Pectoral muscle torn clean off the bone? Doesn’t matter. In agonising pain just standing still or taking a breath? No worries. Torso bruised beyond belief? Meh. Cody Rhodes withstood it all to put forth a performance for the ages last week.
The American Nightmare’s Hell In A Cell victory over Seth Rollins was heralded as an instant classic, and with very good reason. It was the former Intercontinental Champion’s finest hour in a WWE ring. And it got us thinking: What are Cody Rhodes’ five greatest WWE matches?
Of course, Rhodes put on innumerable bangers during his AEW run. The 2019 match of the year with his older brother Dustin. That final ladder match against Sammy Guevara for the TNT Title. Then there was the dog collar match with the late, great Brodie Lee. Not to mention titanic battles with Wardlow, Chris Jericho, Andrade, MJF, Malakai Black and even Shaq.
Yet, his previous WWE run is not remembered as vividly for its in-ring masterpieces. This, of course, isn’t really due to Rhodes’ shortcomings. Instead, the booking of him in his latter stages with the company left a lot to be desired. And lest we forget, during his formative years, he was used to running distraction alongside Ted DiBiase Jr for Randy Orton.
But this is not to say that the youngest of the Rhodes brothers didn’t tear it up on a regular basis during his initial WWE tenure. Trawling through the archives on WWE Network, there are still plenty of treasures to be unearthed.
But what made our final cut for Cody Rhodes’ five greatest WWE matches? Well, given that Sunday’s cell match has been declared as his ‘finest hour’ earlier in this article, we’re going to give you five more choices on top of that. Not including the once Dashing One’s previous two outings against Rollins since the WrestleMania return bout.
So, in no particular order, here are Cody Rhodes’ five greatest WWE matches from his original run…
Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton: Streetfight, SmackDown, Nov 2011
After Legacy disbanded in 2010, there was still business to be done with Randy Orton. At the tail end of 2011, then Intercontinental Champion Rhodes faced off with his former leader in a non-title streetfight. While he may have come up short, it was a sterling effort from the IC champ, going almost 20 minutes on television with The Viper in a wild brawl reminiscent of so many of the ones his older brother and father became synonymous with throughout their storied careers.
While the fight spilt into the crowd, up the entrance ramp and around ringside, this was a bout that displayed just how accomplished the then Un-Dashing Cody Rhodes had become as an in-ring technician. Also, this SmackDown encounter was further proof of how solid a character worker the future Nightmare was becoming with the Dashing/Un-Dashing gimmick. A real precursor of what was to come in later years here.
Cody Rhodes vs Rey Mysterio, WrestleMania 27
The very definition of a ‘sleeper’ match. ‘Mania 27 is perhaps best remembered for The Rock and John Cena laying the foundation for their main event a year later. Elsewhere on the show, you had Triple H and The Undertaker destroying each other. But the real treasure was to be found wedged into the undercard. Randy Orton and CM Punk put together an excellent piece of work, but Rhodes, meanwhile, was perhaps putting on the finest solo performance of his career to date at this point. And it came against a bona fide legend.
Watching Rhodes’ 2011 transformation and his rivalries with Mysterio and Orton, it’s easy to decipher where everything began slotting into place for him. No longer a tag team act, he was now shining on his own and managing to hang with some of the very best in the game.
This ‘Mania match has been slept on for too long, yet it tells a simple story, focusing on Rhodes’ revenge mission against a Mysterio whose knee brace ruined his ‘Dashing’ face. Rhodes cuts off Rey’s offence sublimely well, with perfectly nuanced aggression and timing, before bringing the story full circle by utilising the mask to get the victory.
Cody Rhodes vs John Cena: US Title Open Challenge Match, Raw, June 2015
OK, so this match did arrive during the much-maligned Stardust era. But don’t allow a questionable gimmick put you off what is a very strong, competitive television title match. Cena’s time as US Champion was a ton of fun, never more so than during the early days of his open challenges. He threw the doors open to the likes of Cesaro and Sami Zayn, promptly putting on bangers every week. Then along came Stardust from the fifth dimension.
In truth, Cody may have had stronger singles efforts than this. However, this match coming during his final 12 months with WWE perhaps allows it to be overlooked. Rhodes has long stated he wasn’t at his best during this period. Yet this is still a fine outing with the biggest star of the last 20 years. The pair get plenty of time, going a nudge over 13 minutes, and share near-falls aplenty, with the crowd gripped by the contest from start to finish.
You could argue that maybe the match with Orton from Raw in 2013 is more deserving of a place here, but sod it, Orton’s already got his spot on the list.
Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes vs The Shield (Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins): Tag Team Title Match, Raw, 2013
Alongside his brother Dustin, Cody put on the finest work of his initial run with the ‘E. It culminated with this electric, no-disqualification Tag Team Title match against The Shield. Having waged war against The Authority for much of 2013, the Rhodes brothers finally began to gain the upper hand in the rivalry towards the close of the year.
First, by regaining their jobs in a white-hot encounter at Battleground, then by usurping the Hounds of Justice as tag champs a little over a week later.
This 20-minute battle did involve a few outside interference shenanigans, with Dean Ambrose and the Big Show becoming involved. Still, given the No DQ stipulation, they didn’t really detract from what was an outstanding tag team match. When stories culminate as perfectly as this, they deserve repeated viewings, and this is a battle you can go back to time and time again. Sensational work from all involved.
Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes vs The Shield (Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins): Battleground 2013
So, about that aforementioned ‘white-hot encounter’ at Battleground, in 2013. Here it is. That Seth Rollins really cannot stay away, can he? Everything he and the junior Rhodes touch turns to gold. And almost ten years ago, they produced magic in this stone-cold classic. With their careers on the line, the Rhodes brothers generated huge babyface reactions as they railed against The Authority. They had family honour to avenge and jobs to reclaim.
This feud pinpoints when you can say, “that’s the Cody Rhodes we know today”. He was primed for superstardom at this point, yet it never quite materialised during this era. That it didn’t is probably for the best, as it gave rise to his adventures across the independents, New Japan, Ring of Honor and, of course, AEW. He returned a far bigger superstar than he left.
But there is still a sense of ‘what might have been’ when watching this bout. The term ‘over like rover’ springs to mind coming down the finishing stretch, with the 11,000-strong crowd in Buffalo coming unglued for the Rhodes brothers fighting the good fight. When that victory bell sounds, you could be forgiven for believing this was the final step that propelled Cody into the WWE Title scene.
A decade later, the former NWA World Champion is primed for that spot. Given his current injury status, he’ll have to wait a little while longer. But it’s coming. Victorious Royal Rumble return and WrestleMania title coronation, anyone?
Featured Image Credit: WWE
