10 Wrestling Feuds That Borrowed From Unlikely Inspirations
7. Cody Rhodes: TNT Champion (John Cena: US Champion)
Cody's 2020 reign as TNT Champion ranged from solid-to-excellent thanks to both the in-ring action and the angles he built in the background.
Wins over Eddie Kingston, Jungle Boy, Marc Quen and Ricky Starks were of dependable quality, and at times captured the AEW EVP embracing the b*stard within himself to retain, saving big celebrations for himself, and tacitly teasing an eventual slaughtering by Brodie Lee and powerful at-long-last loss to Darby Allin.
The weekly title defence gimmick wasn't invented by John Cena, but the micro and macro storytelling was present during his own fantastic 2015 run with the United States Championship. Seth Rollins, Neville, Cesaro and especially Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn found their short-to-medium term arcs impacted by their evocative interactions with 'The Champ' on Mondays, not least when the matches became the undisputed highlights of the show.
Cody, as Stardust, was one of the first to accept the open challenge. The pair put forth the sort of quality offering the TNT Champion is attempting with his own take on the tale.