Of all those future endeavoured this season by the WWE, perhaps the one that hit the bone most harshly was that of Cody Rhodes. Sure there were some favourites in there. The Twitterverse exploded when Damien Sandow‘s name was unveiled as one of the Pink Slips, but many saw that at least somewhat coming. And Wade Barrett‘s, while now officially disappointing, didn’t have the same shock knowing he was leaving in a few months anyway. It didn’t make it taste any better swallowing it, but at least we had the seeds of expectation in our garden. But somehow, Cody’s stung a little more.
After all, Cody was wrestling royalty. He was of the bloodline Runnels, youngest son of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, half-brother to WWE Legend Goldust, nephew to Nasty Boy Jerry Saggs and Fred Ottman (aka Tugboat, Typhoon and the iconic Shockmaster). He was a collegiate scouted amateur wrestler who turned down Penn State to stay in the family business, and, despite an awkward debut with Hardcore Holly, managed to get better as the years went on, in spite of the gimmick thrown at him.
He was the bright spot of the entire Legacy angle, saving what could have been another bland second generation storyline, and he turned a potentially disastrous narcissist gimmick like “Dashing” Cody Rhodes into inspired comedic gold with a high level of ring work. When a real life injury could have warranted him a time on the sidelines, he turned into another gimmick, this time turning his “Dashing” character into darker waters as a the narcissist dwelled on the imperfection of his perfection. A seemingly random pairing with another underappreciated hand, “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses” Damien Sandow, created The Rhodes Scholars, and the birth of the most grotesquely awesome moustache in wrestling industry. His tag team run with Goldust was some brilliant tag team wrestling – he brought out the best wrestling of Goldust’s career – and he somehow even made Stardust far more interesting than it should have been. The WWE really missed out on not pushing the Cosmic Kings further than the week it did – it might have salvaged both Cody and Wade Barrett’s career.
So on May 21, Cody Rhodes became the talk of the forums when he announced on Facebook that he had requested his release from the WWE. The following day, when WWE announced that Cody Rhodes was granted his wish, there was a collective quiet for hours. And then the buzz began. His own rationale why seemed to echo what every single Rhodes supporter had being saying for years – that this 10-year WWE veteran was being mishandled and underutilized and deserved better. But it was what happened on May 28, 2016, that sent the internet community into a frenzy of excitement unfelt in such a collective manner in years. Cody Rhodes revealed “The List”.
After 8/19 pic.twitter.com/txeAKw9SSN
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) May 28, 2016
What did it mean? It seemed obvious. A bucket list so to speak of wrestlers from across the globe that Cody may want to face. The IWC was going insane. Not only had Cody’s rant a few days prior about why he was leaving resonate with the business’ most passionate fans, but his list featured some of the greatest indie wrestlers in the world. The possibility of even one match happening would be a dream match, but the whole list? And was Cody really serious with this? He’d been known for posting dark satirical content before.
Well, the answer became clear in a hurry, when Northeast Wrestling posted this update on May 31, which was quickly retweeted by Rhodes himself.
Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, NY On Sat., 8/27 first time ever @CodyRhodes and @RealKurtAngle pic.twitter.com/bC4MnLQ4E8
— Northeast Wrestling (@newwrestling1) May 31, 2016
Kurt Angle was #4 on The List. Was this a coincidence? After all, Angle has faced a number of hot free agents in the past year, from AJ Styles to Rey Mysterio Jr. List or no List, it’s a strong possibility this match still would have happened.
But it got more interesting on June 2. Cody Rhodes posted this.
On August 19th – https://t.co/KS4g8UCXfJ pic.twitter.com/eGMIXyh8wf
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) June 2, 2016
His first day as a free agent following the end of his “no compete” clause from his release, he would be appearing at Evolve. Looking through The List and trying to imagine where he’ll face each guy. I really don’t think we’ll see him in Ring of Honor OR Japan. I think he’s going to hit every target in smaller indie promotions to help them out instead. But his announcement on Twitter that he’s going to be at Evolve (and confirmed to be making his first post-WWE wrestling match debut by Evolve’s Twitter) made me wonder who he would face there. And I think I have the answer. I haven’t seen this anywhere, so this isn’t rumour, so don’t be mad if I’m wrong. But I really think it’s going to be Chris Hero. Hero has been working with Evolve a LOT lately and is huge down there. Sure, he can face Hero in a lot of places, even PWG. But he’s the only one on the list with a strong connection to Evolve right now. It would be ironic if that was true. In a WWE sanctioned indie promotion, two guys that left the WWE in less than favourable ways could end up putting on a match that could have been on Raw or Smackdown. If Hero is the Evolve candidate, scratch off another name on The List.
And then in one fell swoop, on June 3, he scratched off two more items. He got his “Miracle”, in former ROH (and current TNA) star “The Miracle” Michael Bennett, along with former WWE Superstar Maria Kanellis, and Cody also brought in his own personal announcer, his wife, former WWE announcer Brandi Rhodes.
Now I don't feel so outnumbered…
it's a miracle #BennettsVRhodes pic.twitter.com/NanuOoUVqZ
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) June 3, 2016
Suddenly even the most skeptical of fans began to believe. And get excited. Where would he face these opponents? Would he get everyone? He sure seemed to be on pace for it.
And then the big one hit. The announcement everyone seemed most excited about being a possibility and the one to potentially scratch multiple more names off the list. By confirming via retweet, this one from PWG:
It's not just smoke & mirrors…
I'll see ya' in Reseda https://t.co/jEw7asZw0v
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) June 6, 2016
Cody Rhodes List was real. He was going to PWG‘s prestigious Battle of Los Angeles 2016. A world class tournament of the world’s best independent wrestlers, it’s become a must see event for any wrestling fan. If WWE has Wrestlemania, NJPW has the Super Juniors, and Chikara has King of Trios, PWG’s BOLA is a huge stepping stone for any indie wrestler. Having someone of Cody Rhodes’ calibre competing – and generally they all wrestle multiple matches, even if they’re eliminated early in the actual BOLA tournament.
He’ll get guys like Young Bucks, Adam Cole or Dalton Castle (perhaps more likely his Chikara persona, Ashley Remington) in PWG, while other guys in ones like Northeastern, where he’s facing Angle or Bennett (to avoid going to TNA or ROH). Because Cody is a very rich man from WWE. He’s not doing this because he has too. He doesn’t need the bigger offers from NJPW or TNA or ROH. He chose a very specific list of wrestlers that have a LOT of maneuverability as far as promotions go. Going to ROH, NJPW or TNA would mean he’d have to commit to TV of some kind. Even if it’s to build feud for the match.
I think he wants to just wrestle. Do a little tour for the rest of the year and wrestle wherever he wants to, with whomever he wants, and however he wants, not be tied by regional commitments. Plus, he’s the kind of guy that would rather help an indie promotion like Northeast. A one off in ROH would be fun, but not magical. Not in the sense of the current undertaking. He’s making every stop a must see indie event in North America. People all over pro wrestling forums, from Reddit to Facebook, are talking of taking road trips to see his shows. He’s making this into one of the most intriguing stories online right now. Which is a testament to his talent and creativity.
Now this isn’t to suggest that Rhodes won’t end up in ROH, TNA, or NJPW somewhere. But for now, Rhodes seems intent on completing his list on his own terms. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, he’s actively working with Northeast promoter Mike O’Brien, who was a close friend to Rhodes’ father, Dusty, to make sure as much of The List becomes a reality this year as possible. Once his List is finished, he may then consider doing a run with a televised company.
Yes, The New Era in the WWE is exciting. But right now, the Lone Wolf ride of Cody Rhodes throughout the indies, on a personal mandate to show the WWE what they missed out on, is just too great a story to ignore. A brilliant mind for the business, he’s already captured the hearts and minds of the wrestling world by using Social Media as his platform to cut his promos. He’s just doing it in 140 characters or less.
This year, all Rhodes will lead to Cody.
(Main Photo an edited version of the original post on twitter.com/CodyRhodes)
