Which current WWE Superstar did Cody Rhodes make his debut against 17 years ago?

Cody Rhodes became the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion on Night Two of WrestleMania XL after defeating Roman Reigns in a "Bloodline Rules" match. The American Nightmare finished his story 17 years after making his official WWE debut.

On July 2, 2007, Rhodes appeared for the first time on WWE RAW, becoming part of the segment including his late father, Dusty Rhodes, and Randy Orton. Two weeks later, Cody made his in-ring debut and lost to The Viper via pinfall.

The American Nightmare then appeared at The Great American Bash to prevent Orton from attacking his father. During the episode of RAW the following night, Cody lost to The Legend Killer again and the latter hit the late Dusty Rhodes with a Punt Kick.

Cody Rhodes spent nine years with WWE before leaving the Stamford-based promotion in 2016. He then returned to the company at WrestleMania 38 in 2022 and finished his story at WrestleMania XL last week.

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Cody Rhodes praised Randy Orton for being a mentor to him

Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton have created a strong friendship ever since their early days in WWE. The two stars even worked together during their Legacy days and The Viper has been a mentor to The American Nightmare for quite a long while.

Rhodes recently opened up about why he had a special relationship with Orton and praised him for everything he had done for him over the years.

"At the end of the match, Randy said to me, 'Thanks for the phone call.' And I wanted to tell him, 'Thanks for my career.' I keep thinking this is going to end, right? I couldn't have got to where I got had I not been around Randy. Randy...you hear all these funny stories about him and all this nonsense. But as a performer, a professional wrestler, a WWE Superstar, what an astounding mentor he was to me. Truly. I'll never forget standing in the ring at the Royal Rumble when he won, pointing at the star WrestleMania sign and just thinking like, 'I want to be like him,'" Cody Rhodes said. [H/T WrestlingINC]

Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton could potentially collide for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on SmackDown now that The American Nightmare will move to the blue brand after becoming the champion. The Viper could be one of the first challengers of Cody.