On Saturday night, Cody Rhodes could not get over Darby Allin at All Elite Wrestling’s Fyter Fest as the two fought to a time-limit draw. At the end of the match, Shawn Spears (formerly Tye Dillinger in WWE) jumped in the ring, turned heel, and nailed Rhodes with a chair shot. That shot was unprotected and very brutal, and AEW has provided a medical update on how the former WWE Intercontinental Champion is doing.
When the match ended at Fyter Fest , there had been some whispers in the arena that Rhodes and Allin would be given more time. Before additional time could be added to the match, which would allow them to continue, Spears entered the ring with a chair in his hands.
Spears waited a few seconds for Rhodes to slowly turn around before delivering a vicious chair shot. Rhodes was completely unprotected, as he didn’t raise his hands and arms before the chair connected with the left side of his head.
It has been a long time since any wrestling promotion has allowed unprotected chair shots to the head. With the seriousness of concussions and the problems that can come from them, most promotions have pretty much outlawed them.
This shot from Spears was truly vicious and brutal. Please note that the following video is not easy to watch.
After Rhodes collapsed to the ring, Spears just stared down at him before looking at Brandi Rhodes (Cody’s wife) who entered the ring. Spears acted as if he was going to attack her, but the referee blocked his path and he exited the ring.
Rhodes laid on the mat and blood began to pour from his head as other wrestlers came to his aid. Later that night, the Twitter account of AEW tweeted out a picture of Rhodes watching the action from the back and said he didn’t suffer a concussion but needed a dozen staples in his head.
12 staples and no concussion #AEW #FyterFest pic.twitter.com/zbYLl1jPF3
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) June 30, 2019
Despite the fact that Rhodes escaped serious injury, the unprotected chair shot caused a stir on social media. Fans spoke out against AEW for allowing it to happen, and Wrestling Inc. had a statement from president Tony Khan regarding the situation at Fyter Fest .
Khan did say the chair was “gimmicked,” but that something went wrong.
“We called a doctor immediately. Obviously really regrettable what happened. I don’t know if this is the time to go into detail about what happened but we had taken precautions in this situation and that specific situation. A doctor was available and Cody does not have a concussion and had staples and we’re all very grateful for that.”
As of this time, Cody Rhodes is all right and was able to exit Fyter Fest without an injury requiring no more than 12 staples. All Elite Wrestling has generated a ton of hype since coming into existence in January and is expected to become a huge competitor for WWE.
Still, even the fans won’t sit back and allow something like this to happen too often, but hopefully, it was just one mistake.