10 Things Cody Rhodes Achieved From The List
3. PWG Battle Of Los Angeles (2016)
Being an entrant in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's Battle of Los Angeles tournament is the key principle to making it as an independent wrestler.
The tourney weekender is a hive of the most transcendent grapplers. Of the 15 winners thus far, five are currently with WWE, while Major League Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling both have two signed, and All Elite Wrestling and Ring of Honor currently house one winner apiece.
Cody, upon realising this, wanted a teaser of the BOLA atmosphere, competing in two matches as part of the 2016 offering. What made his debut venture to the intimate American Legion Post venue was that both of those encounters offered something unique to its audiences.
Night 2's outing against Sami Callihan saw Rhodes don his infamous face mask from his 'Dashing' days in WWE, while Callihan covered his face with a Space Cat mask. They wrestled the sort of super indie match that you'd expect from a traditional PWG event. Meanwhile, Cody's second-round match vs. eventual tournament winner Marty Scurll leaned more towards the sports entertainment heading. It had only one or two high spots, plus Cody was Superkicked in the d*ck (Superd*cked, anyone?) while Brandi Rhodes was, inadvertently, distracting the referee.
He was varied in the tournament, with this later being shown in AEW's inaugural TNT Title tourney, too.