Cody Rhodes’s PWI Ranking Reflects His Immense Growth Since Leaving WWE
Since leaving the WWE in 2016, Cody Rhodes has blossomed into one of the best acts both in and outside a professional wrestling ring.
When Cody’s music and video starts, there’s a brief line of text that reads “Wrestling has more than one royal family,” and it’s been that line that Cody Rhodes has worked to prove for years. Since leaving the WWE in 2016 he’s made it his life’s work to reinvent himself and wrestling outside of the WWE. With All In now behind us, and the NWA heavyweight title around his waist, it’s time to recognize Cody’s immense grow since leaving the WWE.
Earlier this week, Pro Wrestling Illustrated released its annual ranking that lists the best 500 wrestlers in the industry. In what was a surprise to some, but celebrated by others, Cody landed at number 8; listed in a top ten that included the likes of Kenny Omega, AJ Styles, Kazuchika Okada, Brock Lesnar and others.
That rating reflects just how far the relatively young Cody, at 33 years of age, has grown to become one of the best personalities within the professional wrestling industry today.
From making his WWE main roster debut in 2007, through his departure in 2016, Cody bounced around in the PWI rankings, which is a direct correlation to how he was being booked on the show. In 2007 he was slotted at number 172, but that would be the last time he’s see the triple digits, as he would steadily rise in majority of the years that followed.
Cody is the type of performer that makes the best out of every situation that was placed in his lap and he proved that through the various gimmicks that WWE Creative placed on him. But when he reached a point of purgatory on the WWE roster he would leave the promotion and it would be on the free market where Cody would reach the career heights he’s enjoying today.
In professional sports, free agency is a big deal. It’s a moment in which fans, media and athletes alike can see if an individual is all hype or truly the talented individual they are characterized to be. It’s rare to see a free agent in professional wrestling build a bigger brand when they move from one employer to the next; especially if they leave the WWE.
Cody has shown the rest of the industry that it is possible. It’s possible to step outside of the WWE promotional powerhouse and build your stock in a way that pushes your name above the glass ceiling that can be imposed on some within the WWE roster.
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What’s important is that the focus isn’t solely on the in ring action. To be honest, Cody’s matches aren’t the most athletic or aesthetically pleasing when compared to some other matches on the card. But it’s Cody’s ability to tell a story in the ring and as a promoter that carries the most weight in his growth in the industry.
He can sell a story during a match, and sell an idea that turns into the success that was All In. That’s what’s important in the sports entertainment industry and this is why more should pay close attention to Cody’s growth as he continues his push on what’s known as the “independent circuit.”