WWE: How Big Would Cody Rhodes Be If He Returned To WWE?

Over the past year there have been few wrestlers on the independent scene that have made more of a name for themselves than Cody Rhodes.  With this meteoric rise in popularity, one can’t help but wonder how big Cody will be if he eventually decides to return to the Mothership known as WWE.

Currently Cody Rhodes is the Ring of Honor World Champion, and it is fair to say that the start to his independent wrestling career has been a rousing success.  It did take some unfortunate circumstances that forced Cody to take a gamble on himself and ask for his release from WWE.

The difficult times for Cody began in June 2015, when his father “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes passed away.  Understandably Cody took a few weeks away from television as the entire wrestling world was in shock.

Wrestling fans began wondering what rendition of Cody would return.  Would it be the goofy, comic book-like character, Stardust?  Or could it possibly be the return of the performer that rose to fame in his time with Legacy?

Nonetheless Cody at the end of his career in WWE was stuck in a rut as he was determined to reprise his role as “Cody Rhodes”, unfortunately the powers to be determined that he would be better suited staying in character as Stardust.

Cody determined that he had to protect his own brand, and find a way out of mid-card purgatory, unfortunately that was not happening in the near future with WWE.  Cody understood that wrestling is about building momentum for one’s character, and that is why he became determined to do so on the independent scene.

One of the first tasks Cody completed was constructing a list of wrestlers he wanted to work with.  This list included a couple household names like Kurt Angle and Adam Cole, who Cody was able to check off the list early on in his indy run.

Just having one on one matches with big name wrestlers can raise one’s stock, but Cody’s growth did not stop there.  When Cody joined the Bullet Club in December 2016, he became associated with big independent names like The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega.

Not only has Cody had matches with big names, but he associates himself with big names.  This is a similar formula that fans saw in WWE where Triple H used his association with Shawn Michaels in Degeneration X, along with his stellar matches with The Rock to gain momentum and push the soon to be nicknamed Cerebral Assassin to the top of the card.

Now just because Cody is no longer a WWE employee, does not mean he hasn’t picked up some tricks during his time with the company.  In an interview in August on Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Podcast, Cody discussed how he learned some of the business side of wrestling during his time traveling with John Cena.

When Cody goes to live events now, he pays attention to attendance numbers for the show after his name is announced, and also how well specific merchandise sells at the same events.  This Cena-esque addition to Cody’s repertoire has made him a better businessman than he was during his stint in WWE.

Right now there is more for Cody to accomplish on the independent scene, including the biggest Wrestle Kingdom yet in January for NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 12.  Each major milestone that Cody hits in the near future will make him that much more of a main event player when he determines that it is time to come back to WWE.

Remember that Christian and Drew McIntyre are two superstars who took their act on the road and came back even better to WWE.  Cody is currently following a similar path and is proving that taking a chance on yourself is the best route if you believe in yourself.

Cody is currently signed to a domestically exclusive contract with Ring of Honor for multiple years, but what happens after that?

Next: WWE Wrestlers Turn to Film Making in Hollywood

One final nugget that came out of the Sam Roberts’ interview came when Cody was asked if any olive branches have been extended from WWE.  Cody simply responded with a smile and “zero comment”.