Cody Rhodes returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 last year for an impromptu match with Seth Rollins. While a serious pec injury sidelined him for a time, the American Nightmare made a triumphant comeback at the Royal Rumble and later challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Unfortunately, he came up short, but the belief now is that he'll once again go one-on-one with the Head of the Table at next year's Showcase of the Immortals.
Since last April, we've seen Rhodes be treated as one of WWE's top Superstars, a far cry from his previous stint in WWE. That ended with him becoming Stardust and, after fighting through the humiliation and disappointment, he later plucked up the courage to leave his dream behind.
A global tour followed, and he then helped found AEW where he was an EVP in the company until his shock departure which led him back to WWE.
Talking on Busted Open Radio, Rhodes revealed why this run feels different to the first one.
"I always tell people that I'm a slow learner. It took me a while to get to the spot I wanted to be [in]. But when I think of a new match, when somebody says 'Cody vs. somebody' — even if we had done that match eight years ago, ten years ago - it doesn't read the same way at all. It reads brand new because I had found my footing ... but I'll say there was a period of time, and maybe it wasn't in WWE where I really feel I lost my compass."
"I was arrogant and I was grizzled. You know how guys get grizzled long before they should get grizzled? I was all those things, and I was really angry. And a lot of that work is evident when you look at what I did with New Japan and Ring of Honor and AEW. There was like an anger to me that I'm motivated differently now...maybe having a daughter probably changed it. But, you know, it's different, and it's a bit better for me as motivation. It's been more positive."
It feels like Rhodes was always destined to return to WWE but there's no denying he needed that time away to establish himself as a top star who could then come back and carry the company on his back.
Recently, he addressed potentially competing with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for the spotlight at WrestleMania. You can read those comments in full here.
Have you enjoyed the American Nightmare's latest WWE run?