>>59342731/2
Cody had two major issues in AEW. The first was Brandi. She was a lethal dose of poison to his career because of how bad she was. It was made worst by the fact she got stories, positions and the like that she wasn't ready for and let's not even touch on the nightmare collective. That and constant face Baker pushes all but killed that division until Shida saved it - only for Baker to kill it again.
The other issue was that Cody would disappear for long times and was directionless, seeming to just go into random feuds.
As a result, it was hard to get invested in him and his storylines and him bringing in his cast of "literally who?"
That all said, what Tony Khan did to Cody was fucking disgusting. Without Cody, there is no AEW.
I think it speaks volume about Khan and his lack of understanding talent. Let's look at two cases.
Cody Rhodes
>Fired from WWE>Doesn't whine about it>Goes on the Indies>Make a name for himself>Goes to Japan>Joins the elite>Becomes one of the hottest acts in wrestling>Bets Dave Melzer that he and the elite could put on a 10.000 plus sellout show in North America, because they know they're that good.>All In is a huge success>Start AEW>Puts over Jericho, MJF, Darby (building him up and making him a solid fan favourite), works with a bunch of talent and helps them improve.>AEW beats WWE and causes their counter program to beat a retreat to Tuesday Night.>CM Phil comes in>Cody cuts a promo about how he did the things Phil talked about was too busy being a massive bitch to actually do.>Cody is forced out.CM Punk
>Leaves WWE>Goes on a Podcast>Bitches and cries about how he was misused>Break his friendship with the Podcast host and his former bestfriend>Talks about UFC>Gets the shit kicked out of him>Proceeds to spend the next few years being a passive-aggressive little bitch.>Is offered the chance to join AEW>Rejects it and makes more passive-aggressive comments. 