Quick Links
AEW has been on quite the hot streak since launching in 2019. With some great storylines, including the now legendary Hangman Page vs Kenny Omega and MJF vs CM Punk feuds taking place in the company's first three years, the promotion is off to a strong start both with wrestling performances and stories. One of the more curious cases within AEW is one of the company's founders, Cody Rhodes, who is now on the Road to WrestleMania in a marquee match against Roman Reigns.
While the American Nightmare is now a larger than life WWE Superstar, he once seemed poised to be the face of All Elite Wrestling. Over the course of 2021 and early 2022, the AEW fanbase would slowly turn on Cody as a babyface, with some of that stemming from one of the company's strangest storylines, a battle between Cody Rhodes and NBA Legend, Shaquille O'Neal.
RELATED: 5 Recent AEW Feuds: Where They Chose The Right Winner (& 5 They Got Wrong)
In Early 2021, Cody Rhodes Was Still Wildly Popular In AEW
While many fans are familiar with the ending of Cody's time in AEW, a polarizing topic for sure, his time in the spotlight from late 2019 through early 2021 was extremely positive. Cody played the company's top babyface to perfection, with great feuds against Chris Jericho, MJF, and Brodie Lee before eventually landing in a weird spot during a feud with NBA Legend and fellow TNT personality, Shaq.
In late 2020, AEW began teasing a match between Cody and Shaq before the basketball player would officially challenge Cody to a match during the 2021 AEW Awards in a segment featuring the Inside the NBA crew. The reason for the feud would never be fully clear, though many just saw it as a way for Shaq to finally get his one-on-one wrestling match after years of dodging The Big Show.
RELATED: Cody Rhodes' Last 10 AEW Matches, Ranked Worst To Best
Cody Rhodes's Feud With Shaq Is How AEW Introduced Jade Cargill
While Jade Cargill is in the midst of a polarizing undefeated reign as TBS Women's Champion in AEW, and is cast as one of the biggest female stars in the company, her debut had her positioned in a totally different role. Debuting during a bizarre promo segment with Cody Rhodes, Jade would show up on her own and deliver a promo that saw her lack much of the confidence she now oozes two years later. It is a strange look back for a star that has firmly been established now, but it gets even weirder knowing that her debut was used as a way to introduce Shaq into the AEW universe.
RELATED: 10 Best Looks Of Jade Cargill's AEW Career, Ranked
Rather than debuting as a new prospect in the AEW Women's Division, Jade Cargill would debut in the build towards a mixed tag team match between herself and Shaq against Cody Rhodes and Brandi Rhodes. This match never happened, however, as shortly after, Brandi would announce her pregnancy with the couple's first child. Instead, another young AEW prospect was called in to team with Cody, as Red Velvet would replace Brandi as his new partner against Shaq and Jade.
The Cody Rhodes And Shaquille O'Neal Feud Ended With A Cliffhanger That AEW Has Never Resolved
The match itself actually went a lot better than most fans probably would have expected, with Jade and Velvet sharing good chemistry together, especially with it being Jade's first match. Shaq and Cody went at it a bit more physically, as both men would go through a table together in violent fashion. Scoring a 6.32 out of 10 on Cagematch.net, it would be looked at favorably by fans, with Jade Cargill beginning her dominance in the company as she and Shaq defeated Cody and Red Velvet in the opening match of AEW Dynamite. From there, however, it would get significantly more strange.
In a post-match angle, Shaq was taken to an ambulance on a stretcher. Later, a camera returned to the ambulance for an update, but when the doors were opened, Shaq was nowhere to be seen. This is a rare loose thread and cliffhanger for AEW that has never been picked up on in the years since. With Cody Rhodes no longer in the company, it likely never will either, ending this baffling feud on an even weirder note.
