Monday, July 31, marked the release of the anticipated WWE documentary, American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes, a two-hour film focusing on the life and career of the second-generation wrestler and WWE Superstar, Cody Rhodes, now available on Peacock.
The documentary delves into Rhodes's wrestling journey, his trials, his victories, and the life events that molded him into a wrestling icon. It explores his early struggles in WWE, why he left the promotion, and what ultimately lured him back. But, it's the documentary's handling - or rather, lack thereof - of AEW, the promotion Rhodes co-founded, that raised the most eyebrows.
The documentary features noteworthy remarks from Cody Rhodes and Paul "Triple H" Levesque, WWE's CCO. Rhodes hints at personal reasons for his departure from AEW. Triple H, on the other hand, dismisses AEW as a "secondary promotion," in line with his prior dismissive remarks about the company.
Rhodes's time in AEW, the brainchild of Tony Khan, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks, is crucial in his wrestling story. For some reason, the documentary merely glosses over this part of his career, focusing more on his personal growth outside of the ring and his journey to fatherhood. At the very least, Rhodes's exit from AEW is covered, albeit only as part of the WWE and its decision to approach him following the expiry of his AEW contract last year and his decision to return to the company he left in 2016.

