In a recent ladder match that turned out to be his swan song in AEW, Cody Rhodes went all out in his face-off with Sammy Guevara. This remarkable match was part of the Beach Break show of AEW Dynamite, aired on January 26, 2022, and marked the end of Rhodes’ stint with the wrestling promotion he co-founded.
Reliving the match on the podcast, “Conversation with DDP”, Guevara confessed that the knowledge of Rhodes’ departure from the AEW was not known to him beforehand. He shared,
“Entering the match, Cody, as we all know, has the desire to provide a unique and unforgettable show for the audience. At that point, even I hadn’t realized that this was his concluding AEW match. Despite this, his performance exceeded expectations. He poured his heart and soul into the match, filled with extreme action. I vaguely understand Cody’s approach, which is to give everything on the stage. Hence, I was preparing for all the thrill.”
Guevara also shared a remarkable moment from the match where they successfully executed a midair cutter from a ladder. He recalled,
“Throughout the journey on the plane, I kept contemplating, ‘What sort of unique touch can we bring into the match?’ I remembered The Hardys’ move where Jeff Hardy would leap from the top rope, crossing over the ladder into a leg drop. I figured, ‘Can I incorporate a similar style?’ If Cody is over there, a cutter? Is this achievable? The challenging part would be if the ladder gets unstable as I spring to jump, we are in for a disastrous moment. You certainly don’t wish such slips on live TV. It’s all about going big or returning home, and this was definitely one of those moments that would be etched in the annals of wrestling history. I’m ecstatic that we nailed it.”
Guevara emerged victorious from the match, earning the title of the Undisputed AEW TNT Champion. Within a span of a month following the match, Cody Rhodes bid farewell to AEW.