With his victory at WWE Night of Champions, “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes has etched his name into the history books once again.
As noted by Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, Rhodes has become just the third man in pro wrestling history to both win the prestigious NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship and claim victory in WWE’s King of the Ring tournament — joining an elite group that includes WWE Hall of Famers Harley Race and Ken Shamrock.
Rhodes captured the NWA title back in September 2018, defeating Nick Aldis at the All In pay-per-view — an event he co-promoted prior to the formation of AEW. Now, nearly seven years later, he’s added the King of the Ring crown to his resume after defeating Randy Orton in the tournament finals.
This historic achievement adds yet another accolade to Rhodes’ storied career as he now looks ahead to a World Title opportunity at WWE SummerSlam.
Cody Rhodes joins Ken Shamrock and Harley Race as the only men to hold the NWA Worlds Championship and become King of the Ring
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) June 28, 2025
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for full coverage on Cody Rhodes’ next chapter and all things WWE.
