The New Cody Rhodes Documentary Looks Outstanding
That's one of the better documentary trailers I've ever seen right there. I need them to get this on Peacock (aka The Cock) ASAP.
Cody Rhodes walking out on a very lucrative WWE contract in 2016 to pursue the independent wrestling scene was a huge, HUUUGE deal.
Behind the scenes, he wasn't happy as 'Stardust' (the character he was portraying at the time) and knew he could be a top star in the company if given the opportunity. He expressed this to the powers that be, but they essentially told him they had no interest in letting him go back to being 'Cody Rhodes' on television, and were happy with his role, so he felt he had to take a chance and bet on himself. Some criticized him and predicted his downfall, while others hung in for the ride and let him cook….
Now, we hear someone asks for their WWE release and we don't even bat an eye, but it was genuinely shocking when Cody put out his statement about leaving the company at the time. Someone on his level pulling this was pretty much unheard of, because there wasn't just an AEW he could jump to back then.
Cody worked everywhere in those next few years, though. He went to Japan and worked the Tokyo Dome, he won World Championships in Ring of Honor, he worked the "indie darling" promotions like PWG and EVOLVE, he went to Impact for a quick run, and he even went to a shit ton of the mom and pop promotions on the scene; he literally worked the room where my high school PTA meetings were held in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey a few times.
Eventually, he teamed up with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks to put on a show called 'ALL IN' when Dave Meltzer suggested that an independent wrestling show couldn't sell over 10,000 tickets; that show sold over 11,000 tickets in about 30 minutes.
Right off the heels of that in 2018, Cody was instrumental in forming All Elite Wrestling alongside his 'ALL IN' partners and Tony Khan - and for the next four years, he helped build that company and bring it to the level that it's gotten to today.
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He smashed Triple H inspired thrones, took shots at his former employer pretty regularly, and seemed like the last person that would ever go back to the WWE…….until he showed up at WrestleMania 38 in Dallas.
They've been following him with cameras ever since, and if you know the WWE, you know they do one thing VERY right: and that's documentaries. They almost NEVER miss with these, and nowadays, when the week-to-week television show is pretty hit-or-miss, they're arguably the best content the company produces. This should be no exception, and in fact, looks incredible.
I think it's one of the best stories in all of wrestling, and I can't wait for it to be told on July 31st.
P.S. I still think Cody should've went over at WrestleMania last year. It was literally a perfect, stars-aligning moment that they passed on for absolutely no reason. Don't tell me Roman still needs the title, either, because he doesn't.
This Bloodline storyline is STILL the best thing going on WWE television, but the championship truly doesn't even factor into the story; it's all about family/being 'Head of the Table', not the title. Cody should've just 'Finished The Story' at Mania, making for a better ending to the whole storyline and a better ending to the documentary. I'm still absolutely stoked tho.