Cody Rhodes: Is He Wrestling’s Best Heel Right Now?
The Bullet Club is Fine?
As Kenny was close to losing the match, Cody ran down towards the ring with a towel. He was getting ready to throw it in to save Kenny from further beating. The Young Bucks stopped him from throwing it in. Kenny eventually mounted a comeback and the match continued for a considerable amount of time afterward before Kenny finally fell to Okada’s Rainmaker. In Long Beach, a few months later, Cody had his own shot against Okada. Part way through the match, Kenny came down to the ring, but like how Cody was stopped, Kenny was also stopped from throwing in the towel.
At Dominion, Kenny Omega faced Okada again in what was one of the greatest wrestling matches I have ever seen. Omega took it too Okada like no one else ever has in this match, taking him to his absolute limit, including hitting the One Winged Angel, but was unable to pin him as Okada was near the ropes. Like the first match, Cody came down this time too and was stopped again. This match ultimately went to a one hour draw, and cemented Okada and Omega as the two best wrestlers in the world today.
After this event, everything seemed to be smoothed out between Cody and Kenny (though there was some conflict between Kenny and Tama Tonga during the G1). On Being the Elite, we saw Kenny and Cody develop a friendship rather than rivalry. Indeed, if there was a fourth member of The Elite, one could argue that it was Cody. Around this time, Cody found his own success, defeating Christopher Daniels for the ROH World Championship, also cementing himself as one of the top draws for Ring of Honor and with various independent promotions.
The Bullet Club was on top of the world. Cody was ROH Champion, and Kenny Omega was the IWGP US Heavyweight Champion. In the words of Cody, “The Bullet Club is fine,” except in this case, it actually was. They were thriving all over the world, continuing to grow their fanbase. Meanwhile, Cody was improving steadily and beginning to show that he absolutely belonged at the top of the wrestling world.
Indeed, he was showing that he really was a top tier wrestler and a major draw. His heel tactics were becoming more and more refined as he feuded with the likes of Christopher Daniels and Dalton Castle for the rest of the year. Ultimately, Cody would lose the ROH World title to Dalton Castle at Final Battle 2017 in a solid match that elevated Dalton to being the top guy in ROH. However, while enjoying his work more and more, I still wasn’t completely sold on Cody.