Love him or hate him, Cody Rhodes is your new TNT Champion.
"The American Nightmare" captured the title for the third time in his career by defeating defending champion Sammy Guevara on this week's special Holiday Bash edition of AEW Rampage.
It all went down at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina on Wednesday, December 22, although the show didn't air until Christmas Day. Guevara and Rhodes went one-on-one in a solid main event that came to an end when Cody hit Sammy with three Cross Rhodes in a row followed by a Tiger Driver 98. After the bell, legendary wrestling promoter David Crocket presented Cody with the TNT title belt as Greensboro attempted to boo the new champion out of the building.
Sammy Guevara became TNT Champion when he ended the 141-day reign of "God's Favorite Champion" Miro in the main event of the September 29 edition of AEW Dynamite. Guevara's s reign wasn't as long as it probably should have been, but he was a fighting champion throughout, picking up wins over the likes of Jay Lethal and Tony Nese on his journey.
Cody is now in his third reign as TNT champ. He became the title's first-ever holder when he defeated Lance Archer in the final match of AEW TNT Title Tournament Final at Double Or Nothing in 2020. Cody lost the title to Brody Lee 82 days later but won it back from Brodie in a dog collar match on an episode of Dynamite in October of 2020. Cody's second reign lasted just 31 days, and he lost the strap to Darby Allin in November of 2020.
Whether or not Cody's reign lasts longer than his previous two remains to be seen, but he's giving off some serious transitional champ vibes right now. If the plan is for Cody to ultimately drop the gold to a popular up-and-comer (*cough* HOOK *cough cough*) then we're all for it.