Cody Deaner, Home Town Man

"Hometown man is the greatest new gimmick I've seen in years. I just can't get enough of him. I suspect a lot of that was TNA writing, not Deaner himself, but with as bad as TNA writing has been since D'More left, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Deaner. Either way entertaining, and that's what makes a great wrestler. I liked him also when he was paired with Cousin Jake. The first time I saw him in person was at a BCW show tagging with Rey Mysterio Jr. and he made that old man look great. Giver'r."

[6.0] "A pretty unique entertaining guy as a comedy character with the Deaners to being apert of violent by Design from being the Home Town man. Deaner is a pretty good wrestler also this rating is very harsh."

[5.0] "I think Deaner's alright. He plays a somewhat likeable face (his current run as the Home Town Man is fun) and was a decent heel in Violent by Design. He flopped as the leader of the Design though. He's not particularly great in ring or on the mic, but he's serviceable and does the simple things right."

"I'm giving Deaner extra points because of how good he is with the kids in the small towns he wrestles in across Ontario. I have first hand experience of him taking time with every kid that approaches him. You can tell that this was never about money but putting smiles on kids faces. And he does just that every time he wrestles. He's a big thumbs up in my book. When he was "Canadian Champion" he treated that belt like it was the most important thing to him. Which made my kids really believe they had met a champion (You know what I mean). He's good people."

[7.0] "I'm pretty startled at the low rating on this guy. In the short amount of time I've been aware of him, I've seen him play super solid characters in both the heel & face departments. He knows how to fight from underneath, has charisma for days, & is presently serving his role as a likable face for larger heels to beat up on very well. He isn't amazing or an in-ring wizard of any sort, but that's not always necessary. Off the top of my head, I can start listing wrestlers whom are more character-oriented & yet worse than Cody Deaner in-ring. I always see him as a net positive to any episode of Impact he appears on."

[7.0] "Seeing him in 2024 is an underdog talent. He has technique and charisma. He performs perfectly in the ring. I don't understand why so much hate towards him. His period in TNA is decent, it is not essential but he is memorable accompanying the project and encouraging his teammates."

[3.0] "From what I've seen of this guy on Impact/TNA he's a very unlikeable face and a heel that I can't give a damn about. In ring wise he's probably ok but just quite boring. I really just don't like what this guy has to offer, and if he has gotten better I'm horrified to know what he was like earlier in his career."

[7.0] "Don get the low rating now back in the day ok but he has gotten way better since his days in violent by design that people have to give him credit and his not as bad as people say hi is in the ring. Come on guys Deaner is not a superstar but his is a Good performer"

[8.0] "Cody Deaner has found another life as a member of Violent by Design. It's been a great refresh of his character. After taking over leadership of the group and deposing Eric Young, his work as a top heel has exceeded many expectations. He's closed Impact tv more than once in recent months, and this is likely to continue as he feuds with EY after his return. I've seen him perform dozens of times on the indy scene in Ontario, and he has a rabid fan base and almost always is the top attraction on local cards. His in ring work is solid, and he succeeds in bringing out the emotions of the crowd."

[7.0] "generally not as bad has his rating says i am invested in the stable violant by design that he is in and pretty good in ring to he was also entertaining in his team with cousin jake but his 1st run in impact (tna) wasnt that good so thats why his rating is down"

[6.0] "I find him to be an average wrestler and his character since joining VBD and now The Design has been good. I can't believe his rating is so low here."

[7.0] "Initially, Deaner was pretty bad. When he joined Violent By Design, however, his gimmick and in-ring work improved drastically, which is always good to see. This guy has a lot of talent, and now that he leads the Design, he's really shown how good he can be. He's the perfect leader, and looks good with Angles, Kon, and Callihan as his minions."

[8.0] "For real, I get that initial ratings, but he has done a complete reinvention as Deaner in Violent By Design. He actually rose up to take Eric Young's place and it feel snatural. His cult member to cult leader journey has been awesome to watch, and I think he's really found himself."

[5.0] "If I were grading "Giver" Cody Deaner, it would probably be a 2 - nothing interesting in the ring, just character wise. Deaner with Jake Something is better, but not so much. Deaner in Violent By Design - a solid 5. Here's where Cody reveals himself in a completely different way - he looks really good with a short haircut and really looks kind of crazy and...um, violent. Also, characteristically, as a heel, he started to show some decent wrestling - he's not going to set the world on fire, of course, but the matches became quite watchable. He seems to have found the perfect niche. It's safe to say that joining VBD is a great step in the sunset of Cody's career. And the fact that he already had the world tag team champions' belt is a well-deserved reward for his reincarnated career."

[5.0] "A solid worker in the ring and a wrestler who knows how to play his character. Unfortunately, I think his rating is bogged down by bad ratings from his first run in TNA in 2009. He was competing in the Knockouts division, and while he was hardly a legitimate threat to any of the women (if anything, he just put them over) he did win the championship and distract from a group of women who were scratching and clawing to be taken seriously in a business that can still be sexist and otherwise problematic. The knockouts division at the time has a highlight of the whole company, and the talents therein were in stark contrast to the WWE and their divas. These were women who deserved to be taken seriously as main event caliber wrestlers. His positioning at the time was tone-deaf, but not the fault of the performer, who truthfully played his role well. He is better served today, though, far away from the women's division."

[4.0] "man never knew people hated Cody Deaner. I don't love him but he's certainly not offensive and is pretty over in select buildings/regions. HIs tag with Jake is okay but he is undoubtedly the B-side. And there's nothing wrong with that."

[5.0] "Am I missing something? Why is his rating so low? He is not very good, but he also ain't bad. A middle of the road rating for a middle of the pack wrestler seems fitting."

[1.0] "Having seen his run in TNA, this wrestler came off as completely inept, with no discernable upside and a character that was borderline crass. No enjoyment at all for me."

[6.0] "Deaner's work as Cody Steele gets him this rating. His early-mid 2000s stuff was pretty good in the Ontario region."

[6.0] "Though the most prominent part of his career thus far was a short and largely unremarkable run with TNA in 2009 (where he was cast as a love interest for ODB), in the years since Deaner has been a workhorse on the Canadian and northern US indy scene, putting in solid performances and earning titles in multiple organizations. He also puts a lot into his redneck gimmick, and out of the ring comes off as someone with a great deal of respect for his craft. His hard work has paid off in 2016 with shots in higher-level independent companies, including Global Force Wrestling and House of Hardcore, and perhaps the window is not yet closed for him."

[5.0] "Giving him points on the basis of his TNA Tenure is not good because even he was bad in TNA, he was doing a good work in Indie Circuits so 2. 48 is too much low.. i think he was average guy so average points for him."