Arn Anderson has offered his opinion as to the mixed reaction Cody Rhodes has been receiving from fans, saying Rhodes’ support may feel “slighted.”
Cody Rhodes has been beloved by the vast majority of wrestling fans since he put his plans to take over Bullet Club behind him and joined forces with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. At the All In pay-per-view, Rhodes received the loudest ovation of the night as he captured the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship from Nick Aldis.
For the entire existence of AEW, Cody Rhodes has been presented as a hero with the backing of a majority of fans but in his recent feud with Malakai Black, that has begun to change with many boos now being heard for Rhodes.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Arn Anderson – Rhodes’ Head Coach in AEW – gave his thoughts on the reason for the change in fan response for The American Nightmare, and says it could be down to the perception that Rhodes has gone Hollywood:
“I’m just speculating and I don’t pretend a mind reader, but I’m trying to get into the head of a wrestling fan. The most talented guy and the number one guy in Hollywood right now is The Rock. There’s no disputing that, I’m talking as an actor. John Cena was a guy that had always stood and was dedicating 100% of his time to the fans, to the company, to the business. I feel like when he started doing movies and he was no longer with WWE, I think fans, possibly, not putting words in their mouth, may feel a little afraid that they got their support behind these guys, and then they got red hot and took off to Hollywood.”
“I don’t think that’s the case. They earned everything they got and I think they deserve a chance, certainly Rock and Cena, to pursue other things. I think that may be ‘okay, Cody’s going to get red hot. He’s going to do all these shows and he’s not going to be around anymore.’ And I think they might feel a little bit, I don’t want to say betrayed, but slighted a little bit.”
Cody Rhodes and his wife Brandi will be the stars of the upcoming TNT reality series Rhodes To The Top. In addition, Rhodes has recently had to take time away from his AEW commitments as he filmed the Go Big Show where he acts as a judge.