Despite being one of the figureheads in making AEW a reality, Cody Rhodes is now once again a WWE superstar, with his AEW exit being one of the biggest wrestling news stories of 2022. Even with one foot out the door, Rhodes always gave his all in an AEW ring, even up to his last 10 matches.

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Some of his final matches were show-stealers, whilst others provided nothing overly special and were just there, with him experiencing quite a harsh fan backlash during the final few months of his time in the promotion. This alone affected the quality of his bouts, sometimes negatively, but sometimes it turned things into a positive, with a hot crowd elevating proceedings.

Note: Cody Rhodes’ *alleged* time as Fuego II won’t be included here, and only his matches as ‘Cody Rhodes’ will be ranked.

10 Cody Rhodes & Lee Johnson Vs Dante Martin & Matt Sydal, Dynamite, 29th September 2021

Cody Rhodes & Lee Johnson vs Dante Martin & Matt Sydal

This was a good TV tag team match with the purpose intended to get over Lee Johnson as he picked up the victory. There weren’t really any stakes to this unfortunately, which is a shame, as it did affect some of the interest going in.

Dante Martin stood out well in this match too, although much of the focus post-match was on Rhodes’ potential descent into being a heel due to the extreme fan hatred for him at the time, which ultimately didn’t even happen.

9 Cody Rhodes & PAC Vs Malakai Black & Andrade El Idolo, Full Gear, 13th November 2021

Cody Rhodes & Pac Vs Malakai Black and Andrade AEW Full Gear

If this match took place on an episode of Dynamite or Rampage, then it would have been fantastic, but a tag team match with thrown together partners just did not feel right on a PPV, especially when it took up 16-minutes of in-ring time despite it having little stakes.

The crowd was very hot (although mostly when Rhodes was in the ring with them booing him) and the match was solid even with these negatives. But the awkward face/heel dynamic when it came to Rhodes once again made this an awkward one to sit through at times.

8 Cody Rhodes Vs Andrade El Idolo, Dynamite, 3rd November 2021

Cody Rhodes vs Andrade AEW

With Rhodes and Andrade being two top tier wrestlers, they managed to put on a fluid match without ever really taking it to full gear, as it was clear that they were holding back at times, although this didn’t stop the action from being serviceable.

There were a lot of shenanigans and interference in the finish and after the match to continue the feud brewing between several different men, including Death Triangle, FTR, and Malakai Black.

7 Cody Rhodes Vs Andrade El Idolo, Dynamite, 1st December 2021

Cody Rhodes Andrade, Table Fire Spot

The differences between Rhodes and Andrade in the build up to this match didn’t warrant a Street Fight stipulation in the slightest, but when all was said and done, this was a decent hardcore brawl with plenty of big moments, though it still all felt a bit too forced.

The most talked about spots included Rhodes pulling out a golden shovel from underneath the ring, and at the finish when both men went crashing through a flaming table, which felt very contrived and unnecessary.

6 Cody Rhodes Vs Malakai Black, Dynamite: Grand Slam, 22nd September 2021

Cody Rhodes vs Malakai Black AEW Dynamite Grand Slam

There was a lot of hype and build for this match going in, but the match itself didn’t live up to those expectations. Whilst it was still a decent bout with strong wrestling and hot crowd, the entire dynamic was a little messy.

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With Rhodes being booed out the arena despite Black being the clear heel, much of the psychology felt off. Black picked up the victory, which was a popular decision, even if it did come after cheating.

5 Sammy Guevara Vs Cody Rhodes, Rampage: Holiday Bash, 25th December 2021

Sammy Guevara Vs Cody Rhodes AEW Holiday Bash

There were some strong moments of intensity during this TNT Championship bout, particularly when it came to the final stretch, although the choice of having Rhodes win the belt was a poor choice in hindsight, given that he would leave the company a month later.

Some spots did feel a little over-choreographed, but it didn’t take away too much from the match. Rhodes played into the crowd disliking him a little more, which made his win feel a little more palatable at the time.

4 Cody Rhodes Vs Ethan Page, Rampage: New Year’s Smash, 31st December 2021

Cody Rhodes vs Ethan Page AEW

This was a simple, old-school style of match which took things back to the basics – focusing on a body part and selling. It worked well as a title match, and it was a nice contrast to much of high-paced and hard-hitting action that often takes place in AEW.

Rhodes retaining his TNT Championship was never really in doubt, but some big moments such as Page hitting a slam off the ropes did at times get the crowd believing that a shock title change would occur.

3 Cody Rhodes Vs Malakai Black, Dynamite, 23rd October 2021

Cody Rhodes vs Malakai Black AEW

This was arguably the best match of the Rhodes vs Black trilogy, although Black should’ve undoubtedly gotten the win here and completed a clean sweep over his rival. That being said, this match was hot from the start, and the crowd was loud for every run in, big move, and for the final fall too.

Despite Rhodes being hated by the audience at this point, his win garnered a big reaction, which was testament to how good of a job he and Black did during this encounter.

2 Cody Rhodes & Death Triangle Vs FTR, Andrade El Idolo, & Malakai Black, Dynamite: Thanksgiving, 24th November 2021

Cody Rhodes & Death Triangle Vs FTR, Andrade, Malakai Black

With the eight men involved, it is of no surprise that this was a lot of fun. It was a wild spot-fest for the most part, with it going at 100mph, especially in the second half of the contest, with the likes of Rey Fenix and PAC offering up terrific high-flying moments.

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Thankfully, a lot of focus was taken away from the audience’s hatred for Rhodes, but in the times in which he entered the match, the arena did respond with a huge reaction, even if it did distract from the action now and again.

1 Cody Rhodes Vs Sammy Guevara, Dynamite: Beach Break, 26th January 2022

Cody Rhodes vs Sammy Guevara AEW Ladder Match

Rhodes’ last ever match in AEW is up there with his best in the promotion. In a Ladder match to unify the two TNT Championship belts, Rhodes and Guevara put on a classic match which was jam-packed with brilliant spots.

The most memorable moment came when Guevara hit an incredible Springboard Cutter from atop a ladder, which sent the crowd into a frenzy.