I completely get why Cody Rhodes did what he did in this MJF story. He was looking to make a new star and put them over in a big way, so having Maxwell Jacob Friedman pick up the big win makes sense. But in a story where your potential in a wrestling company has had a ceiling put on it against your will, you would think that having Cody go over in this match would make the most sense. You can give him the feel good victory, the consolation prize of not challenging for the top prize but taking care of the guy who cost you that chance.

After this story, the world was plunged into darkness with COVID-19, but it’s interesting how Cody never really joined forces with the rest of The Elite around this time. It reached a point where Cody was meant to be part of the first-ever Blood and Guts match with The Elite against The Inner Circle, but when that match was reworked into what became the inaugural Stadium Stampede, Matt Hardy teamed with The Elite and not Cody. “The American Nightmare” did get three reigns with the AEW TNT Championship, a title many thought was designed for him since he couldn’t win the world title, but those reigns could never match what he could have done as the world champion.

It must have really bothered Cody at the time as well. The idea of him never challenging for the AEW Men’s World Championship at the time seemed ridiculous, but as time went on, the main event scene grew and evolved to the point where it actually didn’t need Cody. It had moved past the need for him as the Hangman Page story grew and grew, Kenny Omega’s belt collector gimmick, and Jon Moxley being the ace of the company made people go “Did Cody just shoot himself in the foot?” Yes, yes he did. The stipulation might not have stuck had he stayed with AEW, but I don’t think he stayed in AEW because of the stipulation. The man himself has even said that he became something of a “gatekeeper” for younger talent after he couldn’t challenge for the title, and that was a role he didn’t end up wanting because he still had to finish his story at some point. 

The stipulation of him never challenging for the world title was very stupid for Cody in hindsight, and if it never happened, the landscape of AEW and the wider world of professional wrestling would look very different (don’t worry, we have something on that coming soon). But I think everything worked out for everyone in the long run. When Cody went back to WWE, he got the chance to be the guy in a company that needed a guy like him, it really was a perfect fit. AEW has not just survived, but thrived since his departure, and as for MJF, he’s the current world champion, so it’s safe to say he’s doing alright for himself as well.