It’s been well over a year since Cody Rhodes was granted his release from WWE. Since that time, “Cody,” or “The American Nightmare,” if you prefer, has pretty much done everything one can do in pro wrestling outside of WWE. He blew through his dream list of matches and events in no time at all, and then the real work began.
Cody has won titles in multiple promotions, including capturing the prestigious Ring of Honor World Championship, which he still holds. He’s challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. He joined the Bullet Club. He was Kurt Angle’s final opponent on the indies. He’s been in a blood feud with Joey Ryan’s “Stardong.” The dude even has his own wine.
But through it all, Rhodes never signed with a company officially to any sort of permanent or full-time or exclusive deal. He spent some time in Impact, then finished up. He weaned himself off the indies and pretty much started working only for ROH and New Japan. Back in April, reports came out that Cody had signed with ROH, but he quickly and loudly refuted those reports.
Well, almost half a year later, we finally have a contract. Ring of Honor sent out a press release confirming that Rhodes has agreed to terms, and he was expected to officially sign on the dotted line during this past weekend’s ROH television tapings at Sam’s Town in Las Vegas.
The full press release:
September 23, 2017 – LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – After an incredible run like no other this past year that saw Cody compete all around the world in promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, The Crash, APW, PWA Canada, and Northeast Wrestling just to name a few, The American Nightmare has decided to ink a domestically exclusive contract with Ring of Honor Wrestling, where Cody is currently the World Heavyweight Champion. The official signing of this contract will take place tonight at the ROH Television Tapings at Sam’s Town in Las Vegas and it will air in October.
Just one month ago on Dinner with The King (Jerry Lawler’s Podcast), Cody stated “Ring of Honor hates the fact that I genuinely remained a free agent; I did not sign a contract with them. I signed on for various dates, and I have many dates left with them. I really like Ring of Honor. But I’m not going to be exclusive anywhere. I did exclusive.” After much deliberation, the hottest free agent in professional wrestling has had a change of heart.
When asked about this, Cody said “I grew up in this business, I’ve seen its peaks and valleys…I know we are entering an unprecedented time in pro wrestling/sports entertainment and it’s time to put my flag in the sand. Joe Koff and his team put together such a generous offer…with some non-wrestling projects on the horizon that I hope to announce soon, and the potential of starting a family down the road…it was a perfect fit. Myself, Marty Scurll, Hangman Page, Matt and Nick Jackson…it’s the dream team…like the 1992 dream team. I have several goals in mind for myself and for ROH and I can’t wait to get started.”
The exact terms and length of the deal cannot be disclosed, but it is the most generous offer in Ring of Honor history and Cody will be in an ROH ring for the next several years. Cody will still be able to compete internationally around the world while calling ROH his home base. He will also continue to work with New Japan Pro Wrestling who has a partnership with ROH.
Ring of Honor General Manager Greg Gilleland said, “When Cody first started competing in ROH, we knew we wanted him to be exclusive, but respected his wishes to try out the rest of the industry. Finalizing this deal is another big step in his career and a great step in the continued development of the Ring of Honor brand, delivering the best, real professional wrestling to a rapidly growing and the most passionate fanbase around the world.”
In addition to his in-ring activities, Cody’s brand continues to grow with recent appearances on the CW hit series ARROW opposite Stephen Amell playing the character Derek Sampson and several non-wrestling projects on the horizon. Cody is also a collaborator at the Nocking Point Winery and has his American Nightmare t-shirts in Hot Topics throughout the US and Canada.
Due to ROH’s partnership with New Japan, Cody will remain in the Bullet Club and will continue to work NJPW as often as his schedule will allow (and more importantly, as often as he wants to). Not much will change about how he’s been operating for most of this year, but he’s now officially off the market. For how long, we’re not sure yet, but he’s got job security. (Not that he was in any danger of not being in demand.)
