After working for nearly ten years with the company, the former Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes asked for his release from WWE in May, which was granted. Rhodes was unimpressed with his recent bookings and felt that the WWE writers weren’t much ‘high’ about him. He requested to end his gimmick as Stardust, even suggested several storyline ideas which were eventually neglected by the creatives. Rhodes cited such treatment as one of the reasons behind his decision to quit the company.
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Later, Cody Rhodes announced on Twitter that he will accept bookings of independent wrestling promotions. On June 6, it was confirmed by Evolve that his first post-WWE match will be taking place in August, against Zack Sabre Jr. known as ‘The technical Wizard’, Sabre is also a part of the ongoing WWE Cruiserweight Classic, where he defeated Tyson Dux in his first round match of the tournament.
Today, Cody kicked off his independent wrestling career at Evolve 66 in Joppa, Maryland. An incredible match was witnessed in the main event as Rhodes defeated Zack Sabre Jr. with a manoeuvre he named, the American Nightmare.
After the match, he showed his gratitude to the fans in attendance and went on to discuss his tenure in WWE. Rhodes mentioned that throughout his career he was in a very large shadow, but somehow it didn’t matter to him as he was doing what he loved. He believes that the shadow is gone and now he needs to kick, punch, and scratch his way to the top. Cody also talked about former WWE superstar, now a TNA employee, Drew Galloway.
His match with Sabre Jr. is the beginning of what seems to be an amazing independent career. In the upcoming weeks, Rhodes will be in action against some of the best wrestlers in the world. The list of opponents includes Johny Gargano, Tomasso Ciampa, Mike Bennett, Pat Buck, Bubblegum, Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger. Rhodes is set to be a part of an episode of WhatCulture Pro Wrestling, where he will be facing the former World Champion, Kurt Angle. He also confirmed that he will be appearing at Ring of Honor’s Final Battle pay-per-view in December.
Tomorrow, Rhodes will be in action against Chris Hero, who had worked for WWE NXT. Based on his performance against Zack, it can be assumed that Cody Rhodes will have another victory in his pocket.
