Sometimes, an athlete goes on a journey that eventually culminates in One Shining Moment. Other times, it happens on a Showcase of the Immortals. And quite often, that path to glory has a few curves in the road along the way. However, in the end, their crowning achievements will eventually guarantee both WWE’s Cody Rhodes and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark iconic status.
It’s a very rare occurrence, to see someone reach the mountaintop, capturing our emotions along the way. Even more rarely do you see it happen to two separate people concurrently.
But that’s what could happen this weekend, as two shining stars enter the spotlight at two very different events. All at the same time.
Caitlin Clark and Cody Rhodes Closer Connection Than You’d Think
The drama will unfold on a huge and highly entertaining weekend, as the sporting world prepares for one of its biggest weekends of the year. Caitlin Clark and her Iowa Hawkeyes teammates will be trying to complete their quest for the NCAA Women’s Championship in Cleveland.
Meanwhile, in the world of sports entertainment, Cody Rhodes will look to ‘finish his story’ and win the WWE Universal Title at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia when he meets the seemingly unbeatable Roman Reigns.
One is a full-blown competition and the other is storyline-driven. But the pair’s paths to glory have a lot of things in common.
Denied A Year Ago, Caitlin Clark and Cody Rhodes Come Back To Claim The Throne
Clark is the career-scoring leader in NCAA basketball history. And that’s not just on the ladies’ side of the ledger; she’s scored more points than any male player as well. While a skilled playmaker, she’s mostly known for being one of the deadliest shooters in the history of the game.
A year ago, it looked as if Caitlin Clark and Iowa were about to ascend to the holy grail of hoops. Unfortunately for them, they were denied by rival LSU and fellow superstar April Reese. The Bayou Bengals topped the Hawkeyes, 102-85 in the NCAA Finals.
Fast forward to a year later. The two teams met up again in the Elite 8 this week, with the opportunity to move on to the national semifinals. This time, Clark aimed and did not miss. In front of the biggest television audience to ever watch a women’s college game, Iowa avenged last year’s loss, and Caitlin Clark put on a show, leading her team to a 94-87 win.
She scored 41 points and launched three-point bombs from just about everywhere on Earth. Now she’s just two steps away from the title she’s been striving to achieve.
In that same vein, Cody Rhodes was also denied his chance to hoist a championship in 2023.
Once thought to be the hand-picked successor to the WWE’s biggest star, Roman Reigns, things didn’t quite turn out that way. Battling ‘The Tribal Chief’ in last year’s WrestleMania main event, many fans went home disappointed when Cody didn’t emerge with the coveted Universal Championship belt.
The son of the legendary Dusty Rhodes, Cody has vowed that he will win that title in honor of his father – who came so close to once wearing it but fell up short. He says it’s not only his destiny, it’s also his story. The next chapter in that saga is now set to take place.
While literally, almost anything can happen in the wacky and weird world of wrestling, Cody is the prohibitive pick and generally the fan favorite in this encounter. They feel like it must be written in the stars (or at least, the ‘plans’) that he stands triumphant to close out WrestleMania 40.
With that event now rapidly approaching, Rhodes has vowed to be the one who writes the conclusion to his story. Once and for all.
Cody Rhodes and Caitlin Clark Will Both Face Tough Odds
Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes will have to MAKE their title game first, however. And to do so, they will face the most decorated program ever in the UConn Huskies in the Final Four. If they manage to survive that? Then it’s a Sunday afternoon match-up with either South Carolina or NC State.
For Cody Rhodes, his Sunday night showdown is already written in stone. He will definitely face Reigns in what will be one of the most anticipated rematches ever.
But before he gets there, he will take on Reigns and his cousin, Dwayne ‘The Rock Johnson’ in a tag team match alongside his partner, Seth Rollins on Saturday night. As usual, Reigns will certainly be flocked by members of his family, who will attempt to affect the outcome of everything.
In other words? Rhodes will have to pull double duty and fight a ton of odds, including the world’s biggest movie star standing in his way. So, the deck has been stacked against the second-generation grappler. If he’s going to grab the gold, he’s going to go through hell and high water to get there.
Perhaps what these two stars have most in common is the way they have individually captured the fans’ imagination. Cody Rhodes has grown into one of WWE’s biggest megastars since returning to the company two years ago. The people rapidly respond to him, and that’s vastly important in the world of sports entertainment.
Caitlin Clark has also drawn a ton of attention for her awesome play and tenacity. She continues to bring a record number of eyes to women’s college hoops. And she’s going to go down as a legend no matter what happens this weekend.
There’s no guarantee that both of these two unique athletes will climb their respective mountains. One – or possibly even neither – might accomplish that goal. Anything could happen as their next few chapters unfold.
But if Cody Rhodes and Caitlin Clark do both manage to win a championship on the same day?
Man… what a story that would make.
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Ryan K Boman is the author of the 2023 book, Pop Music & Peanut Butter: A Collection of Essays about Embracing Life with Laughter & Love. His previous work has appeared at The Miami Herald, SB Nation, Bounding into Sports, and Yardbarker. Follow him on social media @RyanKBoman.
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