The American Nightmare is living his dream at #5!

I predicted huge things for the former Stardust when he left WWE in mid-2016. His run as that character went nowhere as WWE refused to use him in any sort of positive light. His decision to leave the company opened up a ton of new doors for him. Much like Sami Callihan and Juice Robinson, Cody has started a career renaissance since leaving WWE.

Image credit: NJPW.

He ended 2016 and started 2017 with debuts at the two promotions he now calls home. Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling have both invited Cody in with open arms. As the newest member of the Bullet Club, he comes with a pre-arranged entourage as well. Alongside the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Marty Scurll and Hangman Page, he is also featured in the "Being the Elite" webseries.

The early months of the year ended his run with Impact Wrestling and left the Global Force NEX*GEN title he held in limbo. And while he does make a few other independent appearances, his focus since that time has been on ROH and NJPW. He won multiple matches in New Japan leading up to a title shot against Kazuchika Okada at the NJPW G1 Special from California. He would take his first loss to Okada and would later lose a tag title shot alongside Hangman Page. But even as his success waned in New Japan, his star rose to the top of Ring of Honor.

Just before his loss to Okada, he took the ROH World title from Christopher Daniels at Best in the World. He'd retain the title in a rematch the very next day in a 2 out of 3 falls match before embarking on a world tour that saw him defend the title successfully thirteen times. The likes of Michael Elgin, Willie Mack, Minoru Suzuki, Sanada, Frankie Kazarian and Jay Lethal fell to him in his six month reign. Ultimately, it would be Dalton Castle that surprisingly unseated him at Final Battle to take the title.

In the last year, Cody has reinvigorated himself as an ultra-smarmy heel. The American Nightmare is the polar opposite to his hard-hitting babyface father, the American Dream. Vain and petty, his demands for everyone to "kiss the ring" made him reviled even as most of the Bullet Club received cheers from American audiences.

While Cody's loss at the end of the year was a bittersweet moment, his 2017 was nothing short of a phenomenal rise for a man the WWE would barely let off of Main Event and Superstars. At only 32, he still has the best years of his career ahead of him and a long term deal with ROH means he should have several more years with both them and New Japan ahead. It's easy to see him developing into a gaijin ace for New Japan even as he continues to dominate Ring of Honor.

Check out one of the most unique matches of the year, as current WWE UK Champion and #6 entry on this list Pete Dunne takes on Cody from a Southside Wrestling show!


Tomorrow, we finish off the week with one of the most dominant talents in professional wrestling at #4. Find out who on Friday!