@Jason just saying… Mox and Hangman would all do the same for the money and guarantees for their character presentation and the benefits… Cody got a freaking bus even so his family can travel with him. Can’t say the same about Darby or Kingston because neither would ever be signed by WWE. Darby because of his controversy and Kingston due to his lack of attention to his work and risk of injury. Just saying… there’s going to be more from AEW heading to WWE simply because of Cody
@@red6605 also if they start to feud with each other in cross over matches would be amazing at some point but i do hope they start to work with AEW would be awesome.
Huge congrats to Cody. Whatever your feelings towards him this is a tremendous (sorry, stupendous) moment for him that no one can take away from him. Living by tonight only, I love the love he was shown and Seth is a perfect first opponent back.
@Jason so?, have you heard of the Monday Night Wars when WCW wrestlers trash talked WWE so much yet they all come there, from the NWO, to Goldberg and even Eric Bischoff who wanted to destroy WWE and fight Vince in a real fight lmfao, its called business, and also AEW fans turned on him even tho he created the best alternative (as you yourself said) to WWE long before they even knew he was going to WWE. WWE is Cody's home, not AEW, he just used the indies to reinvent himself like Drew did.
@Jason you realize it’s all business right? Behind the scenes wwe and aew stars are friends and are happy to see each other on any company because that means they are putting food on their table. Grow up
Five moments gave me these type of chills and emotions. 1) Cody’s return right here! 2) Edges return to WWE at the Royal Rumble. 3) The Hardy’s return to WWE at Wrestlemania. 4) Shawn Michaels returns to the WWE from his back injury. 5) Hulk Hogan and The Rock face to face at Wrestlemania People can say whatever they want about the WWE, but you can never forget moments like these for as long as you live.
For those who says that Cody has bretayed his 'rebel' side by coming back: he went out being Stardust (an rip-off mid carder of his brother's gimmnick) and went back imposing his own terms to Vince McMahon himself.
Stardust was also one of his fathers nicknames and the name of a trio of legendary promoters in early wrestling history including Earl Strangler Lewis and WWWF/CWC's Toots Mondts
When he got spotted the other day in the hotel and also what jericho said in the podcast, kinda really ruined it. but other than those two things, it was really all up for speculation
Even with the rumors this felt insane. Even with the rumors, there was still this feeling of "no way in HELL that's happening" for me. Like, I knew it was gonna happen, but I didn't know it was gonna HAPPEN.
It’s so crazy where Cody’s been throughout his career and what he’s done during that time. From leaving WWE to pursue other promotions to reclaiming the NWA Championship to selling out a building with his buddies to building a promotion only to come back to where it all started. This is truly a fairytale story that has reached full circle for him and I wish nothing but the absolute best for this guy
@@sheriffdraws8789 yeah no that may not happen or ever happen, Vince has his head so far up Roman’s ass that if anyone was to dethrone him, it’s gonna be The Rock
@@madhurjyadeka5569 and it’s not to say that Cody doesn’t deserve a title run either. WWE has had history of giving the title to whom the fans gravitate to only to have our hearts shattered when they lose it to someone like Brock Lesnar and in seconds no less, (that Kofi match comes to mind). So with that said let’s give this time to breathe and have Cody face off with other wrestlers until next Wrestlemania or two years from now. Unfortunately today’s fan base can’t wait that long and neither can Vince and the WWE which is always the case
Still can't get over how perfect they got the timing for him to rise up right during "the crowd is here, about to blow". For all the things WWE can screw up, they can really knock things out of the park too.
Can I just say... watching the reaction of the kid who gets Cody's belt, that moment of shock before he realizes what happened, and then excitedly turning around to run to his parents... As a father, that gets me damn emotional.
My 11yr old was a huge stardust fan. When Cody came out my son jumped up yelling "He's back he's back thank u God he's back" . Lol what a return what a match.
@@pineapplehead6626 A lot of people are saying this but people fail to see that Dustin is in AEW now. The Stardust gimmick was based solely off of Goldust who is no longer in the WWE so there’s no point in bringing it back
Amazing how a guy who was seen as a mid carder/tag team wrestler by most during his first WWE run, left and proved himself now returning to a a megastar pop.
@@thunderstruck73190 it's mostly due to Cody owning his rights to the song and attire, and the logo is tattooed to his body so I don't think they could really do anything else
The fact that Cody had jumped ship from AEW and went back to WWE really became real not when his music started, not with the crowd eruption, not with him rising out of the stage. It was when the announcer started. "And his opponent, from Atlanta, GA. Weighing in a two hundred and twenty-two pounds... THE AMERICAAAAAAN NIGHTMAAAAARE... CODY RHODES!" That was when I got the goosebumps.
Crazy how much of a big match feel this was. Didn’t need a title on the line or anything. Easily could have been the main event. Say what you will. This was great.
Literally this match stole the show. Sure it was shocking when Austin fought KO, but KO was just putting over Austin. Cody’s return was expecting but the match was fire. It had the suspense, during the last 30 minutes when they keep hitting finishers, 1 after 1, you would think that the match would be over. They continued to push through and kick out. Masterpiece of a match.
Haha Cody's been working with some of the best for a while and Seth always knows when to ramp it up to 11. Not to mention both these guys just seem super driven and competitive it was bound to be a barn burner
Even with just about everyone knowing he was coming back, that pop was absolutely insane. And to bring over the American Nightmare gimmick is perfect and actually really cool for WWE to do. I haven’t been excited since the attitude era when I was growing up, this has me feeling like WWE is finally starting to wake up a little and be competitive, be fresh, and they’re listening to their fan base. AEW is what it is, but there’s no denying it’s made WWE better these past few months. I hope he gets a monstrous push and wins the title. If only Dream was alive to see this run, I know he’s proud of Cody right now.
FINALLY this man gets the respect he deserves!!! I love AEW but some patches of their fanbase is a different type of toxic in some ways. If THIS crowd can treat him right, then I'm here for it!!!!
One of the best returns in a LONG time..for it to happen at WrestleMania made it more EPIC!! The Entrance,The Theme Song.The Pop..Cody's WrestleMania moment was PERFECT!!
The boos started after the QT Marshall/Anthony Ogogo fued. It didn't help that he would pick and choose when he wanted to insert himself back onto our TV screens when he wasn't filming TV shows. Being a EVP inflated his ego. Hopefully Vince reigns him in again.
@@joebenson528 I felt the same away about the feud as well at the time but looking at it now. It was the right choice. QT is a good trainer but he sucks on TV and Ogogo not only hasn’t made any appearances since that match… he hasn’t even been a thought since. I know he’s still dealing with eye issues but that should had been thought of before signing him. I don’t think he’ll be in the company much longer. So… I think Cody got it right. Cody also knows that AEW is heading towards being more sports entertainment while WWE looks into athletes more. Take the money. Face the best talent. Win the world title. Bring more talent in. Cement your legacy. That’s what he’s doing.
@@red6605 judging from his post WM media scrum he is more interested in just going back to being a wrestler and nothing management related and he has given fans a solid reason to get behind him, to win a WWE championship to honour the memory of his father who is loved and respected legend in the business. Lets hope that is enough for the fans to stick with him.
Lol the aew fanboy in me too felt the same way lol. But we all knew it was coming but to actually see it is wild. Damn TK really gotta step it up now and I got the feeling turner is gonna be stepping on his neck about that.
I held my breath this whole time for this one moment because I still couldn't believe it wasn't some kind of work brotha..........I'm not crying, you're crying
Goes from being relentlessly boo’d at AEW to giving people goosebumps on his return to WWE. And this…is why I’ll always be a wrestling fan. Well played 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Can’t believe it’s almost been a year man. I was on that same side just in the corner to your far right side of the stadium. Probably one of the best moments I’ve ever gotten to experience in general.
Absolute goosebumps. I feel like Whoever is in creative is finally starting to understand the dynamics of the current landscape in pro wrestling as a whole. For those who understand just what Cody has been able to make happen in the industry in the last 6 years and even more notably the last 3 is just breathtaking. For us lifelong fans this is the type of moment we've been waiting for. ✋️
Would be nice if WWE would be that cooperative and chill when a wrestler leaves them or wanna do something with another promotion... I just hope that Vince will retire at some point, with him the WWE is not going forward IMO!
I can't think of anyone who deserves this return more than Cody. He literally changed the business and has now come full circle. Wwe fan or Aew Fan or whatever. Appreciate this for what it is.
I can understand much better why Cody left AEW. During his last days he was getting hate from fans for no apparent reason, very similar situation Cena had back in the day when only kids cheered for him and others booed. Cena also made similar decision back then but he didn't leave WWE ofc but appeared less often and instead started doing more movies etc.
I never thought this would happen. Never say Never. What a moment! No one could have been the better opponent for American Nightmare than the King Slayer, the Messiah Seth Freakin Rollins.
