Cody Rhodes made his ROH debut at the Final Battle pay-per-view.
Cody Rhodes left WWE in May to pursue other opportunities. He had to sit out for three months due to a non-compete clause, but got going on the independent scene in August. He wrestled the likes of Kurt Angle, Zack Sabre Jr., and others in promotions like EVOLVE, TNA, and minor independent promotions.
Well, on Friday night, Rhodes made perhaps his most important promotional debut. He arrived in ROH for their Final Battle pay-per-view, arguably their top show of the year.
At the show, the former WWE Intercontinental Champion would face Jay Lethal, who had his year-plus ROH World Championship reign wrap up a few months ago. This would be the third bout of the evening.
LOW BLOW AND A CROSS RHODES!! @CodyRhodes WINS!! #FinalBattle #WatchROH #CodyvsLethal pic.twitter.com/FcF6pRMAxw
— Italo Santana (@BulletClubItal) December 3, 2016
The result of this would see Rhodes beat Lethal, but only after hitting a low blow with the referee hurt. He then trashed ringside and pushed down Steve Corino on commentary.
What should be noted is that Cody could not use his last name of “Rhodes” because WWE owns the “Cody Rhodes” trademark. So, he got announced by his wife, Brandi Rhodes as “Cody”. It’s the only way how the commentators can address him as too. There’s no word on if WWE is willing to relinquish the rights to using the name that his father, Dusty made famous.
Going forward, it looks like Cody will have some type of role in ROH. It won’t be as a full-time star since he’s freelancing across the country with other shows. That would mean he shows up on occasion, similar to something seen on Friday night.
Cody Rhodes has pretty much appeared in every big-name wrestling promotion outside of WWE now. He’s done plenty over the past few months, but what could happen next? We may find out as the weeks continue, or into 2017 as Cody builds more momentum on the independent wrestling scene.
More from Daily DDT
This article originally appeared on 
