The Final Battle pay-per-view held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Friday night marked the Ring of Honor debut of Cody Rhodes and the former WWE superstar left no stone unturned in making it a memorable one for himself and his fans.
Rhodes’ opponent at the pay-per-view was none other than former ROH World Champion, Jay Lethal, who is among the most experienced campaigners for the promotion. The match was an intensely fought battle for most of its’ duration but it was towards the end that things took a major twist.
Cody applied his American Nightmare submission hold on Lethal but the latter managed to grab the ropes, forcing his opponent to break the hold. During one of his multiple attempts to pin ‘The Greatest First Generation Wrestler’, Rhodes bumped into referee Todd Sinclair and sent him crashing into the ring post.
With the referee’s back turned, the former WWE Intercontinental Champion decided to capitalise and delivered a low blow to Jay Lethal. He followed it up with his Cross Rhodes finishing manoeuvre and achieved his first Ring of Honor win. One of the fans posted a tweet which showed a GIF of Rhodes’ actions in the closing stages of the match.
In what appeared to be a ‘heel’ turn for him, Cody poked fun at the promotion’s Code of Honor before showing the middle finger to Lethal and overturning the judges’ table. The streamers that had descended on the ring to celebrate his win were thrown at the crowd by the superstar.
Cody Rhodes also snatched a cup full of beer from one of the fans and poured out its contents on referee Sinclair. Just when it looked like Cody was done for the night as he headed backstage, he stormed back to the ringside area and pushed popular ROH commentator Steve Corino to the floor near the announce table.
The following tweet posted by a fan shows Rhodes shoving Corino aside:
If anything, Cody Rhodes’ actions at Final Battle surely suggest that he is here to stay as a part of the Ring of Honor roster. By doing what he did, the former WWE superstar has certainly set up a platform for some compelling storylines for himself going forward.
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