What’s the story?
In a recent radio interview with 107.7 The Bone in California, Cody Rhodes provided an interesting concept that the WWE had for him. Once they completed brand split, the idea would be for Stardust to work one brand and Cody Rhodes to work the other.
In case you didn’t know...
Cody has an interesting deal that enables him to work on both Ring Of Honor and Impact Wrestling at the same time. It is not a sight rare for someone to work for more than one company at the same time, but it is an unheard phenomenon when two of those companies have television deals.
The heart of the matter...
Unfortunately, there was a veto on the idea and Cody further explained in this quote:
“At one point the plan was for me to be Stardust on one brand, and Cody Rhodes on another brand. I thought that was a really great idea. Absolutely wanted to do it! Everybody wanted to do it except for one person who will remain nameless, but that one person has the main vote.”
More than likely that one person was Vince McMahon since he has the final say on Monday Night Raw and Smackdown Live’s creative.
The interview also proves that the talent knew about the brand split a few months ahead of time. The release of Cody happened in May 2016, with the brand split officially occurring that July.
What’s next?
Cody will take part in the Ring of Honor/New Japan Pro Wrestling’s War Of the Worlds tour and pay per view, which will take place from May 7th to 14th. Cody will also take part in the G1 Climax Tournament for New Japan in July.
Author’s take...
That would have been truly phenomenal to see. If only the brand split was sooner on the horizon, then possibly Cody would have wanted to stay to let that idea play out.
I really hope that Cody and the WWE can mend the fences in the end so he can return to the WWE in the same vein as Drew McIntyre. With Drew, he proved himself as a main event player around the world before returning to NXT where all signs point to him feuding with Bobby Roode in Brooklyn.
Cody is already on that same path with prominent roles in Impact Wrestling, Ring Of Honor, and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Maybe a comeback that starts in NXT would finally get Cody the main event recognition he deserves within the WWE.
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