Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
The story is now finished. Cody Rhodes was able to beat Roman Reigns for the WWE title the crown jewel of the company. He was able to prove ‘Against all the odds’ to overcome the Bloodline who have protected Roman Reigns for 3 plus years to maintain him as the Head of the Table.
In Cody Rhodes career it has been the ‘Walk of Life’ following in the footsteps of his father Dusty Rhodes. Living up to the legacy of the great man that Dusty Rhodes was in the ring and outside was no hard feet with pressure it would bring.
Since when Cody came of the scene in 2007 facing Randy Orton on Monday Night Raw it has been an obstacle to follow the legacy his dad had on the wrestling business. The Cody we saw then, I did not imagine he would be the biggest name in WWE in 2024.
His journey from the green Cody Rhodes, being rushed to the main roster to what we see now is a great chain of events that would change the face of wrestling.
The wrestling business since John Cena the fans have been ‘Holding out for a Hero’. Roman Reigns was meant to be that guy to be the next hero for the wrestling fans, but they were turning against him, He was outright rejected by the fans and never could click with the audience.
But as time went on the biggest heel in wrestling for the next 4 years would be unveiled leading the charge in becoming the most dominate champion in modern wrestling history. Building up one of the biggest factions since the NWO in my opinion. The Bloodline the Samoan dynasty would change the face of wrestling. All challengers would fall to the faction, supporting Roman Reigns dominance on the industry.
Cody Rhodes at the same time was finding his feet after his last run in WWE felt like he fell into the ‘Ring of fire’. He really was at the bottom of it all, not knowing what the path his career would take.
In 2016 he became one of the biggest hits in the independent scene rising above the ashes showing a newfound purpose to deliver. Working across Ring of Honor, TNA wrestling and New Japan he was able to ignite himself back to the top of the wrestling industry.
After the All In wrestling event in 2018, it was a true sign Cody Rhodes was making a huge difference to wrestling winning the NWA World Title, that his father Dusty held. The pathway back to WWE even though it did not look real then it was in play.
As part of the Elite group, he creates All Elite Wrestling with Tony Kahn. This was a paradigm shift for his career direction. This was a crazy time in wrestling in 2019, as Cody was the work horse in trying to get this promotion going and delivering some great stories. He purposely decided the story to no longer challenge for the AEW World title in his loss to Chris Jericho and stuck to his word to never get a title shot again.
Was this done on purpose as he knew deep down, he only wanted to win the WWE title his dad held at Madison Square Garden that was taken away from him. Cody Rhodes left AEW for a few reasons, one being the politics of the Elite, Tony Kahns lack of awareness and honestly, he missed being in WWE. Please note we will never know the full story about Cody Rhodes leaving AEW, but you get a sense as to why and how badly that company is falling across the metrics that should measure success of the company.
The sense that Cody Rhodes has had this mentality of ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ in what you know, has always been the driving force into what he wanted to accomplish and close the biggest story of his life in wrestling.
And that is based on the fact he wanted to win the WWE Title that his dad had taken away from him. The Rhodes family had never held the biggest prize in wrestling officially. It was a true crazy career that his other brother Dustin Rhodes went on, still having one of the great careers being Goldust, he never really had the chance to win the title.
Cody Rhodes story back in 2022 when he returned was the best feature of Wrestlemania 38. He became the instant top babyface in the company and set out his goal to become the biggest face in wrestling.
The story of having to find his path to take down the Bloodline at Wrestlemania 39, all the seeds were planted, and we were all ready for the crowning of Cody Rhodes finishing that story. It felt it was the time for him to lead the company, but Vince McMahon had other ideas, with Roman Reigns retaining the title.
The story was not finished it felt like he entered the black hole of point of no return. But one thing that stood out was that the fans had not given up and the fans drove him to feel there is ‘No Surender’ in that he needs to finish his story.
This in turn made him even the biggest babyface in wrestling and even more areas of ‘Sacrifice’ was going to be needed if he was really going to make his dream come true.
In 2024 winning the Royal Rumble it was clear everyone in the wrestling world wanted him to face Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 40. Clearly that was not the plan as The Rock would return and make a clear statement of intent that he was going to face Roman himself.
This however was rejected by the wrestling audience they were not going to let the peoples champion walk in and take away this moment from Cody Rhodes. So, in the end we would see a whole dynamic shift in the build-up in wrestling history. The storyline built around The Rock being part of the bloodline putting in every obstacle in the way to ensure Roman Reigns would not lose the title.
It truly was a huge storyline bringing in friction, real life situations, blood and the ultimate sacrifices needed to close the final chapter. It was now truly the ‘Final Countdown’ we were going to experience.
Wrestlemania 40 comes around and everything is stacked against him.
Night one it felt like it was all coming full circle after losing the tag match to The Rock and Roman Reigns. Cody had teamed up with Seth Rollins to even up the odds, but it was not meant to be. The fans were left with a big situation what will Cody do to finally close this final chapter of his story?
On night two throughout the broadcast questions were being raised how he can beat the most dominant champion of the recent era in WWE. This was ‘The One and Only’ chance now for the moment Cody Rhodes needed. The match between him and Roman Reigns had it all, it was a match of true reflection of the last few years from both wrestlers’ journeys.
It was a great match and a statement of change in wrestling under the leadership of Triple H. Cody Rhodes would overcome all the odds and become the WWE champion for the first time ever. The match reflected on his journey, with every element of the match providing highlights of the mountain he has been climbing for so long.
With appearances in the match by The Rock, The Undertaker and John Cena showed just how big this match really was.
By the end of the match Cody Rhodes, was finally able to lift the trophy his father had held for just one evening. It was the moment the wrestling fans needed, and the story finally closed. He is the now the main guy for WWE and the biggest name in wrestling of this new era.
He was no longer ‘The Wanderer’, but finally the Rocky of WWE.
On a side note, the storyline for this was the best in wrestling for the last 4 years. This storyline was also something that felt personal to me. I have been battling with anxiety and depression for many years, having to overcome the odds each time being hit to the hardest of lows. This story I can relate to because I have made so many improvements and at the end of show I felt like Cody I closed my story. If Cody and Triple H ever read this article, thank you so much for a great journey.
Just a final thank you for Pwinsider for the continued coverage of professional wrestling.
Cody your new book awaits for your next story.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
