Cody and Brandi Rhodes leaving AEW

[drave]

starting here - first one i found



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[Destor]

thats a great example actually. listen to how hot the crowd is at the falsies in the go home. kobashi isnt covering after hitting a string of finishers hes jus hitting significant moves and goes over with a rarer signature move. and its hype.

[drave]

Dude. This entire match was fantastic. The slowish kinda build was great. By the time they were slamming one another, they all were very impactful. All the way to the end, this was a great match.


The chops around the 7 min mark..... sounded like a fucking baseball bat

[Fignuts]

watch any puro from ajpw/njpw or noah prior to the mid 00s. it was just they they did wrestling. finishers werent magical moves that would slay the dragon they were techniques that these athletes had refined to have really good versions of. like a boxer with a mean left hook. it might knock you out. it might just hurt like hell.

Kobashi had the best method for finishers. A handful of moves that could end a match but required multiple attempts, and a one hit killer in the burning hammer, that he only busts out like once a year. Similarly, you had Misiwa and Emerald Frosion, though I think he busted it out more than Kobashi did the burning hammer.

Obviously you don't want everyone on your roster having a move like that, but if you have a handful of your top guys using that method, it's the way to go.

[Fignuts]

i prefer (the now lost to the ages) puro mentality that its not the last move that beats you but every move cumulatively so ANY move could beat you. every pin mattered.

I love the classic puro finish of hitting a finisher, getting a 2.9 count, picking up the opponents limp body, hitting the finisher again more emphatically, and getting the 3.

[Destor]

legit very good match. the old puro product really speaks to my tastes

[Destor]

I love the classic puro finish of hitting a finisher, getting a 2.9 count, picking up the opponents limp body, hitting the finisher again more emphatically, and getting the 3.FUCK YES. So visceral

[Mr. Nerfect]

That always made sense to me. So your opponent kicks out of your best move? Are you going to grip your head with a shocked expression and lose all bearing of where you are? Or are you going to pick that nearly dead fucker up and hit him with another of your best shots?

It’s not no-selling the first one if it nearly kills you. And it actually gives you plenty of context for a rematch through a clean finish. Not just that he couldn’t beat me with one, but two damn-near fucked my neck, back, head, etc. up. Missed several big pays because that motherfucker needed to go that far.

[Bad News Gertner]

The lack of English commentary is my only barrier from watching more early/mid 90s AJPW

[Mr. Nerfect]

Hypothetically: Who would make up your classic AJPW English commentary team?

[Mr. Nerfect]

The only thing TK could announce that is “big for pro-wrestling” that would actually excite me is Jim Ross and Bryan Danielson providing commentary for AJPW’s library. But I don’t feel English commentary is necessary to enjoy it.

[Destor]

i can get that to a degree but I just let the dance speak for itself. the audience and energy from the commentary sell the emotional impact as well.

[ron the dial]

i love listening to japanese in any setting, so i don't mind the lack of english commentary. the emotion is still palpable. but it would be nice to have some context provided while i'm watching the match instead of having to find it for myself if i want it.

[XL]

They could easily “recondition” the audience with their approach to finishers. Danielson was doing this in AEW where he’d win matches in multiple ways. Just have a guy like Rollins occasionally win with the Top Rope Superplex/Falcon Arrow that they try to sell on commentary as death but I don’t think he’s ever won a match with. If he can win via Stomp/Pedigree/Frog Splash/Superplex-Falcon Arrow/Phoenix Spalsh it takes away from the crowd knowing they don’t need to react.

[Destor]

the current paradigm is finishers finish matches so its only finishers that give the audience that near fall experience because anything less they know full well isnt it. this forces the hand in having guys kick out of finishers. they just have to or there is no drama.

the only recourse then must be to have guys go over without finishers. itll get over like a wet fart in church for the first few months but once the audience begins to adjust to the paradigm shift youd see more drama throughout the match. 10 fold. but as it is now...yea you gotta shit on your finish a bit just to hook the crowd. theyre too sophisticated to buy anything else as a falsie.

there's really no other option in the current meta.

[Destor]

i suppose you could get a stable of finishers over for each talent to broaden the landscape but acts struggle to get one over so asking for 3 or so seems unreasonable. easier to just get "wrestling" over

[Jordan]

The only thing TK could announce that is “big for pro-wrestling” that would actually excite me is Jim Ross and Bryan Danielson providing commentary for AJPW’s library. But I don’t feel English commentary is necessary to enjoy it.

Probably would be best with Excalibur and Eddie Kingston tbh.

[Fignuts]

Ian riccaboni and Wade Barret

[Jordan]

This could be a thought that doesn't age well but... All of the things I've read from guys like Omega or Danielson have lead to me to believe that Cody isn't signing a deal with WWE but possibly "doing something new". I've read that he wants to "start a new project" and I wonder what exactly that could be. Could he be inovled with the CYN 'movement", is Freddie Prince Junior also involved there?

A lot of marks are saying Cody or Tony has purchased ROH and Cody will be allowed to run it "his way". Obviously it's just a marks wank lotion but what if? Whatever it is... what if Cody isn't going to WWE? There are so many options from existing promotions to something new to something outside of wrestling to this all being some major work.

[Mr. Nerfect]

There’s no point to it being a work, imo. Him doing something new? Possibly. If he’s got the capital to do something, I’d check it out. Cody’s vision is going to be closer to what I enjoy than The Bucks’ or Omega’s (I think). But i lt requires a lot of money, timing and luck.

I’ve accepted the WWE thing because the exposure is probably good for his other non-wrestling projects. The Rhodeses are bigger stars through WWE than they are through AEW.

[drave]

Still don't see it. Nothing about it would make sense EXCEPT if Cody worked out some kinda deal where he gets rights to "all the things" related to Dusty.

[Sting Fan]

I don’t really watch WWE programming but I saw a recap of Edge segment last week, seemed to me Cody answering that was pretty likely.

[Jordan]

I don’t really watch WWE programming but I saw a recap of Edge segment last week, seemed to me Cody answering that was pretty likely.

He target Cody sure, but also AJ and Austin Theory. The idea of Edge and AJ has been rumored for months, not saying it's 100% accurate or that it couldn't change. I still don't see an obvious "in" for The Codester to Wrestlemania this year.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

i can get that to a degree but I just let the dance speak for itself. the audience and energy from the commentary sell the emotional impact as well.

Was watching earlier. Japanese commentary is cool because--since I don't know wtf they're saying--it's more a sound effect that conveys mood. A different experience and a cool one. Don't necessarily need the words to tell the story. The tone does the trick.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Still don't see it. Nothing about it would make sense EXCEPT if Cody worked out some kinda deal where he gets rights to "all the things" related to Dusty.

Between him and his wife, they have made several million dollars, most likely own a their nice house in the place they want to live, and can potentially make more money over the next 3 years before Cody turns 40.

Everything he does in WWE is going to be bigger. His reality show? Bigger. Him being on a game show? Bigger. His wife’s chances of getting her cooking show picked up? Bigger. His reach with charity? Bigger.

AEW can’t offer Cody the size of platform his ego needs. This is another reason they shouldn’t have sat happy on 850k viewers or whatever. At some point it closes doors.

[drave]

He also doesn't NEED any of that :)

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Amazing <a href="https://t.co/KlnAT1VUYD">pic.twitter.com/KlnAT1VUYD</a></p>&mdash; SoDuTw (@SoDuTw) <a href="https://twitter.com/SoDuTw/status/1500175770639085570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[weather vane]

Wild.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

If Cody played himself than Lmaooo.

[weather vane]

He will be fine. I’m sure the door is always open at AEW. Take a year off and come back.

[xrodmuc316]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Amazing <a href="https://t.co/KlnAT1VUYD">pic.twitter.com/KlnAT1VUYD</a></p>&mdash; SoDuTw (@SoDuTw) <a href="https://twitter.com/SoDuTw/status/1500175770639085570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

So an unreliable source quoted a biased unreliable source? Wrestling has no true journalists :rofl:

[Destor]

i def dont trust either source but id believe it. cody only has value as a middle finger. if im vince if aew doesnt want him why would i?

[Jordan]

I don't know a thing but I don't think Cody is going to WWE. I think he will end up leading ROH in some way, maybe just as a talent but I think as a booker too. We shall see.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I could see Cody doing his own thing or going to the NWA. But him going to the WWE as a mid-carder makes sense. Being a WWE mid-carder > AEW main eventer in terms of the opportunities it is going to open up re: acting and reality shows.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I don’t see Cody debuting before Mania. The company probably doesn’t want to set the precedent that you take priority over talent that stick around if you go away, get a money mark to start a vanity project, and encourage a whole bunch of wrestlers to leave your auspices.

[Triple A]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cody showing up back on Dynamite <a href="https://t.co/pgBVfdoieQ">pic.twitter.com/pgBVfdoieQ</a></p>&mdash; Joe Gagne (@joegagne) <a href="https://twitter.com/joegagne/status/1500190674330832902?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[slik]

Austin Theory was Brock's mystery MSG opponent...twitter had worked themselves into a shoot thinking it was Cody, Cena, etc lol

[slik]

Kind of funny WWE promoted the MSG show on RAW and SD and who would Brock face in the main event at MSG and it moved like 2,000 tickets in a few days because people thought it would be some huge surprise and then the live crowd boo'd when it was Austin Theory

[XL]

At least he got a reaction that time :lol:

[erickman]

if wwe pulled a big contract to cody that was dumb they could chane it after they got him. now they just showed it is not good to try to go back to them.

[weather vane]

erickmannnnnnn

[GD]

Adrenaline
In my soul
Vince McMahon fucked Cody Rhodes

[Mr. Nerfect]

What the fuck did people actually expect? To me, the obvious choices are were Seth Rollins for Brock and Drew McIntyre for Roman. Neither of those things happened, but that’s what logic would dictate, right?

Why do people think Vince McMahon is going to sign Cody Rhodes — basically plucking him from obscurity — and reward him for going rogue and trying to establish an entity that could cut into WWE’s profit margins if it were actually effective? Why would he do that?

If Cody was scheduled to come back — and the fame might be worth it to a fame hound — he is going to be working his ass off to prove he belongs. He isn’t going to be handed a World Title match and be presented as a bigger deal in WWE than he was in his glorified indy. Why would Vince put them over like that? This guy no-sold WCW when he owned it. Now you expect him to make a TV Champion from a show that can’t even scratch 1 million viewers each week a bigger deal than he was even before he left WWE last time?

When Cody wrestles The Miz, I’d actually be expecting Miz to be winning. Because he’s the guy who puts his head down, shows up early, leaves late, doesn’t step out of line (in their mind) and has a reality TV show that is actually over. Cody has to catch up.

[Tom Guycott]

So an unreliable source quoted a biased unreliable source? Wrestling has no true journalists :rofl:

"You know... plans change."


Ooops, forgot to write what I actually meant to.

I thought about something a couple days ago: what if this whole Cody thing is a work? I mean, not one in the traditional sense where we all get swerved and he shows up on Dynamite again "breaking the stip". I mean the idea that him "leaving the company" comes well before the announcement of TK buying RoH.

What if Cody is poised to run and go play in his own kingdom? Pun intended. I mean, the instant WWE conclusion most folks jumped to was because of occam's razor multiplied by the little information we got of him wanting more money.

Not saying this is what's going on. Just an interesting suppositon. "A what'eef, eef you wheel..."

[Mr. Nerfect]

"You know... plans change."


Ooops, forgot to write what I actually meant to.

I thought about something a couple days ago: what if this whole Cody thing is a work? I mean, not one in the traditional sense where we all get swerved and he shows up on Dynamite again "breaking the stip". I mean the idea that him "leaving the company" comes well before the announcement of TK buying RoH.

What if Cody is poised to run and go play in his own kingdom? Pun intended. I mean, the instant WWE conclusion most folks jumped to was because of occam's razor multiplied by the little information we got of him wanting more money.

Not saying this is what's going on. Just an interesting suppositon. "A what'eef, eef you wheel..."

I’ve seen lots of people speculating that Cody is going to run ROH. That does nothing for me. If Cody doesn’t go to the WWE, I’m thinking he does his own thing or just moves on from wrestling.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Cody was actually against the purchase of ROH.

[weather vane]

Tony said he will book ROH. Most likely will be like NXT of old. The difference is that the same person with the same ideology will be running it.

[drave]

Man, a black and gold NXT vibe would be great. The new NXT is pretty fucking horrible TV

[weather vane]

I think he means it’s going to be like a developmental. The difference being when they call up these guys they will actually use them in the same manner or in a proper way. The problem with NXT was that Triple H was running it but Vince was running WWE.

[erickman]

Tony said he will book ROH. Most likely will be like NXT of old. The difference is that the same person with the same ideology will be running it.

i am so waiting for tony to burn out the coke high to run out. like with vince he needs other people to help him out.

[Evil Vito]

So Khan will be running and booking two promotions, three hours of weekly TV for AEW plus whatever TV ROH ends up having (let's assume they end up taping a month's worth of shows at once). On top of that he's got commitments to the Jags and Fulham on top of running his sports analytics business.

I mean I commend the hustle but yeah, he's definitely in the Vince category of "this guy probably doesn't sleep much, if at all".

[Mr. Nerfect]

I think he means it’s going to be like a developmental. The difference being when they call up these guys they will actually use them in the same manner or in a proper way. The problem with NXT was that Triple H was running it but Vince was running WWE.

What is the point of it then? If you’ve already seen Anthony Ogogo as World Champion, you’ve seen it. NXT Black & Gold was a money pit. TK is going to have a break-down and daddy might sell all his toys.

[Fignuts]

Yeah, I think it would work better as a second brand. So long as its treated as such, unlike smackdown and raw.

[Tom Guycott]

Yeah, I think it would work better as a second brand. So long as its treated as such, unlike smackdown and raw.

Exactly. That has always been my primary complaint about the brand split: that they only go halfway with it and/or only apply it when it suits them. They can't concentrate on each show like it is its own show, and generally either both suffer, or one does okay almost to the detriment of the other, then they try to overcompensate by taking what works in one place and transplanting it to the other. Then, after they spend most of the year treating it as an implied uniified roster, we're supposed to care about the split again for about two months come Survivor Series?

Wish I could see what happens, but the Sinclair station in my area STOPPED showing RoH well in advance of even the announcement of shuttering. The last thing I remember seeing was a video with the lead up to the Briscoes "Fight on the Farm". Had to watch the match itself online. Or anything else they did. And it wasn't like the station was/is showing anything else in that already shit 3am Sunday night/Monday morning timeslot surrounded with random reruns and infomercials. Hell, it wasn't even a re-airing of Ring of Honor TV from a better time like a lot of the stations that were on their list... it was the ONLY time they showed that week's* episode.

The reason why I mention that is to wonder if any other staions did the same thing? If so, how many? How many does that leave with an actual timeslot to air Tony's new toy?

And given that nobody can contain themselves, I'm willing to bet the inaugural show (wherever and whatever it may be) will blow the load of Briscoes vs FTR, completely relying on social media for a feud that folks may not even realize is happening instead of building it on the air somewhere.

[Tom Guycott]

I’ve seen lots of people speculating that Cody is going to run ROH. That does nothing for me. If Cody doesn’t go to the WWE, I’m thinking he does his own thing or just moves on from wrestling.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Cody was actually against the purchase of ROH.

It might not do anything for you specifically, but the overall point is the rampant speculation that he's just automatically going to WWE. Like, people signed that deal in their heads, with their mouths, and verbally or via writing it all over the internet the next morning from sheer assumption.

I've not seen anything else myself but report after report about supposed WWE debut plans, who he'll be feuding with, what Vince thinks... etc., etc., and then unbeknownst to anyone, he shows up back in Japan (just an example - not super feisable because of travel restrictions, otherwise Mox would still be doing his jet-setting timeshare thing). He could walk into NWA and insert himself into the title picture some sort of way with Cardona, Murdoch, and Aldis. Hell, for all we really know [unless he was on RAW earlier today as I write this but didn't see] he could be in a new MCU project he can't mention.

Besides, he's been Ring of Honor champion before, and it would be a backdoor way to "break the stip" with it not being AEW. And that whole thing about not being an executive for AEW anymore may just be window dressing and semantics because paperwork reasons and it's just a lateral move... but the sheer idea of he and Brandi "leaving" being intended to make marketing buzz about it is about on par with a lot of his overthinking, cross-promotional style of handling things.

[erickman]

Exactly. That has always been my primary complaint about the brand split: that they only go halfway with it and/or only apply it when it suits them. They can't concentrate on each show like it is its own show, and generally either both suffer, or one does okay almost to the detriment of the other, then they try to overcompensate by taking what works in one place and transplanting it to the other. Then, after they spend most of the year treating it as an implied uniified roster, we're supposed to care about the split again for about two months come Survivor Series?

Wish I could see what happens, but the Sinclair station in my area STOPPED showing RoH well in advance of even the announcement of shuttering. The last thing I remember seeing was a video with the lead up to the Briscoes "Fight on the Farm". Had to watch the match itself online. Or anything else they did. And it wasn't like the station was/is showing anything else in that already shit 3am Sunday night/Monday morning timeslot surrounded with random reruns and infomercials. Hell, it wasn't even a re-airing of Ring of Honor TV from a better time like a lot of the stations that were on their list... it was the ONLY time they showed that week's* episode.

The reason why I mention that is to wonder if any other staions did the same thing? If so, how many? How many does that leave with an actual timeslot to air Tony's new toy?

And given that nobody can contain themselves, I'm willing to bet the inaugural show (wherever and whatever it may be) will blow the load of Briscoes vs FTR, completely relying on social media for a feud that folks may not even realize is happening instead of building it on the air somewhere.
guess we will have to see what tony got from sinclair, if he got a year tv deal it would be good. tony may have to take the show to hbo max which may or may not be good.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It might not do anything for you specifically, but the overall point is the rampant speculation that he's just automatically going to WWE. Like, people signed that deal in their heads, with their mouths, and verbally or via writing it all over the internet the next morning from sheer assumption.

I've not seen anything else myself but report after report about supposed WWE debut plans, who he'll be feuding with, what Vince thinks... etc., etc., and then unbeknownst to anyone, he shows up back in Japan (just an example - not super feisable because of travel restrictions, otherwise Mox would still be doing his jet-setting timeshare thing). He could walk into NWA and insert himself into the title picture some sort of way with Cardona, Murdoch, and Aldis. Hell, for all we really know [unless he was on RAW earlier today as I write this but didn't see] he could be in a new MCU project he can't mention.

Besides, he's been Ring of Honor champion before, and it would be a backdoor way to "break the stip" with it not being AEW. And that whole thing about not being an executive for AEW anymore may just be window dressing and semantics because paperwork reasons and it's just a lateral move... but the sheer idea of he and Brandi "leaving" being intended to make marketing buzz about it is about on par with a lot of his overthinking, cross-promotional style of handling things.

Yeah, it doesn’t do anything for me. That’s why I used that wording. Lots of people have been talking about the Cody/ROH rumors. Meltzer even addressed them.

I would just find it a bit…boring at this point. It’s time for Cody to do something else. Him shaking hands with Tony Khan and being back on the team and getting a promotion bought for him is just not compelling to me.

[Maluco]

I think it’s possible to read between the lines that both AEW and WWE have said no to Cody as a main eventer on main event money.

It’s about time that he sought out somewhere where he can choose his own narrative, and potentially, choose his own titantron in MS Paint

[Mr. Nerfect]

I think it’s possible to read between the lines that both AEW and WWE have said no to Cody as a main eventer on main event money.

It’s about time that he sought out somewhere where he can choose his own narrative, and potentially, choose his own titantron in MS Paint

“Big Damo has chosen his narrative! Cody Rhodes…not so much.”

[Tom Guycott]

guess we will have to see what tony got from sinclair, if he got a year tv deal it would be good. tony may have to take the show to hbo max which may or may not be good.

HBO Max would be better than nothing in place at all. I daresay it would even be better than trying to make up their own shit from whole cloth in a progressively saturated streaming market.

I mean, it's great to assume they got additonal TV from this deal, and that my story is anecdotal since I only exist in one market from many across the country. However, it is fairly reminicent of how the former "The Nashville Network" picked up ECW, then proceeded to shit on, bury, and screw around the promotion (it was somehow the highest rated show on the network, and yet the brain trust did shit like show their commercials DURING the show instead of elsewhere to try and attract new viewers, or was looking to use ECW as the lead in to that hot new series: ROCK'N BOWL!!) right up until they sniped WWE from USA Network, then Vince got top billing and first class treatment. Except here, it seems a little worse, because Sinclair has/had ownership and still proceeded to treat their own "investment" like ass.

[Tom Guycott]

It’s about time that he sought out somewhere where he can choose his own narrative, and potentially, choose his own titantron in MS Paint

In what becomes a running gag, they just show the one for Austin Aries.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It wouldn’t be shocking for ROH to come with the syndication deal. If Tony put effort and resources it, there’s no reason it can’t be getting better ratings than AEW. But if that happened more publicly, questions would likely be asked by WarnerMedia.

[Triple A]

Cody has signed with WWE, PWInsider says

Cody Rhodes has signed with WWE, multiple WWE sources have confirmed. Rhodes inked his deal about 10-14 days ago.

The current plan is to have Rhodes debut Wrestlemania weekend with the early word among those in the company being that Rhodes will be on the Raw brand.

https://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=156974

[slik]

RAW would make sense via...

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[Lock Jaw]

Debut WM weekend where he will no doubt receive a poop-ton of AEW chants.....

I am also predicting a lot of "you sold out" chants, which will be very ironic since the fans chanting it will have "sold out" themselves and bought tickets to Wrestlemania.

If they even try to make Cody a face I will laugh.... it will fail big time

[Sting Fan]

I’m curious about the Cody to WWE timing. If he had a program into Mania I would probably buy it to see him and AJ.

As far as him debuting at Mania or the week before I will probably try YouTube it at some later point. I just don’t have any faith they will do anything with him worth seeing without knowing what the program is.

[slik]

If Vince is smart he will debut Cody with a cape

[weather vane]

I’ll watch the clips of Cody and Austin. It’s something.

[XL]

Guessing that’d be a Raw after Mania “surprise” debut/return.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Cody was probably already signed. He just wasn’t going to be on Mania.

[drave]

lol @ Cody at mania meaning anything at all.