Ranking Cody Rhodes' WrestleMania Matches
Cody Rhodes has been the talk of the wrestling industry since departing AEW in mid-February.
Since then, he's been heavily rumored to return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 in Dallas, TX to face Seth Rollins. To date, this has been the biggest story of the year and adds intrigue to what has been a flat build for the big event.
According to PWInsider, the former #AEW TNT Champion is set to return to #WWE! https://t.co/3SKFvGOMvz
Fans who have followed wrestling for the past 10 to 15 years will recall Cody's previous WWE run, which included five WrestleMania appearances. These matches weren't the main event of any of these shows; however, in going back and rewatching them, some could be considered good performances.
While he's not the best in terms of in-ring technique, his presence over the past several years in creating a rival promotion makes his potential bout against Seth Rollins a must-see event.
The following list ranks each of Cody Rhodes' past WrestleMania appearances.
#5. WrestleMania 24: Pre-Show Battle Royal
This was Cody Rhodes' first WrestleMania appearance as a participant in the pre-show battle-royal. Kane would go on to win the match and, per the stipulation, would meet and defeat ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero later that evening.
For Cody, this was a largely uneventful outing as he was relatively new to the company. He lasted for approximately half the match before being eliminated. Above all else, this gave him the needed experience with wrestling on the biggest stage.
4. WrestleMania 31: Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship
This was Cody's last appearance at The Show of Shows.
He had assumed his controversial "Stardust" persona and was one of seven participants in a ladder match for for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, held at the time by Wade Barrett. On an interesting side note, four of the seven participants in this match went on to join AEW.
Cody's performance was decent but largely forgettable since the match was a vehicle to showcase Daniel Bryan. Additionally, since the match was primarily a spotfest, it was difficult for anyone to stand out. Cody had a couple of moments in the bout, but nothing that stood out any more than anyone else.
#3. WrestleMania 28: Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show
This was Cody Rhodes' fourth WrestleMania appearance. At the time, he was the reigning Intercontinental Champion.
For what it was, this was a fine match. Both have very different body types and styles, but Cody did a great job leading into this match, generating heat by highlighting the fact that up until this point, Big Show did not have a positive WrestleMania moment.
As a result, fans were ready to see Cody get his comeuppance, and it resulted in a decent outing for both competitors. The Big Show went on to win the match and finally get his "moment".
2. WrestleMania 26: Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton vs. Ted Dibiase Jr.
This was Cody Rhodes' second WrestleMania appearance. Since the pre-show battle royale two years earlier, he had emerged as a solid mid-card talent.
The match was built around the implosion of the Legacy faction led by Randy Orton and included Cody and Ted Dibiase Jr. It told a decent story of Rhodes and Dibiase initially double-teaming Orton but ultimately turning on each other in an attempt to win the match.
Though Orton ended up winning the match, this gave Cody his first storyline at WrestleMania and it turned out to be a solid outing for all involved.
1. WrestleMania 27: Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio
His third WrestleMania appearance turned out to be his best, as he had just ended his "Dashing" persona and was now assuming a darker character, obsessed with the fact that his nose had been broken, thus tarnishing his look.
It wasn't the best match in terms of the storyline, but in terms of execution, this was Cody Rhodes' best performance. With a bout that started slowly and built nicely into several near falls near the end, this also represented Cody's only WrestleMania win.