Ring Of Honor (ROH) announced yesterday that World Champion Jay Lethal will defend his title against Cody at “Final Battle” next month (Fri. December 14, 2018). The show will go down from The Manhattan Center in New York.

Cody took to Twitter to respond to the news. He confirmed this will be his last match with ROH before heading into free agency next year. Cody’s contract with ROH will expire soon, making him a free agent in 2019. There has been a ton of speculation as to where the now-former Bullet Club member might end up.

In regards to his match with Lethal, Cody said it’s only fitting that he face Lethal in his last match with ROH, as Lethal was his first match with the promotion two years ago. “The American Nightmare” then vowed to take the ROH World Title into free agency with him:

“Jay was the first match I had in ROH two years ago. He will be my last. And I will take the World Championship into free agency.”

Jay was the first match I had in ROH two years ago. He will be my last. And I will take the World Championship into free agency. ? https://t.co/6qlrg6d8vZ

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) November 15, 2018

Updated Card for ROH Final Battle 2018

In addition to the Jay Lethal vs. Cody headliner, several other matches have been confirmed for Ring of Honor’s final pay-per-view of the year.

ROH World Champion Jay Lethal vs. Cody Rhodes

Four Corner Survival for the Women of Honor World Championship
Sumie Sakai (c) vs. Madison Rayne vs. Karen Q vs. Winner of Kelly Klein/Jenny Rose

Dalton Castle vs. Matt Taven

Over the past weekend, IWGP United States Champion Cody announced that he suffered a knee injury during Ring Of Honor’s (ROH) show in Buffalo. Cody said he heard a pop in his knee while traveling through the crowd, teasing a t-shirt toss. He hoped he would still be able to compete at yesterday’s ROH “Global Wars: Toronto” card.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Cody announced he was forced to withdraw from his scheduled IWGP United States Title defense against Beretta due to his knee injury. He then sought medical attention to his knee to determine the severity of the injury. Cody has now provided fans with an update.

Giving the good news first, Cody noted his MCL, PCL, and ACL are all structurally sound. The bad news, however, was that doctors determined his meniscus is “fairly damaged” and will require a scope. Cody also said that no dates have been adjusted quite yet, but acknowledged he would be able to compete at Wrestle Kingdom 13 and “ROH: Final Battle.”

Check out Cody’s full statement, along with some photos of his knee getting worked on, below:

“GOOD news is my doctor is fairly confident that my mcl/pcl/acl are structurally sound.

“BAD news is the meniscus is fairly damaged, gonna’ require a scope. No dates will be adjusted at the moment, and I’ll definitely still compete in the final battle main event & at WK.”

GOOD news is my doctor is fairly confident that my mcl/pcl/acl are structurally sound.

BAD news is the meniscus is fairly damaged, gonna’ require a scope. No dates will be adjusted at the moment, and I’ll definitely still compete in the final battle main event & at WK. pic.twitter.com/PtyK1wpoiz

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) November 12, 2018

Evolution Main Event Confirmed

There were many who believed that the match between Ronda Rousey and Nikki Bella will be main eventing the Evolution PPV and a latest report has seemingly confirmed it.

Ronda and Nikki have apparently been practicing their match ‘all week’ in order to “make sure it goes over well in the main event position,” according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

This report clears all the doubts about the Raw Women’s Championship match being the last bout of the show. Now it’d be interesting to see if this duo is able to put on a match worthy of the spot.

Cody Rhodes Says He Won’t Be At Upcoming ROH/NJPW Supershow

Cody Rhodes has been dropping hints about his future with teases that range from a WWE return to transitioning into a new role in the industry once his contract expires.

Another one of these signs came yesterday morning when he replied to a tweet about the upcoming ROH/NJPW Supershow, saying that he won’t be there:

No

I am not on that show https://t.co/9MirtL69VS

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) October 25, 2018

These teases are expected to continue throughout the rest of the year. However, it’s most likely that we’ll only get an idea about the future of Cody and the rest of the Being The Elite cast next year.

He was once one of the leaders of the Bullet Club, but now Cody is talking about the faction like it’s a fond memory in his rear view mirror.  In response to a fan asking who he’d like to see join the Bullet Club, Cody said the faction is “all Jay’s thing now” [Jay White] and that he loved being a part of it.

The Bullet Club is all Jay’s thing now. Loved being part of it! Met some good folks. https://t.co/lEn7E8X4af

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) October 24, 2018

The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Cody have all announced their newest Bullet Club t-shirts will be their last. Cody also posted the following Tweet in reference to his team with Hangman Page being listed as Bullet Club.

? https://t.co/UohFzIBQY2

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) October 24, 2018

These developments come just days after Cody posted a lengthy message on Instagram addressing his future. In that message, he referenced finishing up with Ring of Honor and looking forward to the next chapter of his career in pro wrestling.

Bullet Club vs The Elite

In NJPW, members of the Elite are still introduced as representing “Bullet Club Elite”. There is speculation the Elite could leave NJPW when their contracts are up (minus Marty Scurll) at the end of the year, however.

https://twitter.com/MattJackson13/status/1050802893488570369

Although the Young Bucks are not Bullet Club originals, they joined the faction not long after its inception. They had been a part of Bullet Club their entire NJPW careers going back to 2013.

Jay White doesn’t consider the members of Elite as Bullet Club. He had the following to say after joining the faction.

“Inevitable. One word, inevitable,” White said. “I met Bad Luck Fale in London in 2014. Since then it’s been inevitable that I would end up here with these boys. Not the BC Elite, what is that rip-off sh**? Original Bullet Club taking it back to what started it. Get used to these faces, we’re taking over!”

New UK promotion Fight Forever has announced the new main event for their first ever show. The company will be heading to the PRYZM Nightclub in Birmingham on December 6th. NJPW star Will Ospreay was expected to be taking on the Cody Rhodes in a huge international bout. Unfortunately Ospreay had to pull out of the bout due to a rib injury. This was sustained at Rev Pro’s Global Wars event.

The company has confirmed that El Phantasmo will be taking on Cody at ‘Phenomena.’ Phantasmo recently won the Rev Pro British J Cup and is a star on the rise. This will be one of his biggest tests to date when he faces the ‘American Nightmare.’

Fight Forever will be announcing a second main event this coming Friday.

Brandi Rhodes will also be taking on Bea Priestley as part of the debut show. Priestley is one of the stars of the WoS/World of Sport re-boot alongside her partner Will Ospreay. Priestley has been on the UK scene for a number of years working as a top star in promotions such as Pro Wrestling: EVE. Brandi has been building her own brand over the last year with several high profile bouts and appearances alongside Cody Rhodes.

You can purchase tickets for Phenomena and all upcoming events over at fightforeverwrestling.com. Fight Forever will also be heading to London on December 7th with a co-branded show alongside ‘Something to Wrestle’ starring Conrad Thompson and Bruce Prichard.

?Breaking Main Event News?

The American Nightmare @CodyRhodes vs El Phantasmo @elpwrestling is one of your main-events for Phenomena on December 6th at PRYZM Nightclub Birmingham ??

A second huge main-event will be revealed this Friday!

Tickets ?https://t.co/iiSo2g80eA pic.twitter.com/cAsD4BVm8O

— Fight Forever Wrestling (@fightforeveruk) October 17, 2018

Cody Rhodes is arguably one of the biggest stars on the independent scene right now. The former WWE Superstar is the IWGP United States Champion as well as the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion. Cody won both of these titles in an incredible September schedule. Rhodes spoke to WrestlingInc shortly after appearing at New Japan’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed event this past Sunday. Cody made the following comments regarding a potential WWE return.

“Everyone has different opinions and it’s hard to get the opinion of someone when it’s, ‘Hey what do you wanna do? What is the next thing you wanna do?'” Rhodes also referred to his colleagues in the Bullet Club stable and their future plans, stating that “There’s five of us that’s a core unit that plan to stick together and hopefully we can really do that. I don’t want to make any judgments as I’ve had a great time with these guys. I’d like The Elite to continue and I’d like to bring you guys something like an All In sequel.”

Performers Having “No Fear”

Cody also commented on performers having more power in 2018 than in previous years, stating that “there’s more wrestlers with no fear than ever before. I don’t fear anything. I don’t fear Vince McMahon, I don’t fear Triple H. I don’t fear Hunter [Johnston] from ROH. I don’t fear Gedo from [New Japan], I do the best job I can do and the guys I link up with do it the exact same way. And I think that’s good for wrestling.”

Rhodes finished the interview by insinuating that a WWE return in January is certainly not out of the question, stating that “Well my own promotion is still ROH. I know the big what-to-do is, oh, January 1 we are going to show up on WWE… Pretty possible.”

Cody becomes a free agent on January 1st.

H/T to WrestlingInc for the transcription

Cody has won his second major championship inside of a month. He defeated Juice Robinson for the IWGP United States Championship tonight at NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed.

Cody reversed a super-plex into a pinning combination for the 3-count. Jim Ross remarked that it looked as though both competitors had their shoulders down, however. Still, the referee awarded the match and the title to Cody.

He wasn’t finished there, however. Cody would come out following the night’s main event and interject himself into a match between Omega and Ibushi. He’ll now face Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega in a triple threat match at King of Pro Wrestling. It will be just the second triple threat match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in history.

Cody – IWGP United States Champion

Cody becomes the 4th wrestler to hold the IWGP United States Championship, which was introduced just over a year ago. Kenny Omega won the inaugural championship on night 2 NJPW’s trip to Long Beach last year, July 2nd, 2017.

Jay White then defeated Omega at the New Beginning in Sapporo back in February. White dropped the belt to Juice at the G1 Special in San Fransico. Now Cody has defeated Juice to earn him his second belt currently in his possession.

Cody’s Recent Championship Matches

Cody’s two title victories in September help to erase the memory of a summer’s worth of losses in big matches for him. He lost an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match to Omega at the G1 Special in San Fransico. He then dropped two straight ROH World Championship matches back in June.

Finally, at All In, Cody was able to defeat Nick Aldis to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. It is Cody’s second world title, having won the ROH World Championship previously. Now, he adds the IWGP United States titles to his collection as well.

Cody Rhodes recently appeared on the latest episode of NWA’s ’10 Pounds of Gold’ YouTube series. One of the masterminds behind ‘ALL IN’ defeated Nick Aldis to become NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion at the event on September 1st.

Rhodes discussed his role as NWA Champion and the fact that he would become a Free Agent on January 1st. Cody claimed that “January 1st is a very tricky day. I guess it’s taboo to talk about it but I’m ok to talk about it. I become a free agent.” Rhodes then went on to discuss this past year as a ROH/NJPW talent; “looking at how this year went with my exclusivity with Ring of Honor, how much fun I had. How much of a challenge I was presented. Looking at what I did with New Japan Pro Wrestling, looking at what with All In there was no way to map that out last year…no way. So I feel like I’m so found but I’m also so lost at the same time.”

Cody also described the NWA title as “the thing that tethers me back to reality.” describing his title win moment at ALL IN as “everything ‘right’ about wrestling.” Rhodes went on to finish the episode of ’10 Pounds’ by making some rather interesting comments about his pending free agent status: “So no matter where I go, whether I stay with Ring of Honor, whether I go back to WWE. Whether I commit to New Japan Pro Wrestling full time. Whether I just become the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion travelling the globe carrying the 10 pounds of gold…I can’t map it out. It’s tough, the only thing I know to do in this case is what I did last and I’ll do this year, go with my gut.”

Check out the episode below:

https://youtu.be/r6sjDX2j2aU

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes’ first challenger has been revealed. Cody was in Los Angeles on Sunday for a Championship Wrestling From Hollywood taping. During that appearance, Cody revealed that he will defend the 10 pounds of gold against Willie Mack later this month.

Cody Rhodes vs. Willie Mack will take place at the September 29th Ring of Honor television taping from Las Vegas, NV. This will be an ROH television taping the night after the company’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view at the Orleans Arena, Las Vegas. Visit ROHWrestling.com for more information on Death Before Dishonor weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-xr8rU98KY&feature=youtu.be

Should Cody Rhodes successfully defend against Willie Mack, his next challenger is already waiting in the wings. Former NWA Champion Nick Aldis will get a rematch against Cody at the NWA’s 70th Anniversary show on October 21st from Nashville, TN. The 70th anniversary show will be available for purchase at FITE.tv for $24.99.

Visit the NWA’s official YouTube channel to check out their Ten Pounds of Gold series.

– Cody Rhodes disagrees with those who feel that Vince McMahon squandered his talent during his nine-year tenure with WWE (2007-2016).

On Twitter, Rhodes responded to a fan who feels that McMahon used him “like crap” during his time in WWE. Rhodes takes completes responsibility for his career stalling while there.

I’d politely disagree. I was in a PPV main event by age 24. I was happy/challenged with the trajectory of my career there…even stardust. It stung but it was motivating to see guys pass my sparkly ass by, I saw what I was missing and went out and got it. Do the work. https://t.co/TPTMT3CQVC

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) September 14, 2018

Rhodes also responded to a fan who believes that he never complains about WWE.

I bitch all the time bro ha and I’ve got my Arya Stark list, but there’s more angels working there than assholes. And the ones that thought they could snub me, look down at the floor timidly when I walk by. Daddy eats first. https://t.co/tZdVlWN0qC

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) September 14, 2018

WWE granted Rhodes his release on May 21, 2016, after he requested it the day before. Rhodes cited frustration with WWE’s creative team and his standing in the company as reasons for requesting his release. He pleaded with writers to end the Stardust character for over six months and pitched numerous storyline ideas that weren’t used.

– In this video filmed backstage at Friday’s WWE live event in Edinburg, Texas, Alexa Bliss and Alicia Fox are shown discussing Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey. James then appears and asks Bliss who she’s facing. Bliss says “Ronda Rousey” and James replies, “Never heard of her.”

.@RondaRousey? @MickieJames has never heard of her. ?#HIAC #WWEEdinburg @AliciaFoxy @AlexaBliss_WWE pic.twitter.com/ekTEMqKudw

— WWE (@WWE) September 15, 2018

• Is Zelina Vega dating a WWE NXT star?

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Cody was recently a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross’ podcast, The Ross Report. Cody talked about All In and how successful the self-funded event was earlier this month. After his match with Nick Aldis for the NWA Title, Cody produced the second half of the show:

“I didn’t get a chance to sleep [after All In] and I went right to gorilla [position] after my match and I directed and timed the last half of the show,” Cody said. “I’m not the best timer judging by the main event time. I’m learning! But I didn’t get that moment to… I didn’t get many moments. It was just happening so fast.”

Cody then talked about the possibility of doing an All In 2. When asked what he learned from his first show, which he can apply to a possible follow-up to make it better, Cody revealed he’s already planning:

“Well, maybe we already started planning [laughs].” Cody added, “I kept writing these lists. And my dad was a big list guy and I have become a big list guy too. I kept writing these lists of these are the things to do to make sure you’re in peak condition, and also make sure you’re in peak mental state, and make sure you paid this guy and talked to this guy.

“I also learned I wanted to do every single thing with this show. I wanted to do payroll; I wanted to know elements of production; I wanted to know how many chairs were in the union catering room.”

Do you think there will be an All In 2 next year?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xkfu5d_Rs4

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Cody will be appearing for Championship Wrestling From Hollywood next weekend. The promotion is where many of the NWA’s most recent angles have played out. The current NWA World Heavyweight Champion is referring to the show as his first “NWA booking.”

Thanks folks!

Also wanted to share I’ve agreed to my first @nwa booking THIS SUNDAY at @CWFHollywood pic.twitter.com/ELy4T2qm4C

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) September 10, 2018

Also yesterday, it was confirmed Cody will defend his title against Nick Aldis next month. Aldis defeated Doug Williams yesterday to earn his rematch against Cody.

Cody NWA World Heavyweight Champion

Cody vs Nick Aldis II will take place on October 21st at the NWA’s 70th Anniversary show. Before then, however, Cody has said he’ll be bringing the belt with him to Ring of Honor. The promotion holds Death Before Dishonor on September 28th. They will remain in Las Vegas the next night for a TV taping.

NWA Owner Billy Corgan took control of the promotion last October. Since then, they’ve been furthering their storylines through NWA’s social media platforms and episodes of Championship Wrestling from Hollywood.

“It’s such an honor to be leading this historic brand into its next chapter,” Corgan said. “The enduring legacy of the National Wrestling Alliance — the men who forged it and the champions who defended it — illuminate our path in 2018. This event celebrates our first full year shepherding this brand while honoring the everlasting milestones, legends and champions of the NWA.”

The event will air on iPPV through the FITE app.

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross was recently a guest on Busted Open Radio. “Good Ole’ JR” sat down for a conversation with fellow Hall Of Famer Bully Ray.

The pair discussed next year’s G1 Supercard being put on by Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Some of the biggest names in indy professional wrestling are expected to be on the card.

Ross doesn’t expect three big names to be on the card, however. He says his gut tells him Cody and The Young Bucks probably won’t be a part of the show:

“No, I don’t think so,” said Ross. “I don’t have anything concrete to base that on other than my gut instinct. My gut instinct is no. There’s too many big, big dollars that are possible to obtain. Cody has to start a family, probably will someday. Money is big in this delicate business.

“Bubba, you’re a [expletive] tank. You don’t get hurt, but everybody ain’t like you. Some of these guys can’t even tie their shoes nowadays and they need to save their money. So I’m hoping these kids will learn from some of their peers and predecessors.

“Hey I can have my run and sell a bunch of T-shirts, but the bottom line is I gotta have a bunch of money in the bank.”

Discussion: Do you think Cody or The Young Bucks will be on the G1 Supercard? Let us know in the comments section below!

"There may other players in the game that we are not aware of at this moment, that may end up making it a very interesting 2019."@JRsBBQ speculates on the future of Cody and the Young Bucks.
Full interview on our YouTube channel soon!@davidlagreca1 @bullyray5150 pic.twitter.com/7Qwbf5WUrV

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) September 6, 2018

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Wrestling MediaCon will host a historic match tomorrow evening. Former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis will be facing Doug Williams to determine the Number 1 contender to current Champion Cody Rhodes.

Williams appeared during a ‘Ten Pounds of Gold’ panel featuring Aldis and challenged him to a bout. It was soon confirmed that the Number 1 Contender stipulation would be added. The winner of the bout will go on to face Cody Rhodes in Nashville at the NWA 70th Anniversary show.

This will be an interesting bout for longtime fans of the TNA promotion. Both men were part of the British Invasion stable alongside Rob Terry. The team held the New Japan IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship and TNA World Tag Team Championship. Doug Williams was also a 1 time X Division Champion in the promotion.

Aldis lost the NWA belt at last weekend’s huge ALL IN event. The bout is available to view via FITE, Ring of Honor’s Honor Club service or New Japan’s NJPWWorld streaming platform. The NJPW option is the cheapest if you have not yet seen the event and you get an entire month of NJPW content in the mix, including the Destruction shows.

The 70th anniversary show will be available to view on FITE for $24.99 on Sunday October 21st.

.@RealNickAldis speaks out on his match with @DougWilliamsUK tomorrow at 4pm right here at #Wrestlingmediacon and the future title shot against Cody for the @NWA title! #Manchester #Bowlers #Wrestling pic.twitter.com/t3M8BLGQvA

— Wrestling MediaCon (@WrestlingMediaC) September 8, 2018

HUGE announcement here at #WrestlingMediaCon @DougWilliamsUK will take on @RealNickAldis for his shot at @nwa Champion @CodyRhodes TOMORROW 4pm here. Don’t you miss it! #Manchester #Bowlers #Wrestling pic.twitter.com/Nmh3ESb1Uo

— Wrestling MediaCon (@WrestlingMediaC) September 8, 2018

Former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis lost his title at ALL IN. The British star fell to the ‘American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes. It was an incredibly emotional bout which arguably has put the NWA title back on the map.

Wrestling MediaCon has confirmed that Aldis will comment on the title loss this Saturday. NWA will be hosting a live ‘Ten Pounds of Gold’ show featuring the former Champion. This will be the first time he has publicly discussed the loss.

‘Ten Pounds of Gold’ will be available to view live via the FITE TV platform. The show will go live at 11:00am Eastern Time and 4:00pm GMT.

Here’s the full synopsis for the show.

Ten Pounds of Gold Live

• We are going to be joined at MediaCon by the man who until last weekend could call himself the National Wrestling Alliance. World Heavyweight Champion, Nick Aldis. After his loss to Cody Rhodes at the spectacular All In, what will the former champion have to say to Cody and the world? What will he have to say to his home fans? Whatever it is, Wrestling MediaCon will see the very first public appearance for Aldis after All In and that is sure to make for a hugely exciting recording of the NWA’s Ten Pounds of Gold, live at Mediacon.

CONFIRMED@RealNickAldis will speak LIVE for the first time since @ALL_IN_2018 at MEDIA CON ( @WrestlingMediaC ) this Saturday. #TenPoundsOfGold will cover but you can watch live on @FiteTV

— NWA (@nwa) September 6, 2018

Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks made history this past Saturday Night when they filled the 10,000 seat arena in Chicago and presented the All In event.

The whole show has generally been praised by the fans and now as the dust of the event is settling, the big question is if we’ll see more from the production of this trio.

Impact backstage interviewer Alicia Atout recently talked to Cody after the event and she asked the new NWA Worlds Champion how he is feeling about everything after the show.

Answering the question the former WWE Star claimed that the 10,000 plus people in the arena felt like 100,000 plus and said that while he doesn’t want to jump and say ‘I am ready to do it again’ there is definitely a thirst for what they are offering.

Continuing on the topic, Rhodes also talked about his Championship victory during the event and said that the NWA title he is holding really feels like it weighs 10 pounds.

This is not the only tease for a second All In event. As noted before, the trio talked about a possible All In II after their show in Chicago went off air and the latest episode of Being The Elite also teases the same.

The big question now is if all three of the show’s promoters are in favor of another such event and if they are then when can we expect to see it.

You can check out the interview of Cody Rhodes in the video below:

Dustin Runnels could not be any prouder of his little brother, Cody. According to a video the wrestler known as Goldust posted to Instagram, he’s already watched All In and Cody’s match with Nick Aldis multiple times.

“Hey little brother, it’s big brother here,” Dustin begins. “I love you. Congratulations on an incredible match with Nick Aldis to become the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Unbelievable.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnRfnfQgEGV/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1gnzyevfzx48a

Dustin and Cody Rhodes

After winning the ROH World Championship last year, Cody spoke about how supportive his older brother was.

“I love my big brother. I absolutely do. And if the shoe was on the other foot and he became World Champion or becomes World Champion, I’ll be there,” Cody said in a media conference call in 2017.

As a team, the brothers are 2x former WWE tag-team champions and won the Slammy award for tag-team of the year in 2013. Earlier that year, Cody had eliminated his brother from the Royal Rumble, the second such time he had done so.

Earlier this summer, Dustin commemorated the 3-year anniversary of Dusty Rhodes’ death.

“Been an especially hard year for me,” Dustin Tweeted on June 11th. “3 yrs. ago we lost our dad. Every damn day, I wish I could see you, or pick up the phone and call you. God, I miss you, Dad. You are the strongest, greatest man I ever knew. I love you pops.”

UK based promotion Fight Forever has announced a huge debut show that will be taking place this December. The new promotion will be bringing the co-creator of ALL IN Cody Rhodes and New Japan’s Will Ospreay to Birmingham’s Pryzm Nightclub on December 6th.

‘Phenomena’ will be the first of Fight Forever’s huge tour. With dates also lined up for London (7th), Bristol (8th) and Liverpool (9th). Other names confirmed for the upcoming tour are:

• NXT UK Star Zack Gibson
• Brandi Rhodes
• Flip Gordon
• MLW Star Jimmy Havoc
• NXT UK Star James Drake
• 205 Live Star ‘Flash’ Morgan Webster
• NXT UK Star El Ligero
• IMPACT/WoS star Joe Hendry
• WoS Star Rampage Brown
• NXT UK/PROGRESS Star Travis Banks

The company has also confirmed that there will be a ‘Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard’ live podcast and The Godfather’s ‘Pimp Party.’ Here’s some info from the company’s press release:

“Brand New UK Professional Wrestling Promotion ‘Fight Forever Wrestling’ Announce Debut Tour featuring ‘Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard Live’, ‘The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes’, WWE UK Tournament Winner Zack Gibson. WWE Hall of Famer, Charles Wright, will also be appearing on the tour as a special guest and the host of after show party events, ‘Papa Shango’s Voodoo Party’ and ‘The Godfather’s Pimp Party’.”

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT: Our first ever show, Fight Forever Wrestling in B’ham on the 6th Dec has evolved into 'Phenomena' featuring a stacked roster including @CodyRhodes @PrichardShow @WillOspreay @ZackGibson01 @JimmyHavoc @TheFlipGordon @joeshendry and many more! Tickets on sale now pic.twitter.com/4tPf2oKoBE

— Fight Forever Wrestling (@fightforeveruk) September 3, 2018

Cody is the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He defeated Nick Aldis for the honor in front of a sell-out crowd in Chicago’s Sears Center Arena. In a match which felt like an old-school NWA title match, Cody pinned Aldis by reversing a sunset flip. Reminiscent of when NWA champions of yesteryear won the title, a period of silence preceded the official announcement and then the playing of Cody’s music.

With shades of Bret Hart psychology throughout the match, Cody Rhodes achieves the greatest moment of his surging career #AllIn pic.twitter.com/4wWCcv04MM

— Justin Barrasso (@JustinBarrasso) September 2, 2018

Cody NWA World Heavyweight Champion

Cody is now the 54th person to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He’s the 3rd to hold the belt since Billy Corgan took ownership of the promotion last October.

Dusty Rhodes is a former 3x NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He never held the title long, however, as his combined days spent with the title only equal 107 days. In comparison, Nick Aldis’ title reign ends at 266 days. Tim Storm held the title for 414 days.

This is Cody’s second World Championship. He held Ring of Honor’s World Championship for 175 days last year. He won the title from Christopher Daniels on June 23rd, 2017 but then lost it to Dalton Castle at Final Battle on December 15th, 2017.

“Let’s not stop. Let’s keep going,” Cody Tweeted not long after the event completed.

Let’s not stop. Let’s keep going.

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) September 2, 2018

So happy bout this night for @CodyRhodes !! Dream achieved! #KeepSteppin #NWAChamp #DustyRhodes3xChamp #CodyRhodes1xChamp ! Damnit man this is the coolest thing ever. The world is yours!!! pic.twitter.com/oi7QUcMamf

— Dustin Rhodes (@dustinrhodes) September 2, 2018

Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Cody was recently a guest on Busted Open Radio to promote tonight’s All In pay-per-view (PPV) event.

Cody and The Young Bucks’ self-funded event sold out the Sears Centre in Chicago, Illinois in just a few minutes. All In weekend has been a huge success thus far, and it all culminates tonight for the big show.

During the interview, WWE Hall Of Famer Bully Ray asked Cody – if all goes according to plan – could All In surpass any one show Dusty Rhodes ever created:

“I don’t think I can speculate. Because, it’s mine, you know? It’s me, Matt [Jackson], Nick [Jackson], it’s the Being the Elite guys. It’s all of yours, you know? It is by wrestlers, for wrestlers.

“It’s by fans, for fans. If you look at this convention and you look at the show, I care more about whether Dusty would have a good time at All In than whether I win this match, if that makes any sense.”

Cody Reveals How “The Dream” Would’ve Liked All In

In regards to Dusty Rhodes, Cody believes that his father would’ve been “stoked” for All In. For example, he shared an interesting story about how Dusty first perceived ECW:

“The first time he tuned in to ECW, this is a good example, I thought like, oh, he’s gonna hate it. Look at what’s happening, there’s all kinds of sex and violence.

“He was so entertained, and I remember sitting in front of him with my little Hasboro figures and watch the shows, every pay-per-view.

“So he had this forward-thinking knowledge that I think all of the great minds in pro wrestling have. So, I think if he saw this, he’d have a few touches for sure, but I think he’d be pretty stoked about it. I hope he would.”

"I care more about whether Dusty would have a good time at #ALLIN than whether I win this match."@CodyRhodes discusses the success of @ALL_IN_2018 & @Starrcast18 with @davidlagreca1 & @bullyray5150 at "Breakfast with Busted Open." pic.twitter.com/GQKX3MqtrS

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) August 31, 2018

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

WWE Hall Of Famer Diamond Dallas Page was recently interviewed by Wrestling Inc. to talk about several professional wrestling topics.

During the conversation, Page opened up about his relationship with the Rhodes family. In particular, “DDP” talked about how long he has known Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Cody Rhodes:

“I’ve known Cody since he was ten. Without Dusty Rhodes there is no Diamond Dallas Page, he took me under his wing and believed in me when nobody did, nobody. …

“Back then, I used to always call [Cody], ‘young buck.’ I’ve never really told this story until this week, because I’ve been saving it, because of the Young Bucks and how amazing they are.”

Advice For A “Young Buck”

Page then shared some advice he once gave to a young Cody Rhodes, who he used to call “young buck”:

“I went, ‘Woah, well, slow down young buck. I think I was a three-time world champion at one time.’ He was like ‘No! Come on, man!’ and I was just busting his chops.

“I said, ‘Listen, young buck, the deal is you’ve got to keep your feet on the ground because you got a whole big sign on your back. You got a big bulls-eye on that and you gotta keep your feet on the ground, but keep reaching for the stars, bro.”

Finally, Page shared the emotional message that Cody gave him shortly after the passing of Dusty Rhodes:

“When he passed, Cody had called me and he said, ‘Listen man, you know Dusty would always say he has five friends and I just want you to know right before he passed, he told me that again.’

“He said some guys were off and on the list, but Dallas was always on that list. And for him to tell me that – even though I had heard that from Dream – it was super special.”

The ALL IN weigh-ins from Starrcast took place on Friday, although only one match ended up on the scales.

Following a brief introduction, The Young Bucks made their way to the stage to talk about ALL In and celebrate with the crowd after selling out 10,000 seats for what is being hailed as the biggest independent pro wrestling show of all time.

While everybody involved put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into building the card, the Young Bucks were obviously excited by the reaction from the crowd and the wrestling community as a whole.

“The way I feel right now, I wanna do 50 more of these damn things!” the Young Bucks shouted to the crowd.

From there it was time for the only actual weigh-in that took place at the hour plus long event as Cody Rhodes and NWA heavyweight champion Nick Aldis made their way to the stage. Cody officially weighed 206 pounds while Aldis was at 238 pounds.

Afterwards, Aldis refused to shake hands with Cody before leaving the stage to a loud chorus of boos from the audience.

Cody then made a special announcement regarding his match as famed referee Earl Hepner will be the third man in the ring during the NWA heavyweight championship match on Saturday night.

Bill Apter also made an appearance during the weigh-ins where he presented three custom made ALL IN championship belts to Cody and The Young Bucks, who spearheaded the entire idea behind this massive show.

The show was then turned over to “The Hangman” Adam Page, who came out without wearing any boots — and then he allowed the fans to ask him a few questions.

Unfortunately for Page, all anybody wanted to talk about was Joey Ryan, which finally led to him erupting on the microphone.

“The truth is I murdered Joey Ryan. I murdered him!,” Page shouted before his “attorney” came onto the stage to take away the microphone to protect his client.

Following a brief appearance from the SoCal Underground, the crowd then came to its feet when Marty Scrull came to the stage. He definitely received one of the loudest ovations during the entire weigh-ins before addressing his upcoming match against former IWGP heavyweight champion “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada.

“I will stop the rain!” Scurll shouted to the crowd in anticipation of his match at ALL IN.

Joey Janela also popped up out of the crowd before making his way to the stage to stir up the audience while smoking a cigarette and chugging a beer while promising to beat “Hangman” Page at ALL IN.

Finally at the close of the weigh-ins, one final guess was introduced as reigning IWGP champion Kenny Omega came to the stage to the loudest reaction of the night.

Omega answered a few questions from the crowd — and even anticipated an inquiry about his interest in going to WWE, although that never actually came.

Perhaps the biggest piece of news to come out of Omega’s appearance was a question about him appearing at the upcoming G-1 Supercard co-promoted by Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling taking place in Madison Square Garden in New York.

While Omega wasn’t ready to commit to anything just yet, a giant smile crept across his face after the question was asked. He joked about getting a ticket before adding more intrigue to the card coming up on April 6, 2019.

“I will probably be there,” Omega said. “Whether I’m needed or not, I don’t know.”

Before leaving, Omega was asked what it felt like being the greatest wrestler in the world right now on the heels of reaching No. 1 in the 2018 PWI 500.

Omega said that as much as awards and accolades are nice to receive, what means even more to him is the reaction he gets from the fans who watch his matches and they are the ones he’s representing each time he steps into the ring.

“That’s what fuels me to continue to fight,” Omega said. “To represent every one of you guys as the alternative for ALL IN.”

ALL IN goes down on Saturday night from Chicago and don’t miss a minute of the coverage all weekend long on SEScoops.com.

Cody Rhodes never shies away from a tough question. The former WWE superstar turned independent wrestling darling had plenty to answer during a Reddit ‘ask me anything’ session with fans on Tuesday. This weekend, Rhodes will serve as performer and promoter for the highly anticipated ALL IN pay-per-view that is expected to be the biggest independent wrestling card of 2018.

Despite a busy week ahead, Rhodes took time to answer questions about some of his favorite moments in the ring, plenty about the upcoming ALL IN show and he even addressed a notorious rumor regarding Randy Orton.

Here’s the best of the best from Cody Rhodes’ AMA on Reddit:

Promoting Future Shows

This weekend, Cody will put on his promoter hat after teaming up with the Young Bucks to put on the ambitious ALL IN card that takes place in Chicago. Obviously, Cody still loves in ring competition but does this latest show mean he’s thinking about turning promoter again in the future?

“I don’t know,” Rhodes answered. “I’m already over budget and overtime.”

Still, Rhodes says he wouldn’t have it any other way because he invited the headaches that he knew would happen with a show of this magnitude.

“I wanted the stress,” Rhodes stated.

Security at All In

Sadly after the shooting in Jacksonville just days ago during a Madden football tournament, some fans were curious about the security at the ALL IN pay-per-view, which is being held just outside of Chicago.

“Security was beefy from the jump, but we’ve added several levels and the building is an incredibly secure and disciplined building,” Rhodes stated.

All In Taking Place In Different Cities

Several months back, Rhodes had teased several potential locations for the ALL IN card and he even mentioned Dublin, Ireland as a possible landing spot. It turns out, Cody was dead serious about turning this show into an international card but ultimately they decided on Chicago instead.

“Loved the fans at OTT. Promoter wasn’t too keen on me and the ref actually had the balls to tell me to “take it home” during a triple-threat match. Yea, I’ll telepathically do that bud,” Rhodes wrote.

“But we weren’t lying. Dublin was considered and I’d love to be back there. Such a fun crowd that night.”

While they aren’t traveling to Europe, Rhodes was asked about bringing in more talent from overseas to perform on the ALL IN show. Sadly, Rhodes says navigating the difficult visa system made it nearly impossible to get everybody possible on the card.

“One issue with talents from outside countries was visas,” Rhodes explained. “The three of us were not versed in how that works properly. Securing the Canadian and Japanese ones were rather difficult. Lesson learned though.”

Marty vs. Okada

When it came time to booking the show, Rhodes had lots of ideas for the talent involved including the highly anticipated matchup between Kazuchika Okada and Marty Scurll.

“Nick Jackson wanted Marty to have a match. I had Marty doing a “singing segment”. Nick was right,” Rhodes joked.

The Best Advice Cody Has Received In Wrestling

Outside of ALL IN, Rhodes also answered a few questions from his past including the best advice he’s ever been given since becoming a professional wrestler.

“Never let them convince you that you aren’t the star of that tag team” -Joey Mercury

These days, Rhodes says he’s listening to himself for the best possible advice after receiving plenty from WWE CEO Vince McMahon and his own famous father, Dusty Rhodes.

“I got 10 years of advice from [Vince] and 30 years of advice from Dusty…invaluable, but got to follow my own advice now,” Rhodes said.

The Brotherhood vs. The Shield at WWE Battleground 2013

Rhodes also addressed one of his favorite moments from the past when he teamed with his brother Dustin in a match at WWE Battleground against The Shield team of Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. That night, Cody hit the ‘Cross Rhodes’ to get the pin in front of his father and that still serves as one of the best moments of his entire career.

“Sorry I’m a little late! It’s definitely in my TOP-5,” Rhodes stated.

So .. Did He Shake Randy Orton’s Hand?

And finally just to add a little levity to the Q&A, Rhodes was asked about his former partner Randy Orton, who recently had some rumors brought up about his backstage behavior, especially when it came to shaking hands with people.

Rather than avoid the question, Rhodes offered his own hilarious answer.

“We hugged,” Rhodes said.

Check out Cody Rhodes and the entire ALL IN card this weekend with full results and coverage on SEScoops.com.

Cody Rhodes is preparing for his match at All In next month.

The former WWE Intercontinental Champion will face Nick Aldis for the NWA World Title. Rhodes is self-funding All In alongside The Young Bucks. It goes down from the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on September 1st.

Yesterday Rhodes took to Twitter and debuted his custom weight belt that he will debut at All In. The title has “Do The Work” and “Rhodes” inscribed on it. Check it out here:

Very special weight belt crafted for @ALL_IN_2018

This Saturday on PPV/@FiteTV & @ringofhonor Honor Club pic.twitter.com/WFMMcikLwm

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) August 26, 2018

Rhodes and The Young Bucks have acquired some of professional wrestling’s biggest names for the card. You can check out the match card and broadcast information here:

Zero Hour Preshow on WGN America (6P.M. ET)

• Over Budget Battle Royale (Winner races Jay Lethal for the ROH Title): Brian Cage, Jordynne Grace, Moose, Rocky Romero, Colt Cabana, Ethan Page, Billy Gunn, Jimmy Jacobs, Marko Stunt, Trent, Chuckie T, Brandon Cutler, Virgil, TBA
• The Briscoes vs. Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky

All In on PPV (7PM ET)

• Adam Page vs. Joey Janela
• Tessa Blanchard vs. Madison Rayne vs. Chelsea Green vs. Britt Baker
• Stephen Amell vs. Christopher Daniels
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll
• Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon
• ROH World Title: (C) Jay Lethal vs. Over Budget Battle Royale winner
• NWA World Heavyweight Championship: (C) Nick Aldis vs. Cody Rhodes
• Rey Mysterio, Bandido and Fenix vs. The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi

Putting on a massive event like ALL IN isn’t cheap.

The highly anticipated pay-per-view event that goes down this weekend features stars from all over the professional wrestling world and might just be one of the most ambitious independent shows in recent memory.

As one of the primary people behind the show, Cody Rhodes knows exactly what it took to get this incredible lineup together.

In fact, Rhodes had to go above and beyond when it came time to afford the ‘Over Budget Battle Royal’, which earned its name thanks to the real life financial constraints that were required to make it happen in the first place.

With an hour long special dubbed ‘ALL IN: Zero Hour’ set to air on WGN America, Rhodes knew he had to pull out all the stops to make the battle royal happen — and so that’s exactly what he did.

“When you look at the ring for the entire show — you look at the canvas, you look at the aprons, the buckles, all the soft goods that make up a professional wrestling ring – know that I sold each and every one of them to various collectors so that I could afford the Over Budget Battle Royal,” Rhodes revealed on the latest ALL US podcast.

Memorabilia from events like this one can fetch a premium price from collectors so that’s exactly what Rhodes used to ensure he could afford the battle royal that will air on WGN America.

The winner of that battle royal will then go onto compete for the Ring of Honor championship during the pay-per-view portion of ALL IN.

Rhodes definitely gets points for creativity and now ALL IN: Zero Hour will feature the ‘Over Budget Battle Royal’ starting at 6 p.m. ET on WGN America this Saturday night.