Surprising WWE Star Has Unfinished Business With Cody Rhodes

A former rival is looking to rekindle their rivalry with Cody Rhodes.

After spending five years with WWE, Aleister Black made an instant impact in AEW by attacking Cody Rhodes and Arn Anderson on debut in July 2021.

Black went on to beat Rhodes twice before the American Nightmare got his revenge. Although he only defeated Black once in singles action and once in a tag team match at Full Gear.

Following that match, Rhodes entered into a feud with Sammy Guevara before leaving AEW for WWE the following February. Black eventually followed his rival back to WWE, making his second debut in April 2025.

Aleister Black Left Money On The Table With Cody Rhodes

During an appearance on the Battleground podcast, Black was asked about potentially reviving his rivalry with Rhodes, and he admitted he’d love nothing more. Black went on to heavily praise the former World Champion as both an individual and a performer.

“Cody Rhodes is the ultimate professional. Speaking as a human being, I think Cody is a fantastic person. As a competitor, I think Cody is the marquee player at the moment. Having run my storylines with him has made me so much more hungry for more of it because I feel there is a lot more that we could’ve tapped into.

I sincerely hope we can do that here because there was so much left on the table both verbally and stuff that was written down that we never got to. Hopefully, now, we can (get to) because the contrast between the two characters is so vast that it makes an interesting connection. The fact that for those brief months, him and me have our history, it immediately sparks that conversation. That says a lot.

If that’s what fans go to the second the opportunity arises or that door slowly opens itself and people immediately go, ‘What about Aleister and Cody Rhodes?’ That says a lot and makes me think the work we did previously was appreciated to the point that people would like to see more of it, which is the best reflection I can have of what is going on within the mindset,”

It’s been announced that Cody Rhodes will make his return to SmackDown on May 30. The American Night made his WWE comeback at Saturday Night’s Main Event to take out John Cena, who was in the midst of an attack on World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso.

It was the first time that Rhodes had been seen since losing to Cena at WrestleMania 41.

H/t to Fightful