Unpopular Opinion: Why Cody Rhodes taking an unprotected chair shot could severely hurt AEW
Hype.
While hype in pro wrestling is usually a good thing, especially since it helps generate interest in the product, it can also be what brings a company down. For example, a given event or even a match can receive so much hype in its buildup, but then underwhelm in expectation and come up as a huge flop.
Unfortunately for AEW, the hype they had generated for their show Fyter Fest, all came to a crashing halt when Cody Rhodes took an unprotected chair shot from Shawn Spears and was seen to be bleeding badly. The bizarre moment occurred after Rhodes' match with Darby Allin came to a draw, prompting Spears to come to the ring and hit Rhodes with a chair.
Not only did Rhodes have blood gushing out of the back of his head after the incident, but he also had to be helped to the back by trainers and many feared he was concussed. AEW later released an update that Rhodes received 14 stitches after the chair shot and wasn't suffering from a concussion, but it didn't make it any less scary.
The moment seemed to highlight a problem with AEW as a promotion, which is that they seem to be taking more risks then are necessary. Not only was that evident by the various other outrageous stunts attempted throughout the pay per view, but also by The Young Buck's explanation for the incident.
“I don’t even know what happened, to be honest," Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks said during a post-show media event, " All I know is he did get staples, so I’m going to have to look back and I’ll have a comment on it later. I do know that they ‘gimmicked’ the chair and it clearly didn’t work since he was bloody.”
One could argue that taking risks is a part of pro wrestling and something that WWE doesn't exactly do too much anymore, but fans forget the reasons why other companies are unwilling to take these kinds of risks. In fact, the promotion as a whole seems to want to throw caution to the wind in order to please fans.
The problem is that it creates a situation where superstars are at risk of getting injured or having future long term health problems. Beyond that, it also shows that AEW is more interested in the shock factor of pulling off outrageous stunts and not on what it takes to tell a fully-fleshed out story in the ring.
Think about it! Jon Moxley versus Joey Janela could have been a great match and a chance for Moxley to showcase what he could do unhinged, Interestingly enough, it didn't end up working out that way, as the two superstars relied on gruesome spots and a pretty lame looking thumb tack bit to get the fans going.
In the end, AEW is supposed to be an alternative to WWE. How can it do that when it can't even seem to establish its own identity or keep its superstars safe? Seriously now, WWE gets a lot of flack for taking the safe route and some of it reasonably so, but at least one of their stars didn't take an unprotected chair shot.
See, that's the thing about hype. Although on Saturday night, AEW had all the momentum in the world heading into Fyre Fest, it was instantly diminished after how gruesome and unprofessional the chair shot looked. Now everyone can see AEW for what it is. Hype. That's not going to be enough to sustain AEW for the long run.