I had the pleasure of seeing Cody Runnels in his earliest days at OVW. I probably saw him more than any other WWE prospect during the last years of developmental. The young, aspiring wrestler I saw back then was a far cry from the leave-it-all-in-the-ring performer he has become.
I also saw Cody wrestle Rey Mysterio in person at Wrestlemania XXVII. It was one of the best matches of the night, and Cody brought the fans to their feet with a rare power display, holding Rey overhead in the corner.
I am happy to see Cody striking out on his own. The indy wrestling world is not what it was in his father’s hey day, but more and more of the top stars are making a better living on the indies than some of the mid- to lower card guys in WWE.
I think we can all agree that August 19 is going to be a very exciting day, when the son of the son of a plumber is finally able to start checking names off his list. Go get ’em, Cody!
