Cody Rhodes and Jimmy Hart involved in AJ Styles' online feud

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Cody Rhodes is seen at Fanatics Fest NYC 2026, at Jacob Javits Center on July 19, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Fanatics) | Getty Images for Fanatics The online debate continues about the alleged favored treatment AJ Styles’ son Avery received at a recent independent wrestling event with none other than Cody Rhodes weighing in. According to Rhodes, Avery has already in effect paid his dues through his father’s hard work and “holding down the fort” while the elder Styles wrestled on the road. So, in a metaphorical sense, Avery has “already set up the fn’ chairs,” per Cody. What drew Rhodes into the story is the fact that the person who started the feud with AJ referenced Cody helping out after working an indie event. For those not following the social media beef, it kicked off when indie wrestler Arik Cannon responded to a story about Natalya praising 19-year-old Avery’s wrestling ability during a recent match at a GCW event. “As someone who watched this kid skirt away from helping with a single thing at this very show…I’d just like to say: L O F’ING L !” Cannon wrote about Avery in a message posted on X (Twitter). AJ took exception to the remark and responded: “He was paid to wrestle at GCW, not help you put up and take down the ring. That sounds like your job. You just sound like a jealous douche.” Arik then replied by writing that the younger Styles wasn’t “paying dues” and wouldn’t “earn the respect of his peers & stand on his own as Avery” with such decisions. The Phenomal One fired back in another post: “You don’t ask someone to have dinner at your house and have them do the dishes. He was asked to wrestle at GCW. Although grateful for the opportunity, a vet would have talked to him professionally or at least face to face.” The exchange between the WWE Hall of Famer and Arik resulted in a wave of messages from fans, several of whom criticized Avery for acting like a privileged “nepo baby,” while others defended the teen. Some wrestlers also spoke up on Avery’s behalf, including TNA star Moose, “Big Trouble” Ben Bishop, and NXT’s Lexis King, who is the son of wrestling legend Brian Pillman. Arik wasn’t about to bow out quietly, though. He went on to post images that he seemingly thought bolstered his notion of paying dues in wrestling. One photo he shared on X showed Jimmy Hart helping put away folding chairs. Another image Cannon posted was of Rhodes sweeping a ring with a broom and a title belt around his waist at what appeared to be a small wrestling event. Rhodes took exception to the implied message of the post and responded directly to Cannon on Tuesday (April 11). “Arik my friend no shade intended, but my outlook…,” The American Nightmare wrote. “Avery is 19. His Father was paying dues and making sacrifices throughout that young man’s youth that some people may never understand. When you’re the family holding down the fort. “To simplify…he already set up the fn’ chairs.” Arik my friend no shade intended, but my outlook… Avery is 19. His Father was paying dues and making sacrifices throughout that young man’s youth that some people may never understand. When you’re the family holding down the fort. To simplify…he already set up the fn’ chairs https://t.co/SEMIN4h3E5 — Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) August 11, 2026 Lexis King also followed up with another post on the matter which likewise referenced chairs. This post featured a photo taken with a group of second-generation stars. In the pic, King is seen with Aalyah Mysterio (daughter of Rey Mysterio); Marie Malenko (daughter of Dean Malenko); Uriah Connors (son of Fit Finlay); Avery Styles; and Brooks Jensen (son of Bull Buchanan). The photo features a simple caption: “We already setup the f’n chairs…” We already setup the f’n chairs… pic.twitter.com/J1DzR0MgXc — King (@LexisKingWWE) August 12, 2026 Any thoughts on this ongoing debate or specifically about Cody’s take? Let us know in the comments.

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Cody Rhodes and AJ styles shake hands at Heritage Bank Center on April 26, 2024, in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by WWE/Getty Images) | WWE via Getty Images Indie wrestler Arik Cannon may have inadvertently started an online feud with AJ Styles with comments about the star’s son Avery, but he’s now very much intentionally keeping the beef going with more recent social media posts. Those latest posts feature none other than Cody Rhodes and Jimmy “Mouth of the South” Hart, who were used by Cannon to seemingly bolster his point about wrestlers paying their dues by helping out after shows. A war of words was kicked off between AJ and Arik when the latter responded to a story about Natalya praising 19-year-old Avery’s wrestling ability during a recent match at a GCW event. “As someone who watched this kid skirt away from helping with a single thing at this very show…I’d just like to say: L O F’ING L !” Cannon wrote about Avery in a message posted on X (Twitter). AJ took exception to the comment and responded: “He was paid to wrestle at GCW, not help you put up and take down the ring. That sounds like your job. You just sound like a jealous douche.” He was paid to wrestle at GCW, not help you put up and take down the ring. That sounds like your job. You just sound like a jealous douche. https://t.co/da26y4HjPB — AJ Styles (@AJStylesOrg) August 8, 2026 Arik then replied by first proclaiming his respect for AJ before stating that the younger Styles wasn’t “paying dues” and wouldn’t “earn the respect of his peers & stand on his own as Avery” with such decisions. The Phenomal One fired back in another post: “You don’t ask someone to have dinner at your house and have them do the dishes. He was asked to wrestle at GCW. Although grateful for the opportunity, a vet would have talked to him professionally or at least face to face.” Arik then claimed Avery was asked by GCW personnel twice to help put away chairs, but instead he “hid in the locker room until everything was done.” The exchange between AJ and Arik resulted in a wave of messages from fans, several of whom criticized Avery for acting like a privileged “nepo baby,” while others defended the teen. Some wrestlers also spoke up on Avery’s behalf, including Moose, “Big Trouble” Ben Bishop, and NXT’s Lexis King, who happens to the be son of wrestling legend Brian Pillman. As someone who has walked in this kid’s very shoes, being the son of a legendary high flyer and taking to the indies for the first time, all I can say is that it is a different path than most. I was 5 matches in and promoters would fly me in, tell me to hang out at the hotel… https://t.co/tTPVjSV5IJ — King (@LexisKingWWE) August 9, 2026 GCW also distanced itself from Cannon in a statement sent to veteran wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer. According to Meltzer, the promotion said that while officials there respect Cannon, the wrestler does not speak on behalf of GCW. Arik appears to not be ready to let the matter end, though. He went on to post images that seem indicative of his notion of paying dues. One photo he shared on X showed Jimmy Hart helping put away folding chairs, presumably at a wrestling event. (The pic appears to be recent, though it’s hard to say when it was taken given Hart hasn’t aged since 1989.) pic.twitter.com/ZQSKBI8TtU — Arik Cannon (@arikcannon) August 10, 2026 Another image Cannon posted is of Cody Rhodes sweeping a ring with a broom and a title belt around his waist at what appears to be a small wrestling event. pic.twitter.com/UcjzaA45II — Arik Cannon (@arikcannon) August 10, 2026 What do you think of Cannon’s social media posts? Should Avery be doing more to “pay dues”? Let us know in the comments.