Cody Rhodes may be two-time (and current) WWE Champion, the face of the company during its most lucrative era, its “QB1,” and the top wrestler in the world two years in a row, as per Pro Wrestling Illustrated, but that doesn’t mean he’s everyone’s cup of tea. Just ask former WWE superstar Justin Gabriel, aka PJ Black on the independent circuit—at least for a period of time back in 2016.
When Rhodes asked for, and was granted, his release from WWE in 2016, and began to promote appearances at upcoming indie shows, Gabriel didn’t take long to comment publicly, taking to X (then Twitter) to say, “I’m so excited for a Cody Rhodes run—said nobody, ever.” While the pair both worked for WWE for the entirety of Gabriel’s run (2009-15), nothing really stood out in terms of any beef between the two. Gabriel tried to walk back his tweet, following up by posting, “[It’s] so hard lately for me to get [booed] by fans cause I’m such a lovable guy. Now I know how. Just talk s*** about a talented performer.” He ended that tweet by hashtagging “#marks,” and closed the loop on a conversation that really went nowhere talking something about trolls getting “no respect and ignoration” and claiming it was all a (bad?) joke.
Gabriel and Rhodes faced each other on WWE television six times (including twice on “WWE SmackDown”), with Rhodes going over in all six matches, so perhaps that had something to do with the outburst. But most likely, this was just an attempt by Gabriel to latch on to the popularity Rhodes found in bursting onto the independent scene. To his credit, “The American Nightmare” never responded—at least not publicly—and this all became much ado about nothing in short order.
