Cody Rhodes Claims He Was A Heel In AEW

The latter months of Cody Rhodes’ AEW run were odd, with the ‘American Nightmare’ being routinely booed by the audience, despite acting a heroic babyface, with reports at the time claiming that Rhodes wasn’t heel and had no interest in turning.

Now part of WWE once more, Rhodes’ AEW exit in early 2022 spawned a lot of rumour and innuendo, with some claiming the negative reception from fans was a possible reason that Rhodes wanted out. However, Cody has since gone on Twitter and set the record straight:

“Ha no – I was a heel, the fans were amazing. It ain’t ever on the fans,” Tweeted Rhodes in response to a fan who asked of the circumstances regarding Rhodes’ AEW exit.

Several of Rhodes’ feuds positioned him as the face but were greeted with boos by portions of the AEW crowd, such as his almost jingoistic feud with Anthony Agogo, his battles against Malakai Black, and his TNT Championship saga with Sammy Guevara. Indeed, many compared Rhodes to Homelander from The Boys, such were Rhodes' similarity to the character through his look and mannerisms.

After rejoining WWE at WrestleMania 38, Rhodes was solidly positioned as a babyface, with his Hell in a Cell performance with a torn pec cementing him as a truly heroic character.