10 Fascinating WWE Backstage Facts About Cody Rhodes
1. He Wrestled In 36 Different Promotions In 2017
There isn’t a typo in the heading for this one.
Cody Rhodes competed for 36, T-H-I-R-T-Y-S-I-X different promotions in one calendar year. 2017 was a busy one for the American Nightmare; he kicked things off with a win against Juice Robinson at New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo, Japan and didn’t look back.
Despite a number of matches in the Far East, the new member of the Bullet Club found most of his success in Ring Of Honor, where he won the World title from Christopher Daniels at ROH Best In The World 2017. Add that to the wXw Shotgun, NEW Heavyweight, and BPW, A1 Tag Team straps and it was a pretty good year for Rhodes… even if most casual fans couldn’t tell you a thing about those promotions.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Cody was king of the indies at this time. Him leaving WWE gave fans unexpected matches like Cody Vs. Adam Cole, Jay Lethal, Keith Lee, Kurt Angle, Ricochet, Scorpio Sky, Swerve Strickland, Tommy Dreamer and more.
With WWE and AEW now the biggest wrestling brands by miles, it’s unlikely we’ll see a star go through the indies as vigorously as Cody did during 2017. You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.
One last thing: Cody had eight matches in WhatCulture Pro Wrestling in 2017 as well. Get in there!