I’ve enjoyed having everybody jump on the Cody bandwagon I’ve been driving for quite some time. I’ve been a Cody stan since the days when he was Dashing. Can’t really explain why, he’s just somebody I’ve always taken an interest in.
Sure, the easy explanation is that he’s Dusty’s son. Here’s the thing: I didn’t fall in love with Dusty’s work until decades after he had retired. I didn’t get it when I was a kid in the 1990s and there was this old dude blubbering on the television. Once I got older, and more footage was available to me, I got it. Now, whenever I see a Dusty match is a delight, even if it’s a 2001 tag team match pitting Dusty & Dustin against Ric Flair & Jeff Jarrett. Dusty hits his spots, the fans go crazy, and it’s a joy to watch. I don’t care how old Dusty was in 2001, he gave the people what they wanted.
Fortunately, a Jackhammer wasn’t one of his signature spots. He had Bionic Elbows, fancy punches and an elbow drop. He hit all of those perfectly. WCW had certain expectations for Dusty Rhodes in a match in 2001, and he met them.
The main difference between that and WWE’s expectations from old-timers in 2020? WCW didn’t give Dusty a strap! They knew Dusty & Flair in the ring together could draw some fans, even if Flair was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, which is completely contrary to his gimmick. But what the hell, maybe Ric didn’t care, but the fans cared about Dusty kicking his ass. The fans were there for that, and they got great enjoyment out of it.
Dusty Rhodes was a master on drawing off of human emotion. Even if he wasn’t the best looking guy out there, he knew how to channel the emotion of the fans. He was never the most built guy, but by Gawd he was the American Dream. When he went to the WWF, he was the Common Man. He always had his finger on the pulse of the people watching him. Dusty was in the WWF wearing polka dots, but he still got some feuds over. He didn’t get the polka dots over, but he got those damn feuds over.
Cody has inherited that trait. Ever since All Elite Wrestling has been a thing, he’s been at the center of the best angles. His Elite friends may be better workers, but Cody has a better idea of what their fans are thinking. He can’t challenge for the AEW World Championship, but everybody still cares about his endeavors. He’s got an issue going with MJF, and we all want to see him kick that ass.
Cody is an intelligent man. He knows what we want to see. He knows what will bring people together. Saturday night’s AEW Revolution was just another instance of Cody bringing AEW fans across the globe together. We all united on one issue, and one stance on said issue. How often does that happen these days? People seem to disagree on everything here in 2020, but pretty much everybody seems to agree on one thing…
That neck tattoo. Yikes.
No one:
Absolutely no one:
Cody Rhodes: What’s that? I should get a neck tattoo? pic.twitter.com/lQZa9D7zch— Brad Williams (@funnybrad) March 1, 2020
To be honest, I’m probably the wrong person to comment on tattoos. I seem to be doing that a lot lately, but it should be pointed out that your humble correspondent doesn’t have any ink. It’s never struck me as a good idea. I used to be strongly against them when I was younger, but have softened my stance over the years. Many people want to express their feelings through permanent ink on their skin. It’s not my bag, but if it’s yours that’s cool. I’m not judging.
Well…ok…I’m judging a little bit.
I can’t get on board with the neck or face tattoos. No offense to those of you that have them, but I don’t see the appeal. At least Cody doesn’t have to worry about job interviews as long as this AEW thing is doing well. I’ve seen some concern about his interactions with network executives, but I think Tony Khan handles that stuff anyway.
I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this for a couple of days now. Why would Cody do this? His wife doesn’t seem thrilled, though I don’t think she’s going to file for divorce over it. He’s a good looking dude, attractive enough to call himself “Dashing” several years ago and get away with it. Why mess with your look that much if it works?
I’ve thought of five reasons.
Just kidding. I do have three!
1. Cody is illustrating the difference between AEW & WWE
I was reading the news last week and saw an interview conducted with Rhea Ripley that had an interesting revelation. Ripley’s wanted to get tattoos on the upper half of her body for quite some time, but WWE won’t let her. I think Cody also saw this interview and decided he wanted to show WWE talent that AEW talent has the freedom to get tattoos wherever they want.
Maybe Rhea will want to jump when her contract expires. Or maybe WWE will let her get some tattoos so she’ll stay. Either way, I think WWE wrestlers can get something out of this.
2. Stolen from Brian Pillman Jr.
To be honest, this tweet made me think about things from Cody’s perspective.
Simple. He's wearing it on his neck so it's always visible, can't be covered up easily. It's symbolic of him going "all-in" on his brand and his company and not having a backup plan. It means he's literally got his neck on the line for AEW and his family. SKIN IN THE GAME!!! https://t.co/7MpqXPbDtw
— Brian Pillman Jr. (@FlyinBrianJr) March 1, 2020
When you think about it that way…well, I still wouldn’t get a neck tattoo. But I can get where he’s coming from.
Perhaps the most important reason…
3. Cody is rich and can do whatever he wants
There you have it. Cody can do whatever he wants to his body without having to worry about random opinions. Add in the fact that Brandi already married him and he’s got no reason to care!
It still looks pretty bad in my opinion. However, I can no longer call Cody a crazy person.
