Rhodes forges his own path
When Cody Rhodes left WWE and announced he would make a living on the independent pro-wrestling circuit two years ago, the decision was questioned in some circles.
But Rhodes, the son of wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes, saw an opportunity to break free from creative constraints and become a self-made man.
He began promoting himself vigorously on social media, saying “yes” to more opportunities and soon got hooked up with Ring of Honor and New Japan ProWrestling.
Today, he sets his own schedule, wrestles at venues around the world, his merchandise is a top seller at shopping malls and he said he’s having the most fun he’s ever had as a wrestler.
Rhodes will bring his talents to Florida this week with Ring of Honor, with shows today in West Palm Beach and Saturday in Lakeland.
His route to independent stardom has been followed by many others in the last two years, leading to a resurgence in independent wrestling. He calls himself and others like him “selfsustaining wrestlers.”
“In today’s landscape, you can really do anything,” Rhodes said. “With social media, every promotion is super-accessible. The perception is no longer that the WWE is the only game in town. … If history remembers me as a piece of the resurgence that’s happening now, that’s pretty cool.”
The 32-year-old is the leader of Bullet Club, a faction whose popularity and skull-and-crossed-guns logo have moved beyond the wrestling realm. Their T-shirts, including Rhodes’ “American Nightmare” brand — a play on his father’s “American Dream” nickname — are among the top sellers at Hot Topic stores nationwide, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Rhodes and Bullet Club always draw strong reactions at shows — sometimes positive, sometimes negative, Rhodes said. He credits his father, a WWE Hall of Famer who died in 2015, with the ability to react well to both.
“My dad taught me that you can be a babyface [good guy], you can be a heel [bad guy] or you can be a star,” Rhodes said. “I stick to that. A star can do anything.”
He’s trying to prove that with one of his newest projects, a wrestling show in Chicago dubbed All In. He’s self-financing the Sept. 1 show along with Bullet Club teammates the Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson). The goal: 10,000 fans, virtually unprecedented for a non-name-brand promotion. By comparison, Ring of Honor’s record attendance is just under 6,000.
Rhodes’ focus is on this week’s shows in Florida. He’ll face Punishment Martinez in West Palm Beach, then join his Bullet Club teammates for an eightman tag-team match in Lakeland. For ticket information, visit ROHWrestling.com.
Dusty Rhodes had greatest wrestling success with Championship Wrestling from Florida and worked as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando until his death. However, Cody said it took a while for him to embrace his family history in the state.
“I think I hide how much they mean to me,” Cody said. “So many fans here know the history. Without Championship Wrestling from Florida, there’s no [American] Dream and we’re not talking right now. … Florida is my lifeblood.”