Happy Wednesday Everyone!
We’ll be getting back to rebooking next week as I’ve put some time into doing another arc, which I hope you’ll enjoy. In the meantime though I saw that WWE was hocking a Best of Cody Rhodes DVD over here in the UK for the paltry price of £10, featuring matches from his debut in 2007 all the way up to his torn pec match in the Cell.
Seeing as I’ve quite enjoyed Cody’s antics since his initial debut in WWE, I thought I’d pick the DVD up and give it a reviewing. I reviewed Disc 1 last week (which you can find in the archives) so let’s finish it up with Disc 2 this week.
Link for the DVD is below if you’re interested
https://www.amazon.co.uk/WWE-American-Nightmare-Best-Rhodes/dp/B0BRT5ZPR9
6th October 2013
Battleground
Luchas de Apuestas
If The Rhodes’ win then they get their jobs back
If The Shield win then Dusty Rhodes is fired
WWE Tag Champs The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) w/ WWE US Champ Dean Ambrose Vs Cody Rhodes and Goldust w/ The American Dream Dusty Rhodes
Following on from the match that closed Disc 1, Cody lost a match to Randy Orton and lost his job as a result, with Goldust failing in an attempt to get his brother his job back. This led to Dusty famously telling Stephanie McMahon to talk to the hand in a promo segment (and if you ever want to see Big Bad Steph at her most infuriated, then that’s always a good place to start) and setting up this match, with Dusty’s job in the developmental system on the line.
We get a Rhodes Family promo with Rene Pacquette prior to the bout, with all three of them doing a good job of hyping up the match. The Rhodes’ shine in the early going, with The Shield facing off with all three of them on the floor at one stage to tease that Dusty might get involved at some stage. It’s funny watching The Shield from this time, as Reigns was clearly the guy that WWE was most interested in pushing, but both Rollins and Ambrose come across as more composed readymade stars here. It’s why putting Reigns with them was such a good idea and it prepared him well for his future mega stardom.
Cody eventually gets cut off and worked over, with him doing a good job of selling it all whilst The Shield looks good on offence. Dusty and Ambrose jaw a bit on the floor, further teasing that Dusty might do something, whilst Cody makes some unsuccessful attempts to fight back. Cody eventually manages to catch Rollins with a Moonsault and makes the hot tag to Goldust, who runs wild and looks great, with both Reigns and Rollins taking some nice bumps for him. Reigns actually does a great job of selling and feeding for Goldust whilst still retaining his aura of being a big scary dude at the same time, which isn’t an easy combination to achieve.
We end up getting the old Rock ‘N’ Roll Express double heat segment, as Goldust misses a crossbody block on Reigns and ends up getting sent into the ringside barricades. Goldust is an excellent babyface in peril, so he does a good job at that and the crowd really bites on a count out tease at one stage, with Goldust only JUST managing to make it back in. Ambrose does a great job at selling the frustration of Goldust making it back in there, as The Shield just want to win and don’t really care how, which makes them good Heels.
Goldust eventually catches Rollins with a Powerslam OUTTA NOWHERE, which gives us our second hot tag segment, as even Heel commentator JBL is cheering on The Rhodes’ now. Cody does a good hot tag and gets a well-executed near fall on Rollins with an Alabama Slam, and then even busts out a Muscle Buster at one stage for good measure. Cody Rhodes doing Samoa Joe’s finisher in 2013 is not something I remember, but it actually looked pretty good.
We do finally get Dusty doing something, as he beats up Ambrose on the floor and the crowd goes HOSS for it. Ambrose probably really enjoyed doing that spot, as I remember him being all smiles when Jake Roberts snaked him on one of those Legend episodes of Raw. Goldust takes Reigns out with a clothesline on the floor following that, whilst Cody gets the Cross Rhodes on Rollins inside the ring for the three count and the monster pop.
WINNERS: THE RHODES FAMILY
RATING: ****
Thoughts: This was pretty darn great, as the crowd was into the story being told and all six wrestlers involved did an excellent job of playing their respective roles. The commentary team of Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL did a solid job handling the call as well. I enjoyed this even more with 9+ years of perspective than I did at the time, and I remember enjoying it in 2013 also
14th October 2013
Monday Night Raw
No DQ Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles
Champs: The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) w/ WWE US Champ Dean Ambrose Vs Cody Rhodes and Goldust
This is the follow up to The Rhodes’ getting their jobs back, with them now facing The Shield for the tag belts. The bigger story though (pardon the pun) is that The Big Show is rampaging and on the loose following his firing at the hands of The Authority for refusing to do what he was told. Indeed I think Battleground ended with Big Show destroying both Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan, causing the belt to be put into ABEYANCE.
The Rhodes’ shine to start, with Rollins getting bumped around and doing a good job, although I wonder why Reigns is just standing on the apron patiently waiting for a tag in a No DQ match? This probably should have been more of a Tornado styled match as opposed to just a regular tag contest. The wrestling is of good quality, but it’s a bit of a logic gap that doesn’t really make any sense. Anyway, Cody gets cut off and worked over, with The Shield not really making much use of the stipulation but it still being a well worked heat segment.
Cody survives the Aloha-Cody and makes the hot tag to Goldust, who makes use of the rules by trying for Shattered Dreams on Rollins, but Reigns distracts him and Rollins’ mosh pit is spared the wrath of Goldust’s boot. They do the double heat again, with the complete same cut off as well, with Goldust missing the crossbody, which would likely be something you wouldn’t notice if you watched the two matches 8 days apart as you were supposed to as opposed to watching them in a compilation like this.
Goldust eventually catches Reigns with a springboard back elbow, but Rollins knocks Cody off the ropes to stop the tag, only for Goldust to catch him with a Powerslam before making the hot tag to Cody. These two teams are very good at structuring a tag team match, especially when it comes to working the formula. Cody runs wild on all three Shield guys, with Ambrose taking a Disaster Kick when he tries to interfere.
I’m surprised they didn’t make more of this feud and reference it for Cody’s match with Reigns at Mania, seeing as Cody more than held his own against Reigns during this time period and actually inflicted some defeats on him. Ambrose eventually decides to just get in the ring and attack the challengers, as Kevin Dunn goes crazy with the shaky camera and unneeded cuts and zooms. Goldust grabs a chair to even the odds during the 3 on 1 beat down on Cody, but he can only do so much and is overwhelmed by Reigns.
Cody takes a Powerbomb into the barricades from Rollins, which means Goldust has to go it alone, and he does a pretty good job of it, with the crowd responding well to Goldust running wild on the Heels. Eventually though the numbers are just too much and Goldust gets Speared through the barricade by Reigns, although prior to that Goldust had looked like one of the best wrestlers on the entire planet as he’d taken it to The Shield all by himself. Big Show ends up heading down to the ring and evens the odds for the good guys, taking out Ambrose and Rollins before punching Reigns so that Cody can get the three count and the belts.
WINNERS AND NEW CHAMPIONS: THE RHODES FAMILY
RATING: ***3/4
Thoughts: I’ll deduct a ¼* due to them using the exact same cut off as the pay per view and not really making use of the stips, but aside from that this was yet another great match between the two teams and the crowd loved seeing the babyfaces triumph. I didn’t even mind about Big Show getting involved either, as The Rhodes’ had bravely fought all three Heels by themselves up to that point, so Big Show was evening the numbers and giving Heels just punishment for their behaviour, so it worked. Sadly it kind of makes The Rhodes’ a bit of an afterthought following the match though, as Triple H shoves them out of the ring and yells at Big Show, who is standing in the crowd, which takes the focus away from the new Champs
16th June 2014
Rybaxel (Curtis Axel and The Ryback) Vs Goldust and Stardust
Oh great, it’s Stardust. Basically, its Cody doing Goldust cosplay with the wackiness ramped up to 11. Axel is Curt Hennig’s son, Joe, and I still wonder why they didn’t just call him that? I know some people like the Stardust gimmick, and Cody really committed to the bit, but I felt it was at the expense of his in-ring and I’ve never really been on board with essentially nerfing a good worker for the sake of a gimmick. I feel similar about Undertaker pre-Mankind and Goldust before his Face turn in 1997. To me, a wacky gimmick like this is something you give someone who isn’t a good wrestler so that they have something special about them that enhances their matches. To give it to someone who is already a good wrestler seems like kind of a waste. I’m probably in the minority on that one though, with most fans just wanting to be entertained in some fashion without really caring how. Anyway, Goldust and Stardust make quick work of their opponents, as they run wild on them and Cody quickly puts Axel with a Diamond Dust.
WINNERS: GOLDUST & STARDUST
RATING: SQUASH
Thoughts: I can kind of get them feeling like they had to include a Goldust and Stardust match, but why not include the match where they beat The Uso’s for the tag belts, seeing as that one was at least historically significant?
22nd February 2015
Fastlane
Stardust Vs Goldust
This came after the split in the team, with the idea being that Cody might just be a bit too much into this whole Stardust thing, to the point that it’s causing an issue between him and his brother, with Dusty Rhodes getting dragged into it as well. I think this was supposed to lead to some kind of match at WrestleMania, but it didn’t end up happening and they had to wait till AEW in 2019 to finally have their big mega match together, which ended up being worth waiting for. I think that was also the match where Cody destroyed the throne wasn’t it?
The idea is that Goldust is trying to give Stardust a good beating in order to wake him up and get him to start being himself again, with the crowd chanting “Cody” at Stardust to show that they understand what is going on. Stardust of course doesn’t like that chant, which allows Goldust to shine on Stardust in the early stages. Stardust eventually manages to get his foot up when Goldust tries something from the second rope, leading to the cut off and the heat segment. Stardust does mostly character stuff in the heat, with simple attacks, but Goldust sells it all well. Goldust eventually catches Stardust with a pinning hold of some kind and that’s three, although it didn’t look right so maybe it was a botch?
WINNER: GOLDUST
RATING: *1/2
Thoughts: Weird finish and a bit of a flat match. Needless to say, the AEW match between the two was much better. This was an inclusion more because I guess they thought it was historically significant rather than it being a good match that enhanced the collection. Honestly, all we needed for the Stardust section was them winning the belts and they could have skipped forward to something else
23rd August 2015
SummerSlam
Stardust and King Barrett Vs Adrian Neville and Stephen Amell
The story here is that Amell played the Green Arrow in a TV show and now Stardust is crazy enough to think Amell actually is the Green Arrow and not an actor, leading to a match being booked with the whole Villains Vs Heroes theme. I guess Neville qualifies as a Super Hero due to his high flying and exciting offence? Barrett only loosely meets the criteria as well, as the only King I can remember who was also a Super Hero/Villain is when Bender played one in Futurama.
Neville runs wild on Barrett to start, looking very impressive in the process, with Barrett being an excellent base for him. Stardust demands to go at it with Amell, and the crowd is into that, with Amell springboarding in and getting an audible “Ohhhh” from the crowd in the process. I love that actually, as it’s not like Amell has done anything especially difficult for an athletic guy like him, but because the fans have pretty much zero expectations of a guest celebrity, being able to do a kip-up and a hip toss may as well put him on par with Ricky Steamboat.
They work this one really smartly actually, and tends up being a good bit of smoke and mirrors, with Amell fulfilling his end of things well and the Heels carrying him in a way that makes everything work. Amell shines for a bit at first, but then Barrett clobbers Amell and he gets worked over for a bit, doing a good job of selling it all. It’s not like the Heels treat him with kid gloves either, so this actually looks like a proper match. Amell eventually manages to catch Stardust with an enziguri and it’s hot tag Neville.
Neville runs wild on the Heels, once again looking good, as it seems like he’s trying to make the most of being in the big celebrity match here. In some ways this should have really been a star making performance from Neville, as he looks great here and gets a rub from teaming with the celebrity. But this is WWE, and he’s short with an accent, so it didn’t really end up doing much for The Nevster. Amell busts out a big dive onto the Heels on the floor and Neville follows up with the Red Arrow to Barrett for the three count.
WINNERS: THE HEROES
RATING: **1/2
Thoughts: This was good fun and solid action by celebrity match standards, as Amell didn’t do anything he couldn’t do, the Heels did a great job of holding it all together, and Neville looked great when it was his turn to do stuff. I think you could call the match a complete success. Jerry Lawler seemed to have fun making comic book references on commentary as well
2nd April 2022
WrestleMania 38 Night One
Seth Freakin’ Rollins Vs The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes
So Cody ended up leaving WWE in 2016 before going on to make a name for himself on both the independent scene and in New Japan. This led to him being one of the founders of AEW, where he was at first wildly popular but then very quickly wasn’t due to the AEW fan base mostly turning on the whole “Codyverse” stuff that usually followed Cody around. Thus when the option to jump back to WWE presented itself, Cody decided to do so, answering Seth’s challenge here for Mania. WWE actually allowed Cody to pretty much jump over as fully-formed AEW Cody with very little tinkering, and he’s instantly over with the crowd as a result.
Cody actually does a cartwheel and the Stardust taunt at one stage, before getting serious again to make sure we all know that those days are behind him. They work really well together in the early going, with Cody shining on Rollins to show any fans who weren’t watching during his first run that he’s a competitor who is on par with one of the top guys in the company. Indeed, they do a really good job in this match of not just establishing Cody as a top level guy but also doing so without making Rollins look any lesser. That’s a difficult thing to do correctly but they execute it with aplomb here.
Rollins eventually manages to catch Cody with a dropkick and that’s the cut off, leading to the heat segment. Both wrestlers do a good job during that, with Rollins showing good intensity whilst Cody sells everything well. The heat actually doesn’t go on for very long, as Cody is soon fighting back and sending Rollins out to the floor for a TOPE SUICIDA, as they continue to focus on making Cody look like a threat to the top tier of the promotion by having him get so much offence in on Rollins and seemingly shrugging off the heat. However, Rollins isn’t going to stand for that, and he counters a Disaster Kick outside the ring into a Powerbomb, leading to a sustained period of offence from Rollins.
Rollins hits a series of big moves, but Cody just won’t stay down and hits back with a Cross Rhodes for two, as Rollins continues to fight on the back foot here. We head into the finishing stretch, with both wrestlers upping the ante and having chances to win the match, with the crowd being engrossed in the action and reacting loudly to all of the big moves. It’s kind of two guys having an AEW match actually, which makes it all the more impressive that a WWE crowd is digging it and having fun with it all.
Both wrestlers fight over the Pedigree, although neither of them can get it, so Cody gets a Tiger Bomb instead and then follows with a Cody Cutter for two in a fantastic near fall. Rollins finally does get the Pedigree for a two of his own, as a big chunk of the crowd thought that was going to be three. It’s amazing to me how the Pedigree in WWE is essentially a MDK move to the point that if you kick out of if you’re on par with some kind of mythical figure. I mean, in kayfabe it’d certainly hurt, but there are more impressive looking moves that should probably have that distinction you know?
Rollins starts busting out some freaking Kawada Kicks following that (even called as such by Corey Graves) but Cody refuses to lose and fights back with multiple Cross Rhodes’ and the Dusty Rhodes Flip, Flop ‘N’ Fly to finally put Rollins away for a three count.
WINNER: CODY RHODES
RATING: ****1/4
Thoughts: This was a fantastic way for Cody to return to WWE, as they made him look like a huge star upon his return by having him go toe to toe with a Main Event level guy before giving him the clean win. Rollins was by no means buried by this though, as it took a heck of a lot to put him away and he had chances to win it himself as well. They not only got Cody over but they did it without hurting Rollins and they had an excellent match along the way as well. Thumbs way up for this battle!
5th June 2022
Hell in a Cell
Hell in a Cell Match
Seth Freakin Rollins Vs The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes
Seth and Cody continued their feud, with a Cell match getting booked to finally finish things off. However, Cody is fighting through a gnarly torn pectoral muscle, complete with some horrific looking bruising. This looked so horrible that I think some people actually thought that it was make-up and Cody wasn’t actually hurt. Rollins is sporting polka dots for this one, which Dusty Rhodes would have likely been very offended by as he hated those dots and was always worried that they would be his enduring legacy when they were actually given to him as a way to mock him by the WWF brain trust in the 80’s.
Cody basically has the use of one arm here, leading to him being very tentative in the early stages whilst he tries to find a way to win despite the injury. Cody actually does pretty well for a one armed man here, locking in a Figure Four and forcing Rollins to drag himself under the ropes to the apron so he can grab a Singapore Cane and whack Cody with it to save himself. Rollins of course targets the right side of Cody so he can work over the injured pec, with Cody doing an A Class sell job for it. To be honest, it wouldn’t shock me if some of the selling is legit on Cody’s part.
Rollins ups the ante with the Heel antics by wearing Cody’s entrance jacket and then whipping Cody with a custom made weight belt that also has polka dots on it. Cody continues to sell everything fantastically whilst Rollins does an excellent job of being a thoroughly unlikable pillock. Rollins brings a table out following that, which gets him a pop from the crowd. It would have been hilarious if he’d just thrown the table out to the floor following that to draw some cheap heat. I would have laughed at any rate, and so long as I’M happy I don’t care about anyone else!
Rollins ends up going through his own table though when Cody is able to avoid a big splash from the top rope, which gives Cody a window to fight back. Cody decides to bring a bull rope out from under the ring, as I wonder who stashes all of this stuff under the ring for the wrestlers in kayfabe. Is there a dude like the merchant from Resi 4 who shows up and says “Hello stranger, what ye be buyin’? Bull rope you say? I’ll make sure it’s stashed under there for ya!”. Anyway, Rollins and Cody get linked up on opposite sides of the rope and start using it as a weapon, with Rollins taking some cowbell to the face for two.
Another table gets brought into the contest following that, with Rollins avoiding going through it but leaving himself open to a Cross Rhodes for two. Rollins again avoids going through the table, this time by attacking Cody’s pec, and a Powerbomb from Rollins follows, with Cody going through the table for two. Cody replies with a Pedigree following that, but Rollins is able to kick out at two in a nail biter of a near fall. Rollins tries using a sledgehammer following that, but Cody gets it and chases Rollins around the ring, only to get Curb Stomped back inside for two in another brilliant near fall.
Rollins tries another Stomp following that, but Cody dodges, so they trade Cross Rhodes’ and that leads to both wrestlers being down. They are going for epic here and they’re nailing it. Rollins tries to end it with the hammer, but Cody boots him to block it and gets two Cross Rhodes’ before grabbing the hammer and bringing the feud to an end for three after an absolute WAR.
WINNER: CODY RHODES
RATING: *****
Thoughts: I’ve gone Full Monty for that one as it wasn’t only a great match but it was also an all-time gutsy performance from Cody, whilst Rollins was absolutely excellent in his performance as well. I don’t know how this could have possibly been better considering all the obstacles and issues they were facing and they ended up having one heck of a Main Event, so I’ll give them a perfect score!
In Conclusion
The Stardust section of the DVD really stalled things after a strong start, but it picked up with the last two bouts. I think the good outweighs the meh on this Disc and I’d call the whole collection a thumbs up, although I think the match list could have been better. There were four matches involving Rollins on this Disc alone, with multiple Randy Orton matches on Disc 1. A bit more variety would have been refreshing, but the general match quality over both Discs has been good for the most part and they did a reasonable job of detailing Cody’s career from 2007 up to the current day.
At the end of the day, for the price you’re paying you’re getting value for your money, although the collection is far from perfect and there were a few ways it could have been improved.
Recommended collection