Cody Rhodes was one of the founding members of AEW. He had a major role in the early years of the Jacksonville-based promotion. The American Nightmare was a part of some high-stakes moment in the company during his tenure. But recently, Tony Khan gave him credit for one of the most controversial decisions in AEW history.
At Full Gear 2019, Cody Rhodes went one-on-one with Chris Jericho for the AEW World Championship. It was a dream match back then, and fans were excited to see who would walk out as the world champion. However, to raise the stakes, AEW added a stipulation that if Cody lost, he could never challenge for the AEW World Championship again. Well, The American Nightmare lost the match, and he never got the chance at the world title in AEW.
Speaking on Q101, Tony Khan revealed that it was Cody Rhodes’ idea to add that condition in the match. The AEW President added that at that time, he went along with the plan because it clearly created a sense of unpredictability around the Full Gear main event. While Khan agreed that Jericho and Rhodes put on an epic match and that the stipulation generated plenty of fan interest, he conceded that it caused major problems for the creative team.
“It was Cody’s idea to do that. I did have some reservations about it at the time, and he felt pretty strongly about it. That’s how it came to be. I went along because I could see why he wanted to have it, and it would certainly build unpredictability around the event. That was a great show and a great match, Cody versus Jericho at Full Gear 2019. But the aftermath did create challenges,” said Khan.
The Prodigal Son was a top star in the Jacksonville- based promotion. Therefore, keeping him away from the world championship created roadblocks in his creative direction. In 2022, Rhodes left AEW to join WWE, and now he is a three-time Undisputed WWE Champion in the company.
Cody Rhodes is reportedly planned to face CM Punk at SummerSlam 2026
Cody Rhodes has been chasing his fourth world championship in WWE for the past week. He was attacked by Gunther on this week’s RAW before his match with current champion Sami Zayn. In the main event, he was replaced by CM Punk, who went on to beat Zayn to become the new Undisputed WWE Champion.
According to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio, The American Nightmare is currently planned to face The Best in the World at SummerSlam this year. This match will take place in the main event of one of the nights, and it will now be contested for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
WWE teased this match on RAW after WrestleMania 42 this year. Despite having multiple confrontations, CM Punk and Cody Rhodes have never faced each other in the Stamford-based promotion yet. It will be interesting to see how things will unfold if they collide at The Biggest Part of the Summer.
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Edited by Anugrah Tyagi
