Back in February of this year, Cody Rhodes was asked by a fan in an interview about other potential indie stars that All Elite Wrestling (AEW) are looking at. He mentioned IMPACT’s Ethan Page as well as two of the US indie scene’s biggest cult heroes, Danhausen and IWTV Independent Wrestling Champion Warhorse.
Fan Question: Who on the indies they want in AEW?
Cody: Says he has to ask @OfficialEGO about @DanhausenAD and says both those guys are DIY guys he wants. Notes Ethan is with Impact and he wanted him. Says he’ll look at @JPWarHorse soon.
— WrestlingINC.com (@WrestlingInc) February 28, 2020
Since then, Cody Rhodes has become the inaugural TNT Champion in AEW, vowing to defend it each week in an Open Challenge. When asked on Twitter, Cody confirmed that we could potentially see challengers who are not signed with AEW, opening the door to a plethora of dream matches from opponents who work in various indie scenes or non-exclusive companies.
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) May 31, 2020
One dream match that has riled up the internet wrestling community has been the thought of actually seeing Cody face off against the aforementioned Warhorse – with a healthy dose of rabble-rousing by Warhorse himself. Since Sunday, Warhorse has lead a crusade of replies every time
https://twitter.com/JPWARHORSE/status/1272271720049713152 anyone associated with AEW tweets out the question of who Cody will face this coming Wednesday.
https://t.co/w26jrpHIg1 pic.twitter.com/9ltlQoV8ZQ
— WARHORSE (@JPWARHORSE) June 14, 2020
https://t.co/PmmM3ABQoC pic.twitter.com/pR0fPq5w5J
— WARHORSE (@JPWARHORSE) June 14, 2020
https://t.co/50IjlORset pic.twitter.com/VtZJRw8Sfo
— WARHORSE (@JPWARHORSE) June 15, 2020
https://t.co/ndYOjVIibD pic.twitter.com/LXKC745u7G
— WARHORSE (@JPWARHORSE) June 15, 2020
https://t.co/RTtPUrcRuv pic.twitter.com/eINzCPuy36
— WARHORSE (@JPWARHORSE) June 16, 2020
https://t.co/ndYOjVIibD pic.twitter.com/c4ell7ab2c
— WARHORSE (@JPWARHORSE) June 16, 2020
https://twitter.com/JPWARHORSE/status/1273008672537444352
Warhorse has been wrestling on the US indie scene since 2013, beginning as “Warhorse” Jake Parnell as part of the indie stable Viking War Party. He competed in IWA Mid-South, Beyond Wrestling, St. Louis Anarchy, and other top promotions for years, but seemed stuck in tag team matches or lower card. For a while, he was more known for going viral over tearing his mouth on the turnbuckle in 2018 than he was any of his matches. But over the past two years, he’s morphed into the Warrior paint wearing, heavy metal headbanging demigod known simply as Warhorse, with some of the greatest promos on Twitter. In September of 2019, he captured the IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship from Erick Stevens, and has gone to hold it for 270-days, defending against the likes of Orange Cassidy, Alan Angels (No. 5 in AEW), Kylie Rae, EFFY, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Fred Yehi, Ophidian, Danhausen, and AJ Gray. He’s had 35 title defenses in the seven months he held the belt before the COVID pandemic put a hold on live indie wrestling. But his fans clearly haven’t forgotten about him. Led by the patched jean jacket Horatio Horns-thrower on a steel dragon of destiny, the Warhorse stampede has just begun, with fans joining in the crusade to get AEW’s – and more specifically Cody Rhodes’ – attention.
Cody stop ducking Warhorse
— Cats just in Space (@Catsinspace1991) June 14, 2020
You fucked up, Cody.
WARHORSE RULES ASS! https://t.co/zXaJToqGSb— GhostVonDracula (@GhostVonDracula) June 15, 2020
https://twitter.com/TheThinkingMac1/status/1272593842647248899
It should be Warhorse, but we know Cody is too scared to take that challenge.
— Deebow Debowski (@deebow) June 15, 2020
Browsing through wrestling Twitter and every time I see @JPWARHORSE name, Cody been mentioned and Cody never responds
So it is apparent, Cody is afraid of WARHORSE!
— Reaper (@The_Reaper_719) June 15, 2020
WARHORSE if Cody decides to stop hiding from him.
— Wrestley Crusher (@WrestleBug) June 15, 2020
I figured it out, Cody won't face @JPWARHORSE because Daily's Place is open air and Warhorse could ride his pet dragon into battle.
— EthanOnAForklift (@JensenCollins3) June 16, 2020
https://twitter.com/GamgwarOmega/status/1272754726384304131
@CodyRhodes Im not sure why your ducking @JPWARHORSE but that is NOT WISE MY DUDE! I demand that @AEWrestling BEND TO THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE AND SERVE UP CODY TO WARHORSE!
— TheSkinnyMenace sultry agent of Ossified Chaos (@TheSkinnyMenace) June 16, 2020
Whether it’s a question of time or not, indie fans are salivating at the thought of the Metal God walking into an AEW arena to face off against “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes for the TNT Championship. Who are some other indie stars you’d like to see Cody face? Let us know in the comments below!
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
