Cody Rhodes: Is He Wrestling’s Best Heel Right Now?

Cody Rhodes has been making quite the impact in wrestling since he left WWE. In this article, I discuss his ROH run, and why he is such an intriguing character right now.

The Beginning

When Cody Rhodes left WWE, people were largely unsure about how he would do outside of WWE. While certainly a solid midcard talent in WWE, he was unproven on the indy scene. Many questioned if he could keep up with the best of the best, and those questions persist, even until today.

However, it wasn’t long before Cody was wrestling for ROH, Impact, and a countless number of indy promotions all over the world, trying to make a name for himself. His hard work and dedication earned him a spot in The Bullet Club, where he has only grown as a performer by working with The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Marty Scrull, and others.

Upon his debut in ROH it became immediately clear that he was going to be working as a heel when he low blowed Jay Lethal to get the win. Their feud was a bloody one that included a Texas Deathmatch that Dusty Rhodes would have been proud of. Cody’s hard work was showing, as he slowly began earning the respect of the ROH audience.

Cody’s heel work, from the beginning, could be described as good. Not outstanding, but very good. He was clearly bringing eyes to ROH, as seen in their increased attendance and ticket sales. Something was working right here. However, for me, while I enjoyed his work, something just wasn’t quite clicking for me. I always enjoyed what I was watching, but never quite to the level I expected to.

I did, however, have a little hope, because I saw flashes of a very interesting story begin to develop at Wrestle Kingdom 11 during the classic match between Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada.