Dusty’s prized pupils, Heyman sees an opening to stick Cody with a dagger.
In my last conversation with your dad, he told me, you, Cody were his favorite son... But Roman Reigns was the son he always wanted.
Cody replies:
"You know, I'm just trying to win a wrestling championship, and everybody - everybody wants to make it personal.
I’m just trying to win… everybody wants to make it personal…
Almost verbatim what CM Punk said nine months earlier to Hangman Page who declared he was defending AEW from Phil Brooks.
March 20, 2023
Cody Rhodes finally stands in front of his destiny. He looks upon what he covets: the WWE Championship, the thing that would validate everything about him, every choice, every opinion, and every belief. Behind that belt stands an imposing obstacle, the Tribal Chief.
But the Tribal Chief has been paying attention:
Roman Reigns:
"Let's get this straight: You're not my problem. What you represent, now that's the problem. You see, Heyman, he's what we used to be. He's like our father, he's a 'Professional Wrestler'. What we used to be. I'm a fighter. Which in turn has allowed me to be the megastar around here. And you come in here, and you say all of these things that you're going to do... when we know you're not going to do them, because look at your track record.
You didn't want to do the Stardust thing so what happened? You ran away. And what happened? You ran away and you started a promotion that you couldn't get over in. And then you ran away! And then you came here and you actually… [The crowd erupts into CODY! CODY! Chants] Yeah, exactly! And he got over, and his body quit on him, as your little pec went pop. You're not cut out for this. You keep talking about finishing the story 'April 2nd, I'm gonna finish the story!' No you're not. April 2nd is just a moment… it's an opportunity, it's like a lotto ticket for you.
Your real moment is on April 3rd. Because when you wake up, you're gonna have to look in the mirror. And then you're gonna have to confront that adversity again - not like you used to - because when you look in the mirror, I want you to make a choice, and I want that choice to be something that your dad can be proud of. Otherwise you're just going to do what you always do and run like a little bitch.'
April 1, 2023
At WrestleMania, Seth Rollins faces Logan Paul, the man he’s equated to to CM Punk.
Paul gives Rollins the GTS, Punk’s finisher. But Rollins gets up off the mat and gets the job done, vanquishing one of the men for whom he has such disdain.
April 2, 2023
449 days after his contract in AEW ended, Cody Rhodes seeks to end Roman Reigns’ historic run of 944 days.
He seeks to fulfill his destiny, take the last step in a heroic journey, and finish his story.
He fails.
Cody, the man who always bets on himself, went double or nothing and lost bigger than ever.
Three days later, AEW announces their biggest show ever. Its name recalls that bet he took so many years earlier, one of the biggest bets in the history of the business, a bet that paid off. Nearly five years after changing the landscape of North American wrestling, his old company will hold their landmark show… AEW: ALL IN. It’s salt in the wound, but perhaps he made the right the right choice anyway… As Cody regroups, his old brothers in The Elite are in shambles, being torn apart by the Blackpool Combat Club and unseen forces…
For Cody, for the Elite, even for CM Punk the future is uncertain.
We look to the past for predictions as history tends to be the nearest truth any of us will ever know. But history is unfathomably long and may predict far more than we could ever expect.