Former WWE Intercontinental Champion sends message to Cody Rhodes after title win on AEW Rampage

While many fans expressed their displeasure with the AEW Rampage main event which saw Cody Rhodes emerge victorious, Matt Cardona had a different message for The American Nightmare.

The former WWE Intercontinental and United States Champion took to Twitter to congratulate Cody Rhodes on his historic win. Cardona shared a brief message and applauded his friend.

Rhodes' triumph on Saturday was remarkable for multiple reasons. First, he made history by becoming the first three-time champion in AEW history. He was the inaugural TNT Champion, and his second reign ended at AEW Full Gear 2020.

Plus, fans have been furiously debating the result of the match. Many viewers believe that Rhodes is working the fans and the TNT Championship is just another means of executing a long-awaited heel turn. That being said, others believe that Sammy Guevara, the man he beat for the title, should have retained the gold.

It's fair to argue that The Spanish God had a subpar run with the championship, through no fault of his own. He had great matches against the likes of Jay Lethal and Tony Nese, but he didn't have a storyline that made his reign feel particularly important.

Cody Rhodes and Matt Cardona are friends in real life; the latter rescued The American Nightmare from the Dark Order during his brief AEW run. As a result, it's not surprising to see that the former Zack Ryder reached out to congratulate Rhodes.

---

Will Cody Rhodes bring the open title challenge back to AEW?

One of the best parts of AEW during the pandemic era was Cody Rhodes' run with the TNT Championship. Many fans enjoyed his weekly open challenge for the title, where anybody from any company could step up and challenge the champion.

While nobody succeeded in dethroning Rhodes, the open challenge brought Eddie Kingston and Ricky Starks to AEW. Despite their respective losses to the champion, both men have become big stars since they signed with Tony Khan's promotion.

If Rhodes brought back the open challenge, it would generate a lot of buzz for the company, considering the depth of talent on the free agent market. Names like Keith Lee, Johnny Gargano and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott could step up and face the champion.

No matter what, the next person to win the TNT Championship from a star clearly hated by the fans will immediately get a boost. Based on the generally negative response to The American Nightmare's win, the audience will likely be happy to see him lose the title.