From the WWE/ROH Rumor Mill: Cody Rhodes reveals how much more money he makes outside WWE
What's the story?
Cody Rhodes on Twitter answered a question of a fan who asked him what the best part of working with WWE was. He revealed how much more he makes in the indies than he did in WWE.
In case you didn't know...
Cody Rhodes departed WWE over a year ago upon his own request. After he filled out his non-compete clause period, he made a list of wrestlers who he wanted to compete with in the indies. This created a lot of buzz, and it took only a few months for Cody to check off the list.
He's currently the ROH World Champion, being the first member of the Rhodes/Runnels family to win a world title in 3 decades. He has also been making waves in NJPW, where he is one of the prime members of The Bullet Club. He's since termed himself as The American Nightmare, an opposite moniker of his father, The American Dream Dusty Rhodes.
Apart from just NJPW and ROH, Cody does a lot of independents, where he is considered a draw. Safe to say, his run outside WWE has been a huge success and a rejuvenation of his career. He even once told Colt Cabana on his podcast Art Of Wrestling that Independent wrestling was what saved him after his WWE run.
The heart of the matter
Cody responded to a fan who asked about the perks of working in a big company like WWE, apart from the money. Cody said that performing at WrestleMania, being a part of Connor's cure and the like was the positive, but shot down the part about the money, stating that he earns approximately THRICE the gross income that he did in WWE, which is quite surprising.
Cody has stated before that he has no motive to come back to WWE, as he earns more in the indies. However, just how much more was not known.
Cody does the indies a lot, so that is a huge part of his income. ROH & NJPW are owned by big companies so he definitely gets a huge chunk from there. But what might be the real difference maker is merchandise.
Cody has been making great merchandise money on his independent run. However, his moniker of The American Nightmare has helped a lot more than people know. Cody's American Nightmare Bullet Club t-shirt is the third highest selling t-shirt in Hot Topic, according to the Wrestling Observer. The only two other t-shirts to outsell Cody's are Rick and Morty(#1) and The Young Bucks(#2). That itself is a huge statement.
The Observer also implied that there are two Bullet Club t-shirts in Hot Topic outselling all of WWE's merchandise, so it's possible that Cody's American Nightmare t-shirt is one of them.
Another thing to note is that although his gross income is higher, the expenses on his end are likely a lot more too. Regardless, it's clear that he's earning way more now than he was in WWE, and that is a justifiable reason not to come back anytime soon.
What's next?
Cody is set to continue his rapid success outside of WWE and grow his stock. He can truly become one of the biggest success stories out of superstars who left WWE.
Author's Take
It's amazing that Cody was able to make a name for himself outside of WWE in such quick manner and so successfully. He's been working his tail off with ROH, NJPW and various independents and definitely deserves all the success he's been getting.
Cody now joins the list of superstars such as The Young Bucks, Alberto Del Rio and Colt Cabana who made/make as much(and more) money outside of WWE, proving to younger wrestlers that there is an alternative option.
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