Cody Garrett Runnels, known to the world at large as Cody Rhodes (as well as the son of the late great Dusty Rhodes), performed for World Wrestling Entertainment for nearly nine years. He had been bumped around the card, given multiple gimmicks (some successful, others not so much), all the while turning lemons into lemonade. Rhodes allegedly asked WWE creative for months to end the Stardust gimmick, but hit brick wall after brick wall. Apparently, Rhodes had had enough and on May 21st, asked to be released from his contract, which was granted 24 hours later.
This left the internet wrestling community in shock. Rhodes was not an independent star that worked around the world before going to the WWE. He got his start on the biggest platform in the business. Some felt that anyone who only performed in WWE would have a hard time adjusting to other promotions as far as work rate is concerned, if those promotions would even sign them.
We will have an answer on this soon enough, as Cody not only stated that he would be appearing at Ring of Honor’s December 2nd pay-per-view event, Final Battle, but rumors spread that he was also in talks to sign with TNA. This is quite intriguing, as TNA and ROH have not done much cross promotional business lately and have been shying away from letting talents work for the other promotion as well.
Confirmation was already released that TNA signed Rhodes’ wife, Brandi Runnels (Eden Stiles of WWE). They’ve also released a promotional video on the TNA website, saying His Past Is Behind Him, His Future Is Ahead, All Roads Lead To Tonight.
How successful do you think that Rhodes will be in Impact Wrestling?
