The List Of Cody: One Year Later

On 22 May 2016, Cody Rhodes was granted his release from the WWE after years of toiling in the mid-card as Stardust.

Six days later, Cody posted the above list on his Twitter page. With names like Chris Hero, Adam Cole, and Katsuyori Shibata listed, Cody was dream-booking quite the murderer's row of topnotch talent. Fans were abuzz, wondering which match-ups they'd see first.

Yes, there are some amazing names that Cody wrestled over the next year that weren't on the list. Names like Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal, and Zack Sabre Jr., were just a few of the world-class talents Cody mixed it up with on a monthly basis.

Leaving the shadow of Vince McMahon's sports entertainment empire behind, Cody defied expectations, captured championships, wowed audiences, and proved to a generation of young, promising talent that you don't need the Stamford machine behind you to succeed.

Just one week ago, Cody put on one of the best singles matches of his entire career against Kazuchika Okada at New Japan's G1 Special in USA. But how many of the matches on that dream list has The American Nightmare realized?

In one of his first matches after clearing the 90-day non-compete clause from his WWE release, Cody went to war with the man with the deadliest elbows in wrestling.

At Evolve 67, Hero and Cody competed for cheers from the raucous crowd, then Cody offered his hand to Hero, who opted to slap him across the face instead. The two men brawled across the venue, into the crowd, on top of the bar, and back into the ring.

Hero played the bullying heel to perfection, while Cody, as the tenacious babyface, was still trying to find his post-WWE sea legs. The rough-and-tumble nature of the match played more towards Hero's strengths than Cody's, and Hero won the match (although interference from Drew Galloway played a part).

It was early days for Cody, but the match boded well for his chances on the indies.