Cody Rhodes: American Storyteller
At its best, wrestling is cinema. And Cody Rhodes is the genre’s best writer, director, and producer of moments
Professional wrestling, while often maligned by those who routinely thumb their noses at things they do not understand, is performance art.
Combining elements of athleticism, theatre, soap opera, movie and television screenplays, the absolutely very best examples of professional wrestling tell extremely compelling stories on the level with the best HBO Sunday night dramas or the latest entry into the MCU.
And few wrestlers are better at crafting and telling those stories than the “American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes.
In a lot of ways Rhodes was lucky to inherent a backstory that would allow his matches to be draped in such rich tapestry.
The son of the legendary Dusty Rhodes, he also legendary for telling stories using his words and the mat as his pen and paper, Rhodes was a man of destiny, preloaded with an origin story that made people want to see and learn more.
But he also set out to write his own tales, weaving effortlessly between violence and drama, comedy and danger.
That Rhodes broke out on his own to forge his own path, a veritable wrestling Robert Frost, has only served to enrich the echoes and pathos of what he is trying to convey at any one moment.
Debuting in 2006, Rhodes quickly made his mark on WWE programming. An integral part of “Legacy”, a group of multi-generation wrestlers led by Randy Orton, Rhodes eventually broke off on his own and restored prestige to the lineage of the famed Intercontinental Championship.
However, a radical change in character wherein Rhodes wore face paint, hissed like a feral cat, and was billed as hailing from the “fifth dimension” (seriously) saw him eventually leave the company, disenfranchised and struggling to find his way in the ever changing landscape of wrestling.
At that moment, a time in which self doubt was at an all time high and confidence at a sub level low, it would have been easy to fold in the cards, take whatever chips were left, and head to find another game.
Instead, Cody Rhodes did what few have had the guts to do.
He bet on himself.
Breaking out of the WWE machine, Rhodes reinvented himself on the independent circuit, making his mark in the NWA, Impact Wrestling, and Ring Of Honor. He was, of course, famously a key component in the core group of wrestlers who helped launch All Elite Wrestling.
It was in AEW that Rhodes really rubber stamped his credentials as one of wrestling’s top attractions. “From Undesirable to Undeniable”, as he so famously dubbed it, Rhodes played a big role in getting the new company off the ground and running, elevating pay-per-view events as well as the company’s younger stars.
It was during that first pay-per-view offering for the company that Rhodes really announced himself as the premier storyteller in the world of pro wrestling, when he battled his real-life brother, the aging Dustin Rhodes in a bloody war.
Following a symbolic entrance wherein he smashed a throne with a sledgehammer while his wife Brandi yelled at him to “break it down”, Rhodes already had the sold out crowd standing and very much in the palm of his hands as he entered the ring prepared for war.
After months of bitter feuding came to a head, with Cody emerging victorious, the battered and beaten younger brother, with tears in his eyes and blood staining his face, approached his fellow flesh and blood, who was slumped in the corner, also beaten and bloody.
Through tears and choked back anguish, the younger Rhodes boy claimed he had an upcoming tag match, but didn’t need a partner. Didn’t need a friend.
“I need my older brother”, he stammered out, voice cracking and eyes welling.
The entire arena stood and cheered as Cody and his brother buried a significantly large hatchet and embraced in the centre of the ring in a moment that shows what storytelling through the medium of professional wrestling can be when elevated to the highest level.
And that’s the story Cody Rhodes has been authoring since 2019 or so. There have been countless moments that would have been enjoyable on their own. But the master stroke of his proverbial pen wherein he added layers to each story have served to elevate both the moments and the workers involved.
And because he’s become wrestling’s best yarn spinner, it’s not necessarily surprising that the next chapter in the saga is taking place back in World Wrestling Entertainment, where Rhodes returned following an extended absence a changed man, a more battle tested warrior.
His return to WWE has also seen him carry on the tradition of telling rich tales through the art of wrestling.
There was the historic, somewhat surprising return to Wrestlemania, the biggest stage in the industry. There was also a bloody and brutal war inside ”Hell In A Cell” with Seth Rollins wherein Rhodes wrestled the entire match with a torn pec.
To no surprise, Rhodes waited until the perfect moment wherein the pre-match crowd noise reached its crescendo of anticipation, before unsheathing his entrance jacket, revealing a large, ghastly purple trauma, one that was seemingly taking over the entire side of his upper body.
What followed was the authoring of another masterful fable, wherein Rhodes battled through a significant injury, the severity and obviousness serving as a target for his opponent. Pushing his body and his mind to the absolute breaking point and quite frankly going past it, Rhodes was able to fend of Rollins in a match of the year candidate before hitting the shelf for an extended absence to repair his war-beaten body and soul.
And so, given what we know about Rhodes and his penchant for rich storytelling, there was only ever going to be one place fitting for a return to the company: the Royal Rumble.
Prior to the annual January event, which serves as the official kick off to the “Wrestlemania Season”, Rhodes and the WWE began laying the foundation for a potential return with a series of well done vignettes highlighting the man both as a person and a competitor. The result was even more added layers and nuance to a story already rich with them. The vignettes served as highly effective storytelling, so much so that the crowd in San Antonio was at a fever-pitch when his theme music hit and he entered the over the top rope battle royal in the coveted 30th position.
Rhodes, of course, would go on to win the Rumble, putting him directly in line with Roman Reigns. Reigns is WWE’s most vaunted competitor. A Champion of over 900 days, he serves as arguably the most indomitable force ever produced by the wrestling federation. A veritable Mount Everest of a World Champion, so far unwilling to be knocked off his perch by a laundry list of seemingly worthy competitors who have all tried and failed to scale the mountain of a man.
Enter Rhodes, of course. It has to be Rhodes. In a lot of ways, it could only be Rhodes. It is, in a lot of ways, the only fitting end to the story for either men.
Reigns is unstoppable. Rhodes is undeniable. It has all been leading to this. It has always been leading to this.
Every good story needs its protagonist and antagonist. It needs a reason. It needs stakes. And it also needs its lineage.
The aforementioned Dusty Rhodes is a legendary pro wrestling figure who has contributed countless great things to the business. And while his time in WWE isn’t exactly what his career was best known for, his legacy and impact in the company is considerable. He was a popular on-screen character, competing for the company throughout the eighties. And while he was always a fan-favourite, “The American Dream” was never able to climb the top of the WWE (then WWF) mountain and claim the World Championship for the Vince McMahon led company.
More recently, it was his contributions to the company behind the scenes that are bearing countless, plentiful bushes of proverbial fruit. Following the conclusion of his in-ring career, Dusty joined the WWE in a coach role, mentoring several of the company’s current stars on their way to the top.
One of his prized pupils? One Roman Reigns.
And so the son, building on the legacy crafted by his father before him, attempts to dethrone the summit of professional wrestling, the immoveable object known as Roman Reigns, who just so happens to the most success student of said opponent’s father.
If it had happened in a non-scripted sports environment, you’d likely have heard the phrase “you couldn’t have written this any better”. Except, in this instance, it was written. It was conceived, crafted, edited, and whittled into pro wrestling’s hottest story in years.
And it was brought to life, in large part, by pro wrestling’s most skilled storyteller.
Make no mistake, at its core, wrestling is cinema. When done at its very best, wrestling is a love story.
And Cody Rhodes is authoring one of the most intimately sincere love stories ever told.
