Even when Cody was TNT champ, they were doing the "Cody doesn't prepare for matches and keeps underestimating his opponents" thing, and then paid it off by having him get destroyed by Brodie Lee. Hell, they were in the process of turning Brandi heel before she got pregnant and left TV.

>You could kinda hear boos for Cody from the small crowds in
>Jacksonville. And honestly, I can’t tell if they’re just
>slow-playing a heel turn or not. I mean they have to be with
>this goddamn Homelander look, right?

It's weird because it's also a complete possibility that Cody really believes that he's a face through all of this and just isn't getting it. As has been discussed on here before, if his statements were to be believed, he clearly saw himself as the "good guy" during the Ogogo match. Maybe he legit think the Homelander get-up is going to play well in most places. And maybe he can't really comprehend that Black is absolutely getting over is the fan favorite.

By the way, they shouldn't be that surprised about Black. He looks like a legit badass, has a great look, and they gave him a cool entrance. No many how many times Tony tries to sell "HE'S INTO THE OCCULT!!!" the fans are clearly behind him.

It's going to be interesting how Cody reacts to last night. They could lean into the heel turn. They could chalk it up to an "edgy" NY crowd and still play him like the face. Or they could take him off TV for a while again so he can hype his reality, come back in a few months and hope absence makes the heart grow fonder.