AEW founding father turned WWE babyface sensation Cody Rhodes appears to have a lot on his mind as he recovers from a torn pec.
In a curious nod to performers who “don’t have a victim complex,” Rhodes appeared to call out wrestlers who struggle to take fan criticism in stride.
For ‘The American Nightmare’, accepting unexpected fan reactions became the norm during his closing stretch as an AEW star. Initially the promotion’s top babyface, Cody Rhodes ignited the ire of fans in the second half of 2021. Frustrated with the son of a son of a plumber’s hit and miss angles and separation from the world title scene, audiences booed Rhodes heavily.
Whilst ‘The American Nightmare’ refused to give in and turn heel in AEW, he never lashed out at the audience either and instead worked their jeers into his promos and storyline with Sammy Guevara.
Rhodes’ recent tweet has shed some light on his attitude to fan interaction and how to handle audience contempt.
To wrestlers who don’t have a victim complex. The ones who hear/respect the audience cheer & boo, keep their chin up…realizing very few people can do what we do. The ones who put in the effort
The ones who don’t try to shame the fans realizing without them, we ain’t sh!t
To wrestlers who don’t have a victim complex. The ones who hear/respect the audience cheer & boo, keep their chin up…realizing very few people can do what we do. The ones who put in the effort
The ones who don’t try to shame the fans realizing without them, we ain’t sh!t pic.twitter.com/xeSQqtceEo
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) June 24, 2022
Whether it was just a general comment from the first ever TNT Champion or a dig at some of the more sensitive to criticism wrestlers out there right now is unclear. In a fascinating display of the difference between WWE and AEW fans’ interests, Cody Rhodes became a superstar hit with the WWE faithful overnight.
After an incendiary WrestleMania return, Cody Rhodes connected with WWE audiences the next night on RAW with a passionate promo about his quest to win the WWE Championship. His increasingly personal feud with Seth Rollins, along with some colourful promo segments with The Miz, found Rhodes on near perfect form.
In some of the worst timing in wrestling history, the arguable new face of Monday Night RAW sustained a torn pec in training. To the astonishment of fans and wrestlers alike, Cody Rhodes persevered with a Hell in a Cell bout despite severe bruising and internal bleeding throughout the right side of his upper body.
With a reported six to nine month period of recovery ahead of him, Cody Rhodes will no doubt be looking to make a big splash when he likely returns during next year’s road to WrestleMania.