This whole thing would bring a tear to Cody's eye upon reflecting on his year, but then a lot of things do, so perhaps that's not the best gauge.
What is, however, is the reaction 'The American Nightmare' received at WrestleMania, the Raw two nights later, just about every house show appearance shared on Twitter and especially in the gutsy and dramatic Hell In A Cell bruised t*tty classic.
Cody Rhodes has already had a vintage second WWE run and he only got three months in before suffering an injury. His comeback was an earthquake within the industry - wrestlers choosing to leave former utopian landscape AEW for the opposition still is, let alone EVPs and company founders considering the jump - but WWE uncharacteristically capitalised on it by bringing him in exactly as he was just weeks earlier on TNT and TBS. This felt like a wholesale show switch indicative of the new wrestling landscape Vince McMahon was desperately eager to suppress.
The chaos of 2022 in general underwrote the historic significance of his return, but his legacy was assured forever in the moment, and the general vibe around the soon-to-be-returning star is that within his new home he's only just getting started.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
