I'm more interested in 'Switchblade' Jay White showing up and joining the Elite. That guy has some serious natural heel talent and the kind of face you just want to punch repeatedly in the ring.
His unofficial name on Reddit is 'Knife Pevert', and I hope that brand shines.
AEW is just so, so much better right now. Even their Dark and Rampage matches are more entertaining than the neutered wrestling on Raw. They seem to live in the real world (talent allowed to be themselves, forbidden door, more edgy language and promos, giving fans the matches and feuds they want), whereas WWE just lives in their own world and shoves what they think people want down their throats.
Haven't watched a WWE show since NXT Black and Gold ended, and I honestly don't miss a damn thing. When their best product (NXT B+G) was killed off for good, that was the death knell for my interest in the company.
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Cody and Brandi shared their confirmations on Twitter this morning. They are wrapped up with AEW.
Not sure what happens next, but I think they have TV shows still filming - they're quite involved with WarnerMedia, so who knows what happens next.
If I had to guess, it would be either signing with WWE (he mentioned he's going to do something that blurs lines a couple of months ago), or that was just a ruse and he's going to step away from wrestling and focus on this entertainment career.
It's starting to sound like a financial agreement between Rhodes and Khan couldn't be reached. He wanted a deal outside of AEW's pay structure and Khan wasn't willing to budge.
I still don't know if that means going to WWE, but if Rhodes is dependent on independent revenue streams (e.g. TV shows, or Brandi with social media), that might be a problem.
Starting to think more and more that he's not going to be going back to wrestling full-time. It might just be a side hustle at this point.
I just can't see WWE wanting Cody for any reason other than to #### on AEW? And if you're Cody, why would you want that? You helped build AEW up, you (in your own mind in the very least) helped make it into a viable alternative for wrestling fans who missed that 80s/90s storytelling that got eaten up by the Monday Night Wars.
Is the massive pay out worth that, if you can make money else where? And it's not like you're going to come back to WWE and stay on top. You'll get that early run and then you'll be in and out of rapid fire mid-card feuds with the same set of guys over and over.
Actually putting Rhodes into NXT as a new figure (after Regal) might be an attempt to capitalize on his name value but also recognize his ability help build a brand. NXT2.0 is hurting and is a shadow of its former self, and Cody's dad was integral in building the original brand, with Cody often crediting his father for the wrestling scene today.
Main roster doesn't make sense to me, although who knows with WWE.
I also suspect any deal with WWE would not be a standard talent contract; it would probably be a list of caveats and asterisks for Cody to pursue other things.
Vince also doesn't hold grudges as long as it makes money. He brought back Bret Hart back for an angle where Bret beat the piss out of him. If anything Cody would still hold a grudge, although I think he has spoken highly of WWE generally speaking since he left so as not to burn a bridge.
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Going to finish what his dad had started in NXT could be interesting, and it’s really the only spot that makes sense in WWE.
Plus you just know Cody would love to take over NXT too which was Triple H’s baby, since really he seems that it was Cody and HHH that had more heat that Cody and Vince did.
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Yep. Also, it was rumored they were considering bring in veteran talent for "six week" contracts to help the youngsters along. Six weeks trial run as one or more of an on-screen talent/coach/producer/writer might be a perfect situation for both sides.
Yep. Also, it was rumored they were considering bring in veteran talent for "six week" contracts to help the youngsters along. Six weeks trial run as one or more of an on-screen talent/coach/producer/writer might be a perfect situation for both sides.
I want to like Cody, but I find his promos meh and his matches to me are much like HHH's were to me back in the day - very methodical and all the same with a high level of predictability.
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-- The strong belief is that Rhodes is headed back to WWE, where he left on not-so-good terms in 2016 after asking for his release. WWE officials have been talking to Rhodes since his contract expires at the end of December (as to avoid tampering charges) and while no one has officially confirmed that he's put pen to paper, most feel as if it just a matter of time. If and when he signs with WWE, Cody would be free to appear immediately as he is no longer under AEW contract and hasn't been for almost two months. Furthermore, Rhodes has a "strong relationship" with current WWE Head of Talent, John Laurinaitis, who is the perso who initially signed Cody to a WWE deal back in 2006.
-- PWInsider.com further reports that there is "excitement" within WWE about Cody jumping ship from AEW as he would be the first person to do so since AEW came into existence and would bring him with a lot of intimate knowledge about how AEW functions and operates both from a talent and management position as he was both a wrestler and an executive. One source believes that Rhodes could be at the WWE Performance Center for training as early as this weekend.
Honestly, I don't care if Rhodes goes to WWE. I'm not really a fan of his (his work in the ring or his character), and he's still going to have to contend with Vince on multiple levels. AEW has so much talent going they'll be fine without him. I never really paid attention to his AEW matches anyways, and didn't want to.
I'll only care if he goes back, gets involved with NXT, and makes it an A+ wrestling-focused show again. But, I'm not holding my breath.
Rhodes and the Young Bucks were a major road block for me getting into AEW at launch. They both give me that Jeff Jarrett vibe, where they think they're much bigger and more important than they are and give themselves a much more prominent position than they deserve. I think Rhodes is a better fit in WWE, where he'll be well compensated and given prestige for being Dusty's kid but not center stage of the programs. I think going into NXT could be interesting, especially if his arrival steers it back in the direction Paul Levesque was initially going.
I'm also with the DP that I'm still not totally unsure that this isn't a work.
