Cody Rhodes Continues to Prove Leaving WWE Was Right Move for His Career

Cody Rhodes has to be thrilled that he changed course when he did.

He was an underappreciated WWE Superstar stuck on a low rung doing a reprise of his older brother's gimmick. His career was stagnant.

So he left the security of the WWE umbrella and ventured out, to Ring of Honor, to the independent circuit, to New Japan Pro Wrestling, to freedom.

Rhodes' bet on himself paid off. He's now a bigger name than he was when he left. He's working with all-world talent and seems to be having a blast.

There was an excited electricity coursing through Rhodes as he strode down the entrance ramp inside the Tokyo Dome on Thursday, a black cape hanging off his shoulders, his wife Brandi at his side. The American Nightmare soon stepped into the ring with Kota Ibushi. 

For the second straight year, he was wrestling a singles bout at Wrestle Kingdom, NJPW's biggest show. Rhodes mixed it up with one of the 10 best in-ring performers in the world in front of nearly 35,000 people.

Rhodes and Ibushi delivered a work of theater, a scoundrel looking to scheme his way past a superhuman athlete. The former ROH world champ stepped up big-time, delivering what Joe Lanza of Voices of Wrestling called "probably the best singular performance of his career."

None of this would have been possible had Rhodes not requested his release from WWE in May 2016.

Who knows what things would look like for him if he were still with WWE. He could still be Stardust, the cosmos-obsessed, delirious cartoon villain. He could still be sitting in the background, waiting for an opportunity, struggling to make it onto the biggest pay-per-view cards.

One can't blame a frustrated WWE star for sticking with the sports entertainment giant. It affords a wrestler security. Even if they aren't fulfilled creatively, they know the paychecks will keep on coming. The audiences will be large, the work steady.

That's not the case outside the gates of the WWE kingdom.

But Rhodes didn't leave that behind and begin working in bingo halls and the local VFW post where forty fans in folding chairs surround the ring. It's a been far more glamorous ride. He has traveled from promotion to promotion, picking his spots, wrestling the matches on his wishlist.

The list of his post-WWE opponents reads like a who's who of pro wrestling: Dalton Castle, Jay Lethal, Minoru Suzuki, Jerry Lawler, Keith Lee, Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, Kazuchika Okada.

Compare that to the final stages of his WWE run. As seen on CageMatch.net, his last four televised WWE matches were on Superstars and Main Event, the company's C and D shows. He lost all of them. His role was as a roster filler and stepping stone for guys like Apollo Crews.

In contrast, other promotions have given Rhodes the red-carpet treatment.

He's won the ROH World Championship, joined wrestling's coolest faction in The Bullet Club, been a titleholder in Impact Wrestling and in the United Kingdom. NJPW trusted in him enough to pair him with Ibushi for its version of WrestleMania. A showdown at their New Year's Dash show suggests that Rhodes and Kenny Omega are set to collide in the near future.

Omega is in the "best wrestler in the world" discussion. Working with the IWGP U.S. champ would be miles ahead of what WWE would likely have in mind for him. 

Rhodes has been free to experiment with his character, to market himself however he sees fit.

That's allowed him to blossom as a heel since his exit. He's part Frank Gorshin's The Riddler, part '80s Ric Flair. He and Brandi make a compelling pair of egotists. 

Being outside of WWE's control has also freed him to explore business ventures he wouldn't have been able to while under Vince McMahon's employ. He and The Young Bucks are set to put on a self-financed show that promises to be big. Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet reported, "The Bullet Club members are in talks with multiple venues to put on a 10,000 seat event."

A Rhodes fan couldn't have fantasy-booked The American Nightmare's post-WWE years any better.

His journey has been a reminder of the power of taking risks, of trading fulfillment for comfort. Rather than wait around for the door to open at WWE, Rhodes simply looked for another doorknob to turn.

Any number of WWE stars holed up in catering during Raw and SmackDown now have the inspiration to try to find their way elsewhere.