New Japan’s American Expansion Hinges on Cody Rhodes

When New Japan’s first shows in America were announced back in January, nobody expected Cody Rhodes to be in the main event. Rhodes had just debuted for New Japan at that January show, Wrestle Kingdom 11, and although a major push could have been predicted, based on both his own abilities and renown and the legacy of his father, it was unthinkable at the time that New Japan would launch its expansion into America with a wrestler most familiar to American viewers as a long-time WWE midcarder.

A lot has happened in the last six months, though. Rhodes quickly established himself as one of the leaders of the Bullet Club, a stable that continues to grow in popularity in America. He remains one of the busiest wrestlers on the independent scene, main eventing for promotions throughout the world every week. He’s become a centerpiece of Ring of Honor, wrestling in one of the best matches on their huge Wrestlemania weekend show. And in a development that makes this weekend’s match-up with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada even more intriguing, just last week Rhodes won the ROH World Championship at the Best in the World pay per view. It’s incredibly rare for the world champions of two different promotions to go head to head, but that’s exactly what’ll happen in the main event of tomorrow’s G1 Special in USA, which will be airing live on AXS TV in America.

Despite his success, and despite being effectively turned face by a raucous Bullet Club-loving crowd at last week’s ROH pay per view, Rhodes (who, due to a dispute with WWE surrounding his family’s fictional last name, wrestles solely as Cody, with no last name) is one of the most controversial wrestlers working today. There’s a contingent of fans who strongly dislike his work, his persona and the amount of attention he gets. Many resent that he’s in the main event of New Japan’s first American show instead of a wrestler more traditionally associated with the promotion, like Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi or Kenny Omega. Some fans still see him as that midcard hand who didn’t deserve to get pushed any harder in WWE.

On a conference call with wrestling media earlier this week, Cody acknowledged the controversy over his main event with Okada, and his vocal critics within the wrestling audience. From when the ground was first being laid for his match-up with Okada, when Cody memorably spat Coors Light in Okada’s face after New Japan’s Dominion show in Osaka in June, “the wrestling fan base was polarized,” Cody said on the conference call. “The idea that, ‘no no no, you can’t do the ex-WWE guy and the pure New Japan guy,’ or, ‘you know what, Cody has proved me wrong left and right and central, and I’m all about this, I want to see what Cody brings in his first New Japan Pro Wrestling main event.’ Or ‘we’re not getting Kenny/Okada III? My gosh, I want my ticket refunded.’ It created just this absolute storm, just a buzz, a total maelstrom of discussion.”

The title of Eric Bischoff’s memoir is a cliché, but often a true one: controversy creates cash. Cody, the son of one of the best wrestlers and bookers ever, realizes that. “I don’t mean to get all promoter-y or carnie or anything like that,” he said, “but people forget, Dusty [Rhodes, Cody’s father] was a great wrestler and all that, but I remember him more almost as a promoter. I’m a promoter’s son. And if ever you have people talking about a main event, ‘what do you think about this,’ ‘I don’t get this,’ whenever anything starts with that, you just generated a ton of box office. I’m proud of that.