Part of the storyline, isn't it? Seems that Callis is pushing Kenny to be that guy again, hence faking the attack by Hangman to drive a wedge between them on the cusp of reuniting (in general, not as a team). Whilst it was made out to look like the BCC were responsible for the Bucks' hospitalisation, we didn't see it explicitly and I wouldn't surprised to find out later that Callis was behind it. Not sure where that narrative goes, but sure. Takeshita has been courted by Callis recently so maybe something linked there too.
Cody couldn't have picked a better time to leave. Everyone (including all of us) believed he was going to be midcard in no time and now they're ready to crown him as the face of the company,
I think it's worked out for the best for all concerned. Cody was stinking the place out in AEW for maybe a year before leaving, not because of talent, but because of his unique position in the company that seemed to make it hard to involve him in anything compelling. Now I'm not a Cody hater by any means - he was an integral part of AEW's formation, and his feuds with Jericho and then MJF anchored the first wobbly months of Dynamite whilst half the roster got used to the quirks of televised wrestling.
I don't know how much of it can be blamed on the pandemic, but when the first lockdowns hit Cody was one of the few upper card guys left available, but had ruled himself out of competing for the main title. I don't know what the plans for the TNT title were, but it was only a couple of months in that it was slapped on Cody, and set in motion his standard storyline of "someone new appears in the company and immediately goes after Cody" (which happened repeatedly whether he was champion or not). Cody was also in that echelon of talent that seemed guaranteed TV time when available - along with the rest of the Elite, Jericho & Moxley. This all led to him running the same feud back with multiple people and seemingly never having a break (unless he was filming some external project).
He also seemed to want to avoid getting caught up in anything bigger than himself, by swerving any sort of factions beyond his random 'Nightmare Family' group of hangers-on. I guess he didn't want to move in any direction that would lead back to being involved with the Elite, but that's just my speculation.
The other problem you had with Cody was trying to find something for Brandi to do, as she apparently also had some sort of exposure clause going on. They wasted so much early time in the womens division with Brandi's pointless storylines that would either get dropped instantly (the Nightmare Collective) or just fizzle away with no real pay off (the Nightmare Sisters). It was only her pregnancy that stopped her being involved in the Jade/Shaq match.
So whatever success Cody is finding now, it was definitely time for him to move on when he did, and I can't really say that I've missed him at all.
