How did Cody Rhodes go from a wrestler that was booed so heavily by fans in AEW as a babyface......

[Raw Sauce]

They just let wrestlers do whatever the fukk they want

There's only a very small handful of people in the history of the business who can make this approach work yet and still they still don't seem to get the message. Most creatives need filters of some kind.

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Cody had nobody reining him in at AEW so he let himself look like a doofus with his overcooked storylines. WWE keeps him on enough of a leash

 

[Versa]

Because when WWE wants to promote a wrestler and treat them like a star, there's no other company that comes remotely close to elevating that wrestler's value. And when that performer is talented at something (charisma, mic work or in ring), it's a flawless formula.

Cody came in carrying himself like a star, knowing how to cut a good promo and showing a fukk ton of charisma. There's no world were WWE misses on elevating a guy like that if they decide to actually put the effort in supporting him.

AEW has literally none of that. They don't have promoting experience nor the power to elevate anybody. They just let wrestlers do whatever the fukk they want and sink o swim. In Cody's case he stayed too long in his own corner booking his own stuff and it backfired. In WWE's case they've managed Cody's strengths and elevated them, which is not something they usually do, but when they do....it's a 100% hit ratio.

This is a great post.

I don't feel it was always like this though, because it took them way too long to get Roman Reigns going. He shoulda been like this years ago.

 

[CJ]

This is a great post.

I don't feel it was always like this though, because it took them way too long to get Roman Reigns going. He shoulda been like this years ago.

They forced it too hard with Roman and did dumb shyt like the blue eye contacts and sufferin succotash promos.

Cody came in suited and booted and cut realistic promos and took beatings along the way, while also winning matches. With Roman it was too force fed. Honestly I think it worked out for the best. Many wanted him heel after Philly booed him and the Rock but no way he would have been this fleshed out and confident. Coming back during Thunderdome days as a heel was the perfect time, in the end. Even if 8 years late. It's a GOAT level heel run now.
Only other time could have been after he beat Taker and the this is may yard promo - but again not sure if it would have been this good.

 

[Versa]

They forced it too hard with Roman and did dumb shyt like the blue eye contacts and sufferin succotash promos.

Cody came in suited and booted and cut realistic promos and took beatings along the way, while also winning matches. With Roman it was too force fed. Honestly I think it worked out for the best. Many wanted him heel after Philly booed him and the Rock but no way he would have been this fleshed out and confident. Coming back during Thunderdome days as a heel was the perfect time, in the end. Even if 8 years late. It's a GOAT level heel run now.
Only other time could have been after he beat Taker and the this is may yard promo - but again not sure if it would have been this good.

I feel you are right. Roman probably wasn't ready to be the Tribal Chief back then anyway.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

This is a great post.

I don't feel it was always like this though, because it took them way too long to get Roman Reigns going. He shoulda been like this years ago.

I feel you are right. Roman probably wasn't ready to be the Tribal Chief back then anyway.

By 2015-16 he should’ve been heading in that direction. The issue is Bryan Danielson being the most over guy in the sport and Vince outwardly refusing to let him be the top guy under any circumstances while Roman needed to develop in the undercard. At the time they decided he was gonna win the royal rumble match he’d wrestled a grand total of one singles match on pay per view while not finding any post shield identity either, still using their gear and theme.

 

[NYChase718]

Hed come out to nonsensical grand entrances against a no name then go on to have a “toe to toe” 20 minute bout including blood with those jobbers

Tony booker of the year Khan

 

[Jmare007]

This is a great post.

I don't feel it was always like this though, because it took them way too long to get Roman Reigns going. He shoulda been like this years ago.

Yeah, but even in cases were they didn't book to people's strengths -like Cena and Roman- they still became undeniable big stars and top acts in the company. And in both those cases, the fact the company continued to pushed them and promote them as THE biggest deals in the company no matter what a portion of fanbase wanted or thought about them, was a deciding factor too. At the end of the day, when the whole WWE machine is behind someone, they will win out eventually. And there's no other company in the world that can do that.

They only miss when they choose a wrestler that doesn't really have 1 standout quality and they bail out on them rather quickly.

The most frustrating part is when they have a standout wrestler but they never put their full effort behind them. I think that's their biggest flaw and that was the modus operandi for like 18 years before La Nariz took over creative. They could have a wrestler with potential (even more than someone like Cody, for example) and they would even do a half assed job at promoting or literally do everything in their power to lower their value instead of rising it.

 

[Versa]

Yeah, but even in cases were they didn't book to people's strengths -like Cena and Roman- they still became undeniable big stars and top acts in the company. And in both those cases, the fact the company continued to pushed them and promote them as THE biggest deals in the company no matter what a portion of fanbase wanted or thought about them, was a deciding factor too. At the end of the day, when the whole WWE machine is behind someone, they will win out eventually. And there's no other company in the world that can do that.

They only miss when they choose a wrestler that doesn't really have 1 standout quality and they bail out on them rather quickly.

The most frustrating part is when they have a standout wrestler but they never put their full effort behind them. I think that's their biggest flaw and that was the modus operandi for like 18 years before La Nariz took over creative. They could have a wrestler with potential (even more than someone like Cody, for example) and they would even do a half assed job at promoting or literally do everything in their power to lower their value instead of rising it.

Who are some wrestlers going back 20 years that you feel they dropped the ball on OR that person found success, but it could have been/was in spite of WWE as much as because?

CM Punk comes to mind. Bobby Lashley. Sasha Banks....

All reached great heights but it should have been more.

 

[Silkk]

The WWE didn't allow Cody to book his own Codyverse like AEW did. Watching Cody wrestle unsigned Indy jabronis & Nightmare Factory students to the 20 minute time limit draw was excruciating.

Not only that but Cody would dip in & out at will and come back and do what he wanted.


Most people forget that the backlash began when he came back and took the tnt title off of Brodie while he was in the middle of a GREAT run.

 

[Jmare007]

Who are some wrestlers going back 20 years that you feel they dropped the ball on OR that person found success, but it could have been/was in spite of WWE as much as because?

CM Punk comes to mind. Bobby Lashley. Sasha Banks....

All reached great heights but it should have been more.

Those three names for sure, they left money on the table with each one.

The fact they couldn't capitalize much of anything with Daniel Bryan, considering how scorching hot over he was for 10 months (2013-2014) is the perfect example of doing everything in their power to devalue a wrestler -in order to "get heat" with the fanbase"- instead of putting their whole machine behind him. The also learned the wrong lesson from D-Bry because dude staying as over for so long, despite being booked like shyt and never once being promoted as someone worth a damn (let alone a top guy position) made them think "that's how you create a babyface in modern wrestling", which led to every face being treated like shyt for 5-6 years straight. Including a guy like Roman, that shyt was wild, dude lost matches and feuds but kept being put in a top position, it was incredibly ass backwards.

 

[Remy LeBreh]

AEW philosophically shyts on pure babyfaces unless they're Luchas or doing weird meta gimmicks. Every babyface they have is really a tweener or an edgelord.
Cody is also one of the most op pure faces we've seen in ages, dude was chasing Brock Lesnar to run the fade when every other character runs from him.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

Those three names for sure, they left money on the table with each one.

The fact they couldn't capitalize much of anything with Daniel Bryan, considering how scorching hot over he was for 10 months (2013-2014) is the perfect example of doing everything in their power to devalue a wrestler -in order to "get heat" with the fanbase"- instead of putting their whole machine behind him. The also learned the wrong lesson from D-Bry because dude staying as over for so long, despite being booked like shyt and never once being promoted as someone worth a damn (let alone a top guy position) made them think "that's how you create a babyface in modern wrestling", which led to every face being treated like shyt for 5-6 years straight. Including a guy like Roman, that shyt was wild, dude lost matches and feuds but kept being put in a top position, it was incredibly ass backwards.

I don’t think that’s an entirely accurate. They openly didn’t want Bryan to succeed and constantly tried to siphon his heat onto other wrestlers. Look at how they booked his return from his 2014 injury. Set up his return just like 2002 triple h except he’s eliminated early and unceremoniously from the rumble, loses to Roman a month later with the shot at Brock on the line, and then he’s in the curtain jerking match for the second time in 4 years. As for how they booked big dog era Roman, I think that he lost big matches was more Vince trying to get the fans to stop booing on some “here you go now shut up” type booking, like his wrestlemania 34 match with Brock.

 

[Jmare007]

I don’t think that’s an entirely accurate. They openly didn’t want Bryan to succeed and constantly tried to siphon his heat onto other wrestlers. Look at how they booked his return from his 2014 injury. Set up his return just like 2002 triple h except he’s eliminated early and unceremoniously from the rumble, loses to Roman a month later with the shot at Brock on the line, and then he’s in the curtain jerking match for the second time in 4 years. As for how they booked big dog era Roman, I think that he lost big matches was more Vince trying to get the fans to stop booing on some “here you go now shut up” type booking, like his wrestlemania 34 match with Brock.

Not sure where we are disagreeing breh

And yeah, part of making Roman lose was "see, he doesn't win all the time, he's the underdog y'all supposed to like!".

 

[Arcavian]

Because fukk AEW, nobody watched that shyt