Cody Rhodes and three other currently injured stars held championships together 11 years ago
This Sunday, Cody Rhodes shocked the wrestling community when he performed at WWE Hell in a Cell against Seth Rollins with a horrific injury. WWE even confirmed earlier that Rhodes had suffered a torn pectoral muscle but would still compete in the match.
Facing insurmountable odds in the form of a horrific injury, which Rollins further amped up as he mocked Cody's father by donning his trademark yellow polka dots on his gear, it made for an intriguing match for The American Nightmare.
Cody beat Seth in the middle of the ring using Triple H's signature weapon, the sledgehammer, to make it 3-0 against Rollins since his WWE return. We also can't take anything away from Rollins because The Visionary performed brilliantly.
The performance of a lifetime.
@CodyRhodes goes 3-0 against @WWERollins after a spectacular #HIAC match! https://t.co/wrwbarHYFP
However, Cody is just one of the most recent names legitimately injured. Apart from Rhodes, AEW stars CM Punk, Bryan Danielson (fka Daniel Bryan), and IMPACT Wrestling's Matt Cardona (fka Zack Ryder) are all currently injured.
What's even more surprising is that all four of these stars held championship gold in WWE at the same time back in 2011.
#FlashbackFriday https://t.co/oEQSK2rgyz
The now-famous group photo posted above, which Cody Rhodes shared in 2019, shows all four stars together with championships in WWE.
In the photo, Cody was the Intercontinental Champion, Bryan the World Heavyweight Champion, Punk the WWE Champion, Cardona the United States Champion, while Kofi Kingston & Matt Sydal (fka Evan Bourne) the WWE Tag Team Champions, and Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix the Divas Champion.
Cody Rhodes and the others all held titles in 2011
Rhodes won the IC title in August 2011 and lost it on April 1, 2012. Punk won the WWE title on November 20, 2011, and went on to have a lengthy reign until he dropped it to The Rock in January 2013.
Bryan won the now-defunct World Heavyweight Championship on December 18, 2011, and lost it on April 1, 2012. Cardona also won his US Championship on the same date and lost it on January 16, 2012.
The Second City Savior broke the news about his injury on Rampage following Double or Nothing, where he won the AEW World Championship. Bryan is also reported to have sustained an injury at Double or Nothing.
Bryan Danielson was forced to miss a meet & greet today. The venue tells Fightful that he's injured and unable to fly. AEW nor Danielson have confirmed or commented on an injury as of yet.
On the other hand, Cardona announced that he tore his biceps following a successful NWA Worlds Championship title defense against Blake Christian at Game Changer Wrestling's Downward Spiral event. The former WWE star then updated fans at the latest C.O.S. event regarding his injury.