Cody Rhodes has truly been able to use the setback of leaving the WWE into a triumphant story of success. Since the year he has been gone from the company, Cody has spent much time competing for numerous independent promotions, increasing his stock value. He has competed in tournaments, fulfilled his personal dream matches (i.e. Kurt Angle), and won plenty of championships. However, he realized that he really wanted to hone in his talents to focus more on settling in on a particular wrestling promotion, and commit to less traveling.
As reported on Sports Illustrated , Cody was happy with his relationship with Ring of Honor, even considering picking that company to settle down with. However, since he was making up for lost time in the indies due to spending nearly his entire career in the WWE, he still chose to schedule dates to compete for many other promotions.
Cody even had a stint in Impact Wrestling, with hopes to boost up their momentum. However, he only competed in four televised matches, defeating Mike Bennett and aligning with his wife Brandi to defeat Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett, but losing against Eddie Edwards for the Impact Wrestling Heavyweight Championship and Moose for the Grand Championship. After that, Cody was gone from the company.
Talk about joke turned wrong!! @CodyRhodes @MooseNation69 #IMPACTonPOP pic.twitter.com/ivtBCZyBTZ
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 24, 2017
Even while in Impact, Cody also competed for Ring of Honor. Although he was a babyface for many months after leaving WWE, he turned against Jay Lethal following his debut match at Final Battle , and also joined Bullet Club shortly after. Cody was able to defeat Juice Robinson in his New Japan Pro Wrestling debut at Wrestle Kingdom 11 .
Still feuding with Lethal, he was defeated at the Supercard of Honor event in Lakeland, Florida during WrestleMania 33 weekend. However, that did not stop him from eyeing the ROH World Championship, as he attacked both Christopher Daniels and Dalton Castle following their title match later that evening.
As a result, Cody was able to lock in an ROH Championship match against Daniels. He won the match and his first major world championship since starting his career in 2006.
Cody also broke an over 30-year streak, being the only Rhodes to win a major world championship since his father Dusty won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the 1986 Great American Bash by defeating Ric Flair in a steel cage.
Now, with Rhodes as ROH World Champion, he truly gets the opportunity to instill an “American Nightmare” in the company, and further cement his legacy.
The Prince just became a King
…and we march on everybody pic.twitter.com/p0XpRBH8oM
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) June 24, 2017
The American Nightmare @CodyRhodes is the new Ring of Honor World Champion, but what does this mean for ROH? #ROHBITW pic.twitter.com/Q7taPlqBcf
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) June 24, 2017
While ROH is posing questions, Cody is making answers and continuing to carry the Rhodes legacy in a positive direction.
[Featured Image by Ring of Honor]
