SUMMARY
- Cody Rhodes finally finished his story at WrestleMania XL, as he defeated Roman Reigns to become the Undisputed Universal Champion.
- With this victory, The American Nightmare achieved a rare record that not many have been able to achieve in the professional wrestling industry.
Cody Rhodes registered the biggest win of his professional wrestling career as he defeated Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. With this victory, The American Nightmare finally finished his story, which was his biggest dream ever since he made his sensational return to WWE against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38.
Even though Cody had the opportunity to become the Undisputed Universal Champion at last year’s WrestleMania, he wasn’t successful. But in the main event of this year’s edition of The Showcase of the Immortals, he finally did what he wanted and reached the top of the Triple H-led promotion’s whole division.
As Rhodes’ storyline came to its conclusion on The Grandest Stage of Them All, it helped the company create several records. In fact, a lot of people believe that WrestleMania XL was the best-ever edition of the mega event. But in the midst of all this, Cody Rhodes achieved a rare record after winning the prestigious title in the Stamford-based promotion at The Show of Shows.
Through his iconic win on Night 2 of the show in Philadelphia, Cody became only the fourth ever professional wrestler to win both the NWA Championship and WWE Championship. As The American Nightmare achieved this feat at such a huge stage, let’s take a look at the other three legends who have achieved the same record in their respective careers.
Buddy Rogers
Not many fans from the professional wrestling community might be aware of the career accomplishments of Buddy Rogers, but he was an absolute legend. The veteran was popularly referred to as the “Nature Boy,” and he made his debut in the industry back in 1939, when he was just 18 years old.
Due to his dedication to the industry as a worker, Buddy was able to make it big as an in-ring performer and compete all across the world. Born on February 20, 1921, in Camden, New Jersey, Rogers was an American, and he got training from Joe Cox Fred Grubmeyer. He was also the first man in history to hold titles both in the NWA and the Stamford-based promotion.
Buddy Rogers won the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) World Heavyweight Championship on June 30, 1961, by defeating Pat O’Connor at Comiskey Park in one of the biggest events of that time. Additionally, Rogers was formally recognized as the first ever WWWF (now WWE) World Heavyweight Champion on April 11, 1963.
It was the company’s promoter at that time and the first President, Willie Gilzenberg, who handed him the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship belt on Washington, D.C., television. With this, he achieved the incredible feat of being a world champion in NWA as well as the Triple H-led promotion. It’s been decades, but till now only three wrestlers have been able to achieve this record, and it shows how special the achievement is.
Ric Flair
Even if you weren’t aware of who Buddy Rogers was before reading this article, it’s likely you are familiar with the second name on this list, as it’s none other than the legendary Ric Flair. The veteran is one of the greatest names in the wrestling industry, and the longevity of his career is proof of his greatness as a performer.
The WWE Hall of Famer also has the same rate record that’s held by Cody Rhodes, as Flair won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship back in 1981. In the match that took place in Kansas City, The Nature Boy defeated none other than Cody’s father, Dusty Rhodes, to win the title.
What made this encounter even more special was that Lou Thesz was the special guest referee for their bout, and this was Flair’s first ever title win. After this, Ric’s accomplishments continued for a very long time, and he became the most successful champion in the history of the Stamford-based promotion.
His first win in the organization was back in 1992, when he won the WWF World Championship at that year’s edition of the Royal Rumble. During the special event, the 16-time WWE Champion participated in the namesake match of the show to claim the vacant WWF Championship.
The veteran entered the match as the number-three participant and lasted around 60 minutes. Ric Flair last eliminated Sid Justice with a slight assistance from Hulk Hogan to win the whole thing, and hence registered the rare championship record to this name.
AJ Styles
Last but not least, the final legend from the Triple H-led promotion who also own this rare record of being an NWA as well as a WWE Champion is AJ Styles. The interesting fact is that The Phenomenal One is the only active pro wrestler among those who have the same feat to their name that Cody Rhodes achieved at WrestleMania 40.
The industry veteran won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship back on June 11, 2003, and went on to have a 133-day title reign before losing the title on October 22 of the same year. After the opportunity to hold the prestigious title when he was still in his early years in the pro wrestling world, Styles never looked back and made an exceptional career by performing across the world.
AJ achieved a great deal of success in his journey, and that too without coming to the Stamford-based promotion, which was something fans desperately wanted. But it eventually changed in 2016, as the iconic star made his WWE debut at that year’s Royal Rumble. Just months after this appearance, he was in the title scene. In fact, the veteran finally won his first title in the company later that year at the Backlash PPV.
At the special event on September 11, 2016, The Phenomenal One defeated Dean Ambrose after a low blow to become the World Champion. This victory made Styles the third in-ring performer in history who had been a former NWA Champion and also won a world title in the Triple H-led promotion.
After this, nobody was able to achieve this feat until Cody Rhodes did so with his historic victory at WrestleMania 40. As Cody defeated Roman Reigns to win the Undisputed Universal Champion at The Show of Shows, he joined the elite list, which included names like Buddy Rogers, Ric Flair, and AJ Styles. With this, it remains to be seen what the future holds for The American Nightmare.