Cody Rhodes Cut A Babyface Promo For The Ages Last Night

Last night on AEW Dynamite, Cody Rhodes announced that if he does not secure a victory against Chris Jericho at Full Gear this weekend, he'd never challenge for the AEW Championship ever again, and in the process, he reminded everyone why they should now be terrified of that outcome.

Cody's superb promo skills shouldn't be a surprise to anybody who has been following his career for even a second, but this one was special. In just a few minutes, he was able to blend reality and kayfabe to such a phenomenal degree that I forgot I was even watching a professional wrestling promo...but I was hanging on every last word he was speaking. He itched a nostalgia bone with the shouts to Bill Watts and Dusty and all that, but didn't lean on those references at all. He called AEW "freedom" for professional wrestlers and compared it to Ellis Island, painting a picture that's very easy to rally behind, and then sold me completely on his desire to become world champion this weekend.

Adding the stipulation he did also intrigues the hell outta me, as well, because I was pretty damn sure Jericho would walk out champion until this announcement. Now, I'm second guessing that.

Bravo, Cody. Can't freaking wait for Full Gear.