Cody Won’t Use ‘Cody Rhodes’ In A Wrestling Capacity Or A Loophole To Challenge For AEW Title

Cody got his last name back on Wednesday after WWE canceled its trademark on ‘Cody Rhodes,’ but don’t expect Cody Rhodes on AEW television.

Following Wednesday’s Dynamite, Cody told the live crowd that it feels good to be Cody Rhodes again, suggesting he may use the name on television. When asked by Bill Pritchard of WrestleZone during the AEW Full Gear media call about using the Rhodes name, Cody said he’s enjoyed being ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody in wrestling and won’t be using the name in wrestling circles.

“I’m very happy about being Cody Rhodes again. The details of it all aren’t important other than it was a very positive, no hard feelings on either side type scenario. I will say it’s not something I will probably use in the wrestling space. I’ve gotten very used to ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody. I like how Justin Roberts says it and I just like it. Where I’m most excited about Cody Rhodes being available again is when it comes third-party ventures and things like Go-Big Show that I just took part in with TBS. In our wrestling bubble, everyone kind of knows the saga of Cody Rhodes. When you dip your toes into different waters in other worlds, they may not understand and may not need the pre-existing equity or baggage, so it’ll be nice to tell them what they can credit on the screen and where the SAG credits can go. It was a special day and I’m happy it worked out,” he said.

Later on the call, Cody was asked about the Young Bucks giving the stipulation that they wouldn’t challenge for the AEW Tag Team Titles if they lose to FTR at Full Gear. The stipulation is the same one Cody gave prior to his AEW World Title bout against Chris Jericho last year at Full Gear. Cody was defeated by Jericho due to MJF turning on him.

Before answering the question, Cody re-iterated that he would be sticking to the stipulation and wouldn’t come up with a loophole that allowed ‘Cody Rhodes’ to challenge for the title.

“I’m not gonna challenge for it under a different name, I’m not gonna be the Midnight Rider, we’re not doing that stuff. I gave you my word. I do not want fans to think nepotism is involved or try and put an asterisk on my career because I’m in management. I will never challenge for the World Championship,” he said.

Cody said he told the Bucks that the stipulation is a bad idea and that they didn’t learn from his mistake.

Cody is set to defend the AEW TNT Title against Darby Allin this Saturday at AEW Full Gear. Fightful will have live coverage of Full Gear beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday.

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