Cody Rhodes Release Reportedly Not Real

With all of the different relationships WWE has been garnering thanks to the hard work of Triple H and his aspirations to make more than just a developmental territory, the gray area that exists between fantasy and reality in pro wrestling has grown larger. Men are brought in to wrestle for NXT, and in high profile roles, at that, but are also still able to take bookings on the independent scene just as they had been doing before. Wrestlers are being allowed to bypass NXT altogether and jump right to the main roster, and their past history is acknowledged and even romanticized.

We all know that everything that happens in the world of pro wrestling must be taken with a grain of salt, but one recent issue went from people downing containers of salt down to the point in which it has become an accepted reality, and that’s the requested and granted release of Cody Rhodes from his duties as a WWE superstar. His wife Brandi, formerly known as ring announcer Eden, left along with him in what both touted to be a show of solidarity.

Now that all may be thrown out the window. Brandi may have already been on her way out (she already had a big lined up before she even worked her last WWE show) and Cody, along with WWE, decided to twist it and use it to their advantage.

Long story short, a huge story has come out that the WWE release of Cody Rhodes is a work. People originally said that it was a move to kill the Stardust character and get the stink off of the man beneath the paint, and that is allegedly true. Far more convoluted than originally speculated, yes, but that was the idea.

Cody Rhodes has his first post-WWE match scheduled for August 19 at an EVOLVE show. His opponent is Johnny Gargano, who has been earning a more prevalent role on NXT TV on the WWE Network, and is still arguably the face of EVOLVE, which has garnered a strong business relationship with WWE/NXT through Triple H. Word is that WWE is paying Cody for his EVOLVE dates, and he’s going to continue to be paid what one could assume to be something similar to a downside guarantee through the duration of his time as a member of the independent ranks.

He is rumored to not be allowed to work for Ring of Honor, New Japan or TNA due to the fabricated nature of his release. The goal, apparently, is to give Rhodes some renewed credibility by having him earn a strong reputation on the indies before being scooped back up before the end of the year as Cody Rhodes, with no mention of Stardust’s existence.

That leaked Legends contract deal was also apparently a plant and not a legitimate offer, but rather leaked by WWE intentionally to make the whole scenario… I don’t know, weirder?

This could have been done in a less convoluted manner, but in the end we are going to get to see Rhodes in a brand new light as he wrestles in EVOLVE as well as the Battle Of Los Angeles for PWG. If he does indeed come back to WWE in the fall, it’s really just a win-win situation.