11 Ups & 4 Downs From ALL IN 2018

6. What This Means

Cody Rhodes NWA Heavyweight
ALL IN

Winning the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship was a huge moment for Cody. This is, of course, the very same belt his father fought many legendary battles for decades ago. Its history is almost unfathomably deep, but while the entire NWA organisation has faded into the abyss since the territories collapsed, the group has just fallen into a goldmine.

Cody is the perfect NWA Champion. The man's a star, and his title win was executed perfectly. His highlight reel victory was emotional and exciting: not only for himself, but for the brand he now represents.

With all due respect to Nick Aldis, he was never going to be the guy to help the NWA claw out of the murk. Cody is. He's a major international star who'll give the brand huge exposure whenever he appears for ROH or NJPW, and the belt gains boatloads of prestige from him holding it alone. This should create a groundswell of support for the group, and if handled correctly, there's no reason that Cody can't help Billy Corgan and Dave Lagana reach their goals.

The NWA will never be the name in professional wrestling again, but with a Rhodes as their lynchpin, there's no reason they can't be a name once more.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.