When the book on Cody Rhodes is written he won't go down as the biggest money draw ever or the greatest wrestler of all time or a hugely influential character for future generations. But he will, deservedly, go down as the wrestler who benefitted the most from believing in himself and taking calculated risks.

From leaving WWE, to then leaving AEW, to performing last night, I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone else in this modern era with as much conviction and fearlessness as Cody.

In a way Cody is both an indictment of Tony Khan AND Vince McMahon.

First, it took Cody going out on his own to become the American Nightmare. In returning to WWE he re-arrived as a fully formed prodigal son, a guy who left a boy and came back a man. Part of the evolution is lived and earned. Vince can't fast forward time obviously. But part of that is also Cody knowing who he is and having the freedom, belief, and work ethic to go be that person. He could never have become the American Nightmare organically had he stayed in WWE all of this time.

But when you look at just how well Cody has been presented and in turn received since Wrestlemania it's pretty damning for AEW and Tony Khan. In AEW, Cody probably had too much freedom. I recall going to Dynamite earlier this year and finding him insufferable. He was clearly given little if any notes for promos and given too much time for his promos in general. He lit himself on fire, he did some weird anti-racism promo that was HARD cringe, he did an awful angle with the Ogogo guy...in AEW Cody had no confines and in hindsight I feel he suffered from the lack of structure. Worst of all was the decision to never include him in the title picture, slotting him as an undercard guy right off the rip - that feels like an idea that Cody himself would've come up with and thought was good at the time.

Cody is unique. He's not a special wrestler per se, nor is he a super original character. To me, he's especially interesting because of two things that have nothing to do with workrate or mic skills: 1) He's legacy but so very unlike his father and 2) goddammit he just WANTS it. He looks and moves nothing like Dusty and he's extremely emotional; it's captivating, credible, and simply enough.

I've thought about what Cody did last night all day today. I can't get it out of my head. Not only did he go out and perform, but he performed so well and was one half of what will most likely go down as a classic match. It's probably better than anything AEW has ever done except for maybe a few exceptions like Punk/MJF 1 or Lucha Bros v Bucks. Honestly, the GOAT AEW match is still Goldust v Cody from the first PPV. Go figure.

More importantly, what he did last night was a microcosm of what he's been doing for a decade - he took a risk and reaped the reward. He's definitively the Number 2 guy in the company now right? I mean who's a hotter babyface in the world as of today than Cody Rhodes? They'll miss him this Summer and I will too, but he's a made man on Day 1 whenever he comes back - again returning even more popular than when he left just by being him.

I know they've got their sights set on Reigns v Rock. I understand why. But Reigns v Rhodes would be *so* much better and more important and would still do a huge business at WM next year. Here's hoping that's the direction they go in.