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Ever since his departure from the WWE in 2016, Cody Rhodes' Pro Wrestling career has turned completely upside down and 'The Grandson of a Plumber' has successfully proved the fact that there is a lot more to life after WWE if wrestlers are initially not able to reach the star-studded status in the first place.
Following his firing from the WWE almost two years, Cody has gone on to become arguably the hottest performer on the Independent Circuit where he initially started out with promotions such as Evolve Wrestling, GFW, PWG (where Cody competed in the Battle of Los Angeles Tournament), and WCPW (where Cody previously held the WCPW Internet Championship).
Elsewhere, Cody's success on the mainstream global circuit has been immense as well. Shortly after his departure from the WWE, Cody successfully achieved what many wrestlers could only dream of and that is to join The Bullet Club. Billed as 'The American Nightmare', Cody's journey with The Bullet Club has been absolutely outstanding so far, given the fact that the former WWE star has performed for Impact Wrestling and is currently under contract with NJPW and ROH, as well.
Ever since stepping into Ring of Honor, Cody's career has only headed into the right direction, as the former WWE Intercontinental Champion became the first member from the Rhodes Family since Dusty Rhodes to win a World Championship, when Cody captured the ROH World Title way back in 2017.
And throughout these past two years, 'The American Nightmare' has already competed in some absolutely high-profiled singles, tag, and multi-man matches and therefore, let us now take a look at some of Cody Rhodes' best matches since his departure from the WWE.
#10 Cody vs Robbie Eagles vs Will Ospreay - NJPW Fallout Down Under, 2018
New Japan Pro Wrestling's tour of Australia earlier in the year, was the promotion's one of many notable highlights and during this tour, not only did the entire country of Australia get to witness several mouthwatering matches but NJPW fans, in general, were treated to some absolutely awesome showdowns.
The local talents who were on display during this tour were truly impressive and one man who had the privilege of sharing the ring with two of the worlds' very best was Aussie upstart Robbie Eagles.
Having won championships with promotions such as MCW, BMPW, and Newcastle Pro Wrestling, Eagles has been enjoying a pretty highly decorated career in Australia so far, however, getting to share the ring with then-IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay and former Ring of Honor World Champion Cody is an achievement in itself.
This three-way bout between Cody, Ospreay, and Eagles had the pace, precision, and heart-thrilling fast pace action featuring all three men. Eagles and Ospreay, in particular, were both super impressive as they took full advantage of being a Jr. Heavyweight. Meanwhile, Cody used his clever heel shenanigans to his advantage throughout the match and eventually earned the victory for himself in a very clever manner.
#9 Cody Rhodes vs Drew McIntyre - WCPW Pro Wrestling World Cup, 2017
Both Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre have a lot of history with each other, I mean after all the two men once held the WWE Tag Team Championships alongside each other. But that is a thing of the past and the two men have certainly enjoyed an immense amount of success in their post-WWE career.
This clash between Cody and McIntyre was the latter's final match before his return to the WWE and the two men exceeded all expectations and put together an all-out war. The two initially started off this bout with an obligatory handshake, as McIntyre started things off in a very physical manner and took the fight to Cody.
Despite the size disadvantage, a resilient Cody Rhodes did all he could and took the fight to the Scottish Psychopath, who throughout the contest used his massive size to brutalize Cody. The outside interference from Brandi Rhodes was also another solid touch to the entire match, as both Mr. and Mrs. Nightmare, at one point, went through a table and to add up to things, we also witnessed another outside interference from Drake.
This eventually led to Stu Bennett's involvement in the match, as the former WWE star left his commentary seat to take out Drake all on his own and thus led to a clean finish with Cody subsequently defeating Drew McIntyre via a roll-up pin.
#8 Cody Rhodes vs Kota Ibushi II - Wrestling Dontaku, 2018
This Wrestle Kingdom 12 rematch between Cody Rhodes and Kota Ibushi was another fine wrestling match where both competitors once again laid it all out on the line, much like their first meeting at the January 4 Tokyo Dome show.
Ibushi, who at that point was stuck in the middle of a Bullet Club Civil War, started off this match with a vengeance in his mind, as he worked on Cody's neck in the initial stages of the contest. The two men started off things a bit slow, but the match picked up its pace once Ibushi hit the Golden Triangle and the two men began exchanging strikes in the middle of the ring.
Cody then took advantage of a ref bump and took out a table from underneath, however, things did not go the exact way Cody was hoping for as Ibushi then stomped right through The American Nightmare onto the table and that too on two different occasions.
Cody, whose back by this point was pretty messed up, then suffered the wrath of a Golden Star Powerbomb, but eventually kicked out of it. But, this led to another magnificent spot from Ibushi who hit a big dive to the outside over the guardrail and on to Cody.
Minutes later, both men were back in the ring as Cody hit the Cross Rhodes only for Ibushi to kick-out at two. The former ROH World Champ then hit a Vertebreaker for the three-count and the win.
#7 Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay, Jay Briscoe, and Mark Briscoe) - NJPW/ROH: Honor Rising, 2017
Despite two big championship matches taking place earlier in the night, this eight-man bout between two of NJPW's top factions was arguably the most awaited match from NJPW/ROH: Honor Rising, 2017.
After all, this match featured eight of the very best athletes representing the NJPW and ROH roster and the elements and detailing of this bout was excellent, to say the least. There is no doubt that Kenny Omega is capable of putting together a good match with almost anyone and that's exactly what happened when he stepped into the ring with Ospreay and the two Briscoes and most importantly against Kazuchika Okada.
Meanwhile, the in-ring chemistry between The Bucks and The Briscoes has been brilliant for all these years as well and the two teams once again proved why they've been billed as two of ROH's best tag teams so far. Cody and Ospreay also had some outstanding exchanges throughout the match and at one point the former executed a giant superplex to the outside taking out every single competitor.
This bout was action-packed right from the get-go and all four men had their fair share of the action with Cody eventually picking up the win by pinning Ospreay via the Cross Rhodes.
#6.Cody Rhodes vs Marty Scurll - WCPW Loaded, 2017
These two men may currently be stablemates in the Bullet Club, but back in early 2017, both Cody Rhodes and Marty Scurll couldn't see eye to eye and prior to their WCPW Internet Championship match, the two men had already faced-off against each other at the 2016 PWG: Battle of Los Angeles.
The bout started off with some technical mat wrestling between the two, as early on in the match, Cody gave the gun taunt hand gesture to Scurll, who in response, gave the DX Suck It gesture to The American Nightmare. As the match progressed, The Villain did what he always does best and taunted Cody after executing every single move, however, this cockiness eventually cost Scurll during the match as Cody found a massive opening with a Superplex from the top rope.
After a solid bit of exchange (and a ref bump, of course) Marty Scurll decided to hit Cody with a low-blow (returning the favor to Mr. Nightmare) and hit the champ with his own move, the Cross Rhodes. However, Scurll wasn't able to keep Cody down for the three-count, as The Villian then proceeded to hit the Crossface Chickenwing, only for the former to counter it into a Cross Rhodes and thus leading to a win for The American Nightmare.
#5 Cody Rhodes vs Kota Ibushi - Wrestle Kingdom 12, 2018
Wrestle Kingdom 12 was one of the most heavily stacked cards NJPW has ever lined up and despite featuring the likes of Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, and Hiroshi Tanahashi on the match-card, the likes of Cody Rhodes and Kota Ibushi did not fail to live up to their expectations in a star-studded singles match at the Tokyo Dome.
This was the first meeting between Cody Rhodes and Kota Ibushi in a wrestling ring also marked the beginning of The Bullet Club Civil War between Cody and Kenny Omega. The match itself ended up being an absolutely stellar contest and also remains as Cody's best performance in an NJPW ring, in my opinion.
As usual, The American Nightmare's heel antics worked absolutely brilliantly for him as the crowd heavily reacted to Cody with loud boos, whereas, Kota Ibushi was treated as the ultimate babyface. Coming into this match, several people doubted Cody's abilities to have a good match in the Tokyo Dome, but The American Nightmare proved everyone wrong with this contest and also rolled up his middle finger in order to silence all his critics.
#4 Cody Rhodes vs Kazuchika Okada - NJPW: G1 Specials in the US, 2017
For all the criticism that Cody Rhodes has been receiving since arriving in NJPW and ROH for his in-ring performances, this bout just straight up proved that The American Nightmare is certainly more than capable of hanging in the ring with all the big boys.
This IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs ROH World Champion bout is an absolute instant classic, with both Cody and Okada wrestling each other back-and-forth and trading some absolutely hard hitting shots.
Regardless of all the in-ring work, the character work from both men (not only just from Cody), but from Okada as well, was just outstanding and the big story that came out from this match was the intensity in the build-up to the feud between Cody and Omega.
After Cody initially attempted to throw in the towel for Omega at Dominion in his IWGP Heavyweight Title bout against Okada, this time it was The Best Bout Machine's turn to throw in the towel for a battered Cody Rhodes. However, Cody's wife Brandi did not let that happen as it eventually led to Cody throwing the towel on Omega's face instead as a sign of disrespect.
A possessed Cody Rhodes then went to his limits and looked to cause the major upset, by trying to hit the One-Winged Angel and then defeat Okada, but that right there was the big difference as the champion countered it into a Rainmaker and retained his title belt.
#3 Cody Rhodes vs Kenny Omega (II) - NJPW: G1 Specials in San Francisco
Following a somewhat disappointing bout at ROH: Supercard of Honor earlier in the year, both Cody and Omega were determined to put together a match for the ages, as The Best Bout Machine looked forward to his first successful IWGP Heavyweight Title defense.
Unlike their first bout, this match was rather a lot more physical and hard-hitting as both Omega and Cody took each other to their limits, with the latter giving his best in order to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title, in what was his second attempt to capture the belt. Throughout the bout, there were absolutely gruesome spots with one of them being an insane superplex off the top of a ladder.
Eventually, it was Omega who came out on top and was victorious in his hard-fought win over Cody and what followed next was absolute chaos, as we witness another split within The Bullet Club, this time the trio of Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Haku forming The Firing Squad and beating up The Elite.
This eventually also led to Cody and Omega once again making peace with each other, as we witnessed a newly reformed Bullet Club Elite.
#2 Cody Rhodes vs Christopher Daniels - ROH: Best in the World, 2017
We all knew that this was a long time coming, but when it finally happened it was nothing short of historic. At ROH: Best in the World, 2017, former WWE superstar Cody Rhodes finally had his shot at the Ring of Honor World Title against then-champion Christopher Daniels.
Heading into this match, several fans already knew that it was going to be Cody Rhodes' night, however, fans did not entirely count out Daniels from the bout, as we witnessed a good, solid wrestling match between the two superstars. Regardless of the outside interference from Marty Scurll, who ran down to the ring with a steel chair in hand in order to help Cody win the title, this match was an instant classic, to say the least.
In the closing stages, finishers were exchanged between both men and Cody finally hit the second Cross Rhodes of the match for the win and became the first Rhodes to win a World Title in 31 years.
#1 Cody Rhodes vs Nick Aldis - All In, 2018
Speaking of Cinderella Stories, could it get any better than this one? The visual of a bloody face Cody Rhodes holding the same NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship that his father, the legendary Dusty Rhodes once held several years ago.
Not only did Cody and The Young Bucks' self-financed All In event change the entire Professional Wrestling world, but it also proved to be the biggest turning point in Cody Rhodes' career. Cody's win over Nick Aldis at All In is certainly going to go down as one of the biggest world title wins in the history of Pro Wrestling, with two men laying it all out on the line for the 10 Pounds of Gold.
Till date, this match arguably remains as the most iconic bout of Cody's career so far and will also go down as one of the most memorable wins' in The American Nightmare's career.
