WWE's Cody Rhodes Recalls Favorite Moments From His Indie Days

When Cody Rhodes was granted his release from WWE in 2016, he had some big goals in mind. AEW wasn't the plan from the start, but the former Stardust's infamous list of goals and dream opponents inevitably launched those plans into motion.

Featuring names like Adam Cole, Dalton Castle, Katsuyori Shibata, and The Young Bucks, Rhodes forged the foundation for the next evolution of his career and arguably professional wrestling as a whole. Ahead of the premiere of "American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes," Rhodes took a stroll down memory lane and back to that character-defining time in his life.

During a recent Q&A on Twitter to promote the documentary, the "WWE Raw" superstar was asked about his favorite moments from his run on the independent scene. Though he didn't definitively pick just one, he did mention a few standout moments involving Kurt Angle and Sonjay Dutt.

"That was such a rewarding period," he tweeted. "It felt like everything was a favorite moment (V Kurt for WCPW all the way to Sonjay throwing pre-workout in my face somewhere in the Carolinas). The habit my team developed of doing post-show pics in the ring was also such a sweet time every night."

Rhodes managed to cross everything off of his list and then some. But despite facing other huge stars in the industry at the time such as Zack Sabre Jr., Matt Cross, Keith Lee, Pete Dunne, and Kazuchika Okada, the one name that eluded him was Roderick Strong. Shortly after Rhodes left WWE, "The Messiah of the Backbreaker" signed with NXT. Then after Rhodes' WrestleMania 38 return, there was a short period in 2022 when they were both in the same company. However, as Rhodes started making waves on the main roster, Strong remained in NXT until he left for AEW earlier this year.