Ranking EVERY WWE Champion From Worst To Best
28. Cody Rhodes
At time of writing, Cody Rhodes has only very recently finished his story and began life on the one pro wrestling path his Father never walked, but WWE business surged on the journey enough to suggest that the destination will continue the boom.
Rhodes' real story is one of the most remarkable in North American history, with the fruits of his labour spread far and wide across the entire scene thanks to everything he left behind in AEW, Impact Wrestling and countless independent outfits. Of all the wrestlers to get the WrestleMania 40 curtain call, 'The American Nightmare' was one of the most deserving, and while it may well have all been under instruction as part of Triple H's aggressive "new era" marketing strategy, Cody's star shone too brightly to be envoeloped by a PR masterclass.
This has been the theme of his WWE run so far - the gamble of a lifetime to leave AEW was topped by WWE's own one to hold off on his title win for a year. In that time, Rhodes and the entire business only got hotter such was the desire to see him through to his rightful place atop the card eventually. He deserves all of this more than most, and long may the good times roll.