ESPN Declares Cody Rhodes Male Wrestler Of The Year

Cody Rhodes is Male Wrestler of the Year according to ESPN.

And what a year he’s had.

Talk About It

The mega sports channel news outlet listed the many reason why the American Nightmare was their choice for 2023, starting with his catchphrase “So … what do you guys wanna talk about?”:

Let’s talk about how Rhodes began the year by coming off injured reserve, having torn his pectoral muscle off the bone and famously wrestling through the injury against Seth Rollins despite gnarly discolored skin. He declared for the Royal Rumble in January, entered as No. 30 and together with Gunther — who entered first overall — put on one of the best “final two” showdowns in the event’s history.

That earned him the right to challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39. This is where Rhodes earned his status as wrestler of the year: Not for the match, but for the moment — or, actually, not getting the moment. The fans were ready for Cody to finish off Roman’s reign and “finish the story” of his late father Dusty’s failed pursuit of the world championship. Instead, interference by Solo Sikoa led to Reigns retaining and a firestorm of debate about the WWE’s booking decision.

Let’s talk about his feud with Brock Lesnar, who was supposed to be his tag team partner against The Bloodline but viciously turned on him. (We never did find out why.) That beef ended at SummerSlam, with Cody winning cleanly and Lesnar shaking his hand in a respectful torch-passing moment.

Let’s talk about Rhodes teaming with Bloodline outcast Jey Uso to feud with The Judgment Day, eventually winning the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in the process. Rhodes was the team leader in the Survivor Series WarGames match against The Judgment Day, which saw him reunited (and reconciled) with Randy Orton, his old buddy from “The Legacy” days. Rhodes was the pivot point for the WWE’s biggest storylines of 2023, the company’s biggest face and a heck of a worker in the ring. Looming on the horizon: another (potentially final) showdown with Reigns to give the fans, and the Rhodes family, the catharsis they want. There will be plenty to talk about in 2024.

Rhodes Was An Industry Disrupter Before His WWE Return

ESPN doesn’t even touch on the fact that Rhodes helped create rival company All Elite Wrestling before making the jump back to WWE. Granted that happened before 2023.

But it’s still a big deal. Expect that the best is yet to come for Cody Rhodes.

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By John Hanson

John Hanson is a professional writer and editor with over 15 years of experience in media. He's made countless ... More about John Hanson