I guess one good thing about Cody going back to AEW (if he does) is that he will probably be one of the biggest heels in the company. He could use the WWE stuff to his advantage.
But can you come back to a company just a month or so after publicly announcing you are parting ways? I dont know if I have ever seen that before in any sport.
Cody being one of the top faces of ROH (not getting behind the idea of him booking, etc), could save face for all involved, if he does go back and nothing else pans out.
A fresh start for all involved, and save some face.
At this point though… He went from being the talk of the industry leaving, to really an afterthought, within the span of three weeks.
Since he left, AEW hasn’t missed a step. They’ve got their most loaded show ever without the regular Cody match. They have added more talent. And the ROH acquisition totally changed the narrative in terms of what fans were talking about.
I hope he comes out on top for himself and his family, regardless of where he ends up.
I’m sure there is a rhode for him to do that 
I think at this point if he goes back to AEW, it has to be part of an angle at some sort. It already looks bad on him and he looks like he valued himself a lot more than Vince or Tony do.
If Shane Mcmahon would come in, I’d bring him in with Cody. I cant see Shane doing it, even though he is on the outs with WWE right now, but if he is open to it, I think it would be big for AEW, to be able to pull a Mcmahon in. Cody could say he was negotiating with a Mcmahon, but it wasnt Vince, it was Shane and they could pull in guys like FTR, who were with Shane at one point, among others.
I know a lot wouldnt like it, but I think at this point the one thing that might pull in some die hard WWE fans, would be a potential “WWE group” vs AEW.
I’m intrigued that the majority of you think this is a work. I haven’t thought that for a minute…maybe AEW have just got me hooked and I believe anything they tell me.
I don’t think everyone here thinks it’s a work - but it’s wrestling, and for most cases, it’s always lingering in people’s minds.
That said, I don’t think this is or started out as one, as it achieves nothing for anybody involved, if not damages people.
If this were a work, it damages:
Trust level in Cody amongst fans. And he is made to look like a sucker in the meanwhile in terms of the narrative out there.
Trust level in TK amongst fans (which is really a huge thing, as most of AEW’s audience has grown with putting faith in the product and promotion).
Damages the community outreach program and their relationships, as Cody was a major part of that.
If Cody did indeed negotiate with WWE as part of this elaborate work, he damages his chances of ever being taken seriously by them.
Mistrust among journalists who have been communicated to on both AEW’s end and WWE’s end, conveying the truth behind this story.
Cody can always come back to AEW, and it becomes and angle… But I can’t believe, the longer this goes on, that it started out as that.
Exactly.
It wouldn’t be a good look for this to be a work - hurts everyone’s credibility.
I don’t think it’s a work. That being said the alternative - that Cody overplayed his hand - is both sad for him and likely amusing to others as you really don’t see that everyday. Him going back to AEW for what is clearly going to be much more on TKs terms has to be embarrassing and a hit to his ego.
In the end I think it boils down to the fact that there aren’t that many people that are going to make a massive difference if they jump companies. They are a handful, and it sort of works both ways. But if you aren’t part of that handful and you think you are more important than perhaps you are you may get left out.
When you look at the list of true difference makers even ones going from WWE are probably limited to Roman, Brock, Rhonda, Becky, CM Punk, Mox, Omega and that may well be it in terms of causing a big difference.
I think what it comes down to is Cody probably saw himself as part of that group and neither Tony Khan or Vince McMahon really did. Which is why you’re in the situation you probably are.
Also to add to that you have to remember Cody’s role in WWE. He was truly a mid card talent.
You can say what you want about WWE miss using people like Moxley, Jericho, CM punk, Daniel Bryan, etc were all positioned as top tier talent. Even Christian was higher up on the WWE card than Cody.
This, for a guy like Vince who seems to focus mainly on his own product, the allure of Cody coming back may not be the same as those other guys.
I think it should be added, that Cody did bet on himself before and it paid off huge. He became a star. Got a huge contract out of ROH. Became a darling to many fans. Worked his ass off. Helped create and launch AEW and change the game in many ways. He was a solid main event hand in AEW.
But yes, I also fully believe that within WWE, it’s entirely within the realm of realistic possibilities that he hasn’t changed the the perception of his value to the one person it matters most to.
And look, it still possible he shows up in WWE and gets a main event run. But as I’ve said elsewhere, it’s pretty unrealistic looking at WWE’s track record to assume that success outside WWE = main event position within WWE.
AJ Styles and Ric Flair may be the closest I can think of… But elsewhere, the examples are few and far between. Especially in a post WCW era.
Again, maybe everything changes Monday night or night after Mania. But the longer this goes on, the less and less likely it seems like Cody’s big gamble paid off for a second time.
Agreed with all of this. I’ll throw in that of Mania still needs a shot in the arm Cody’s value rises again. This might be Cody’s best storyline in a 18 months.
I don’t think Cody loses any face or hype if he decides to re-sign with AEW. Like any athlete or entertainer, the terms of a new contract wasn’t agreed on from both sides. From what I read, Tony Kahn wanted to lockdown Cody for a longer contract and with very little creative control. IMO, a ROH storyline is way more interesting, than a WWE run that may or may not fizzle out pretty quick.
Cody could play this similar to Bret after WM12. Long time off and come back saying in the end you chose your home company for less money.
If he is coming back I would wait for a while. Have him take 6 months off. Make a big deal of him coming back for an interview on his future. He shows up and says the same - says Vince have him a great offer but he’s All IN at the end of the day.
So yes plenty of ways to bounce back creatively. However I’m sure it hurts his money a little as TK isn’t bringing him back for whatever money Cody wanted
I have to imagine that this week is the weekCody debuts in WWE IF he ends up going.
You just know Vince would love to debut a former AEW EVP in whats essentially AEW’s home town in Jacksonville. After that we have Chicago which would also be a good city, followed by PIttsburgh which I’m not sure if AEW is hot in. Either way, the next few weeks will be interesting, but especially this week.
It appears if he’s coming in then it’s to work with Seth. I would think it has to be Jacksonville for many reasons you outlined. If he’s not there then they have not reached a deal I would think or waiting until after WM
I just listed to SNME and Meltzer said “As of Friday, Cody is still penciled in to be facing Rollins at Mania”.
Who knows, but I think in 24 hours we will have a pretty good idea of whats going on.
Do ya think Cody has the money shakes again? Just stuck reciting random WWE facts to confused onlookers…
What makes this tough to figure out is that Cody is way more of a weirdo than we thought.
I predict: Cody going to get boo’d in Jacksonville making Seth Freakin’ Rollins and his incredibly annoying laugh a babyface. I will try to watch Raw tonight. So I’m the Mark here.
Omega alluded to the fact that Cody sees wrestling differently.
I imagine it means he’s old school. His fav wrestler is HHH and his dad is Dusty. It makes sense for him to like more traditional testing. So I imagine he’s loving the Pullman type angle right now
That’s definitely possible.
My personal take is that he wasn’t 100% happy in AEW (losing the creative input or backstage relationships) and the money hurt his pride pushing him over the edge.
Bc none of this really makes sense considering what we know.