WWE's Cody Rhodes pens heartfelt note following former ROH COO Joe Koff's passing

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes looks back to when he worked in Ring of Honor with the promotion's former Chief Operating Officer, Joe Koff, after news broke about his passing. He was 73 years of age.

Joe Koff was the Ring of Honor COO from September 2011 to May 2022, until AEW's Tony Khan bought the promotion. Koff was instrumental in its success. In the last decade, ROH expanded its reach with pay-per-views, weekly television shows, and collaborations with New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Koff also joined hands with Rhodes and the Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson) to produce All In. Taking to X, WWE's poster boy shared a heartfelt post, acknowledging the influence the late veteran had in his career:

"Joe Koff. Really great man that I learned a lot from and was always happy/lucky to be in his presence. All love to his family," Cody Rhodes wrote.

A month before ROH was sold to Tony Khan in 2022, Cody returned to World Wrestling Entertainment at WrestleMania 38. Within the next two years, he cemented his position as the face of the company in which at one point in time, it appeared impossible for him to get there.

Sportskeeda Wrestling sends our love and prayers to Joe Koff's family and friends.

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Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther booked for WWE Crown Jewel

The world champions of SmackDown and RAW will square off for the Crown Jewel Championship at the eponymous premium live event in Saudi Arabia next month.

On the latest episode of RAW, Gunther called Cody Rhodes a "secondary champion," which technically is not an accurate statement. The American Nightmare carries the burden of being the poster boy for WWE in reality. Many of the industry legends believe this is preventing him from achieving his best character work.

The Ring General was silenced by The American Nightmare when the latter reminded him about WrestleMania XL and the fact that Rhodes has already slain a "frigthening Beast" before, perhaps a not-so-subtle reference to Brock Lesnar.

While it did come off as a surprise to many, Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther is a high-profile headliner worthy of an international show. Wrestling veteran Jim Cornette weighed in on WWE's decision to book this match without much of a backstory, speculating the reason being the huge number of dollars the company received.