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When Cody Rhodes departed WWE in 2016, he embarked upon a journey that culminated with the birth of AEW. Six since his WWE release and three years since AEW opened its doors, pretty much all Cody-related rumours point towards his shocking return to Vince McMahon's promotion.
Diamond Dallas Page insists WWE should recognise Cody Rhodes if he signs with the company. The Hall of Famer spoke with Fightful about Cody's impact on AEW, naming his match against older brother Dustin as the one to put AEW on the map:
"If he does end up in WWE, if that does happen, they need to put his a-- over strong, then he can do whatever you want him to do, but you need to put him over strong, he's coming over with an impact and, again, I don't know if he's going to go there or not. But, hopefully, that's something that's going to be done, but what he didn't have for that company, the company was made on the Rhodes-Rhodes match." (from 65:28 to 66:01)
DDP is part of the star-studded panel for the first-ever Sportskeeda Wrestling Awards. You can join him and other experts in determining the biggest winners of 2021 by casting your vote in the link here.
Cody Rhodes never had a main event run in WWE
Cody never found his main event stride in WWE despite being a second-generation superstar. Instead, The American Nightmare found success only at midcard and tag team level, winning the Intercontinental and tag titles.
Towards the end of his WWE tenure, Rhodes slipped further down the card into the jobber role of Stardust. The gimmick killed momentum for Cody, serving as a ball and chain for the grandson of a plumber who had high aspirations.
Since his WWE release, Cody Rhodes changed the landscape of wrestling, crafting a profitable market out of independent wrestling, birthing AEW, and proving he did indeed have a place in the main event. The Cody Rhodes that left WWE in 2016 is a far cry from the Cody Rhodes we know today.
