5 reasons why Cody Rhodes is the new lightning rod in wrestling

4) The Cody-verse

Cody Rhodes lost the right to compete for the AEW World Championship after losing to Chris Jericho at Full Gear 2019. The inability to compete for the top prize limits what is possible for the American Nightmare's character. His TNT Championship reign was remarkable and helped elevate new talent. Following his loss, Rhodes has seemingly been scrambling for direction.

The term "Cody-verse" was coined following a strange series of rivalries for Cody Rhodes. He feuded with Shaquille O'Neal and Jade Cargill, leading to a mixed tag team match with Red Velvet as his partner. Following that contest, Rhodes mixed it up with The Factory's QT Marshall and Anthony Ogogo. These consecutive feuds mixed with a certain speech led to a polarizing reaction forming towards Cody.

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3) The Malakai Black feud pushed the fans against Cody Rhodes

On the very first AEW live event back on the road, Malakai Black debuted and immediately inserted himself into a rivalry with Cody Rhodes. The All Elite Wrestling fans quickly embraced Malakai Black and enjoyed the dark elements of his persona. The dismantling of the American Nightmare on the Homecoming special of Dynamite made fans love Black even more.

AEW seemingly made this feud to establish Malakai Black as a heel in the company, but the damage to Cody Rhodes had already been done. By placing an excellent character like Malakai Black against Cody at this time, the promotion further pushed the fans against the Nightmare Family leader for good.