5 Wrestlers That Are Close Friends Of Cody Rhodes (& 5 He Has Heat With)

Cody Rhodes has become one of the most powerful people in wrestling as an executive vice president for AEW. The four EVPs all have equal power, but Cody is the only one to work for a huge television company like WWE and grew up witnessing his father help run WCW. Many of the most positive changes in wrestling over the past few years feature Rhodes involved in some way.

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The close friends of Cody will vouch for him and always defend him. Rhodes’ critics may have the opposite opinion and have developed heat with him for one reason or another. Without further ado, let's take a look at the wrestlers who have either befriended The American Nightmare or developed heat with the grandson of a plumber.

10 Friend: Matt Cardona

The signing of Matt Cardona aka Zack Ryder by AEW was clearly a Cody Rhodes move. Rhodes has been vocal about wanting Ryder to leave WWE and showcase his potential without the restrictions for a few years now.

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Cardona and Cody became close during their time in WWE. The two wrestlers have taken vacations together and plan an annual Disney trip with their significant others every year. Cody has gone out of his way to look out for Cardona like a true friend.

9 Heat: Triple H

Cody Rhodes created the heat between him and Triple H at AEW’s first ever event Double or Nothing 2019. The entrance of Cody saw him taking a sledgehammer to break a throne that looked like one Triple H used at WrestleMania XXX.

A few comments from Cody implied he didn’t appreciate Triple H calling the NXT stars “Dusty’s kids” when Dusty’s actual sons were on the roster. Triple H tried to talk Cody into staying at WWE, but Cody wanted out to show his own vision.

8 Friend: Kevin Owens

The friendship between Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens during their time in WWE together played a huge role in Cody’s life. Owens reached out to his close friends The Young Bucks to let them know that Cody was cool, and they’d get along.

The Bullet Club inducted Cody just a few months after leaving WWE and he formed the bond with the Bucks that started the momentum for AEW. Owens and Cody have had nothing but kind words to say about each other for years.

7 Heat: Disco Inferno

Former WCW enhancement talent Disco Inferno became an enemy of Cody Rhodes due to the world of social media drama. Disco has tried to become a controversial figure on social media and on his podcasts when discussing wrestling.

Cody and many of his friends have been attacked by Disco leading to the heat building. The savage response from Cody saw him go after Disco for never drawing money and using his friendships in wrestling to continue getting booked.

6 Friend: Cesaro

Cesaro is one of the most universally loved wrestlers by both his peers and the wrestling fan base. Cody Rhodes is among the deep list of wrestlers to praise Cesaro as one of the best opponents he’s ever worked with.

Cesaro is still hoping to make his way to the top of WWE, but AEW will likely always be an option for him due to the friendships with many important people in that company. Cody has already said he’d love to work with Cesaro in any capacity.

5 Heat: Heath Slater

The recent WWE releases saw fans speculating on just about everyone going to AEW. Matt Cardona was the first name to make the jump. Heath Slater is among the performers that likely will never work there if Cody Rhodes has any say in it.

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Cody replied to a tweet asking about bringing Slater to AEW with a subtle, yet brutal no. Slater was not happy about it and called out Cody for missing the boat on his talent. Impact Wrestling already offered a Slater a chance to prove himself right and Cody wrong by adding him to their roster.

4 Friend: MJF

Cody Rhodes and MJF’s friendship turned rivalry was intentionally one of the first major storylines in AEW. MJF was one of Cody’s recruits for the initial All In pay-per-view and became part of the AEW roster in the early stages.

The heel work of MJF stood out to Cody before MJF made any big commitments to major promotions. Cody went to bat for MJF and it seems to be paying off since AEW trusts MJF enough to challenge Jon Moxley for the AEW Championship at All Out 2020.

3 Heat: Vince Russo

The controversial comments from Vince Russo have made him an enemy of many people, including Cody Rhodes. Russo was initially booked to be part of the Starrcast convention during the All In weekend until Cody shut it down.

Various comments from Russo received complaints from fans not understanding how someone expressing bigotry was booked at an event tied to All In. Cody made his opinion clear to influence the change and has been trashed by Russo since then.

2 Friend: Randy Orton

Randy Orton played a huge role in Cody Rhodes finding his confidence in WWE. Rhodes was struggling in a tag team with Hardcore Holly as a generic face until turning heel to unite with Ted DiBiase Jr. in the Legacy faction under Orton.

Multiple interviews have seen Cody saying Orton taught him a lot and helped him improve as a wrestler. The two have remained close throughout the years, with Orton expressing support for AEW on a few occasions.

1 Heat: Justin Gabriel

One of the more under the radar instances of wrestlers having heat featured former WWE star Justin Gabriel aka PJ Black taking shots at Cody Rhodes. Gabriel recently posted a tweet saying Dusty Rhodes was rolling in his grave during the Cody vs Warhorse match on AEW Dynamite.

A few other comments have seen Gabriel insulting Cody’s wrestling talent and stating he’d never get a shot in AEW because of Cody. The public insults have been one-sided since Cody has yet to speak about it, but there are clearly issues there.

NEXT: Cody Rhodes: Ranking The 10 Best Versions Of His Character