Cody Rhodes has a three-word reaction to facing AJ Styles in his first-ever PLE title defense at WWE Backlash

Cody Rhodes points out the significance of his match against AJ Styles at Backlash.

Cody Rhodes has a three-word reaction to facing AJ Styles in his first-ever PLE title defense at WWE Backlash

Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles (via WWE)

Backlash will be the first WWE PLE to be held in France. The event takes place this Saturday, May 4th, in Lyon. The show will be headlined by Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles, marking the Undisputed WWE Champion’s first PLE title defense since winning the title at WrestleMania XL. As such, The American Nightmare had something to say about his upcoming battle against the Phenomenal One.

In response to a promotional picture of their match, the 38-year-old tweeted that this was the first time that he was about to go head-to-head with Mr. TNA. The post also confirmed that the match is going ahead as planned despite the champion’s injury scare.

YouTube video

Not only are these two meeting for the first time in a WWE ring, but they never crossed paths in any other promotion, either. Both of these stars have wrestled for the same companies in the past. However, their tenures never seemed to coincide with each other. 

FS Video

First Time Ever.

Cody Rhodes on X

When Cody Rhodes made his way to NJPW to join the Bullet Club, the Phenomenal One had already signed with the WWE. Similarly, the challenger’s Ring of Honor tenure also came much earlier than the champion’s. While these two have never had a match themselves, AJ Styles has faced off against The American Nightmare’s father.

The Phenomenal One took on Dusty Rhodes in 2003 in TNA. While the 46-year-old was able to beat a member of the Rhodes family back then, it would be interesting to see if he can repeat this feat this Saturday, which could result in yet another surprise at Backlash.

AJ Styles credits his NJPW run for putting him on the map

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, AJ Styles spoke about his two-year run in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The 46-year-old won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match for the company. He mentioned how the creative department made major changes for him.

AJ Styles
AJ Styles in NJPW (via NJPW)

Styles claimed that if he was in charge of creative, the last thing he would do is award them the world title as soon as they got there. However, the Japanese company made it work. Additionally, the Phenomenal One believes that it put him on the map immediately.

The former WWE Champion also said that he got to NJPW when it was heating up. At the time, they had some of the biggest names on their roster, such as Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, and Hiroshi Tanahashi. Nonetheless, he appreciated being able to say or do as he liked, claiming that he had no handcuffs.

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