Outtakes with Cody Rhodes
The former–and likely future–WWE Champion reflects on his first-ever reign with the belt
The Week in Wrestling is published every week and provides beneath the surface coverage of pro wrestling.
Contents for The Week in Wrestling:
Cody Rhodes on his run as WWE Champion
An inside look at the past week in wrestling
CM Punk on championship trajectory
Tweet of the Week
Cody Rhodes on his run as WWE Champion
Cody Rhodes spent 378 days as WWE Champion.
And relished every single moment.
“I became linked with the title that became so elusive to my family,” said Rhodes. “That meant the world to me.”
In a story I wrote for the Boston Herald this past Sunday, Rhodes discussed a myriad of topics. But space is limited in print, leaving plenty of extra content–outtakes, if you will–that captured how he felt about his first-ever run as WWE Champion.
“There’s two things that lingered with me in terms of being champion that I was very proud of,” said Rhodes, who was Ring of Honor’s world champ and briefly held the NWA title–yet neither remotely compared to what Rhodes embarked upon at WrestleMania 40, when he overcame Roman Reigns to win pro wrestling’s most famed title. “I was very proud that immediately, right after WrestleMania 40, we jumped right to this PLE in France in front of the greatest crowd wrestling may have ever seen. I shared the ring with AJ Styles, a wrestler’s wrestler, who is as good as it possibly gets–on any given day, AJ could be the number one wrestler for any company in the world.
“We told a story for that incredibly loud crowd, and I wanted to show that this run would be different. Traditionally, you’ll hear people say that it is hard to be a babyface champion. It’s hard to be a babyface in general. But I’ve been blessed to have this connection, especially this unique connection with our younger audience, which grows at a speed like no other. And something else I was really proud of is when the cameramen say, ‘Hey, Champ.’ Or Joe Tess says, ‘Hey, Champ.’ I’m proud of how my identity became that of the champion.”
After dropping the belt to John Cena at WrestleMania 41, Rhodes took a month off to rest and recuperate–a break that may as well have been an eternity considering the nonstop manner he had been working. Since his return in late May, Rhodes has vowed revenge on Cena. In order to get his rematch, Rhodes won the King of the Ring tournament, defeating Jey Uso in the semi-final round before getting by Randy Orton in the finals–both of which were matches that Rhodes was proud to wrestle.
“I’m in the main event on Raw in this friend versus friend match against Jey Uso, and you hear people say that that is the hardest type of match, but I was incredibly proud at the reaction we got from the crowd,” said Rhodes. “That was a moment.
“Randy and I have a lot of history. We could do a six-month program that leads to WrestleMania. There is a lot of meat on the bone. It was a different type of build here with the tournament, with a whole different set of stakes. I like the stakes of the tournament with the main event of SummerSlam on the line. I think we’ll get into our history down the road, too.”
Rhodes now has his rematch with Cena at SummerSlam, which is expected to close out the two-night event. Whether or not Rhodes regains the belt, he finds himself in as high-profile a match as possible against a wrestling legend.
For Rhodes, it is the continuation of a whirlwind run that began when Rhodes returned to WWE in April of 2022. Three years later, it continues to intensify.
“This is uncharted and undiscovered in terms of what I envisioned for myself and WWE,” said Rhodes. “For my time here, this is the cherry on top. It’s a really special time.”
This past week…
Roman Reigns returned on Raw, instantly adding new excitement to WWE’s summer.
Bill Goldberg had his retirement match on Saturday night, but expressed to Ariel Helwani that he wasn’t entirely thrilled with how it all unfolded.
Seth Rollins suffered an injury on Saturday night during his match with LA Knight. Depending on the severity of it, that could be an enormous problem for WWE.
Naomi cashed in her Money in the Bank contract on Sunday to close out Evolution, winning the Women’s World Championship.
Hangman Page won an epic encounter against Jon Moxley at All In, regaining the AEW world title–and he’ll now be chased by MJF, who won the Casino Gauntlet match.
Toni Storm ended Mercedes Mone’s undefeated streak in AEW, retaining her world title–and Casino Gauntlet winner Athena will look to be the one to dethrone her.
CM Punk appears primed for title reign
The last time CM Punk wore a world title in WWE was 2013.
It’s only a matter of time before that changes.
Punk wrestled in a gauntlet match on Raw to determine the new top contender for Gunther, pinning Bron Breakker to earn the victory. That puts Punk in a match at SummerSlam against Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship. If that closes the show on the first night, then it is hard to envision Punk losing.
Finding a downside to Punk winning the belt is difficult. That means Gunther’s second run will be cut short, though it never felt like this was intended to be as long as his 259-day title run that started at SummerSlam a year ago. If Punk wins the belt, he would have no shortage of challengers, with opponents ranging from Bron Breakker to Jey Uso. Of course, Seth Rollins will always be looming with the Money in the Bank briefcase. And there would be a major title defense on the horizon against Roman Reigns.
None of that is nearly as exciting with Gunther as champ.
Punk is healthy, which is critical to his success. Looking at his issues with companies in the past, they have largely occurred when he was battling some sort of ailment. That isn’t the case here, and a cursory glance at his matches shows that he is also extremely motivated. Now 46, this is likely Punk’s last run as a full-time performer. There is no better way to celebrate that than with the belt.
Plus, it makes sense to have one babyface champ and another who is a heel. If John Cena keeps the WWE title beyond SummerSlam, then it works out perfectly to have a crowd favorite in Punk seize the other world title.
We’re long overdue for a CM Punk title reign. And it feels like it is going to happen two weeks from this Saturday at SummerSlam.
Tweet of the Week
Best wishes to Adam Cole–who hopefully will be able to safely return to the ring.