Much is made of the Class of OVW 2002, which bred several World Champions including John Cena, but Cody Rhodes’ class was just as good.
Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, and Shelton Benjamin were all in WWE’s developmental system in 2002 and all achieved great things in professional wrestling.
It’s become the stuff of legend as Cena, Orton, and Batista all became top stars in WWE, but Rhodes’ class in 2006 bred just as many future World Champions.
Rhodes was one of six stars from OVW’s 2006 roster who would go on to win a World Championship within WWE.
Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and The Miz were in OVW in 2006
While Cena’s class of 2002 had four World Champions, the 2006 class bred six stars who would win a major title in WWE.
Rhodes, CM Punk, The Miz, Beth Phoenix, Dolph Ziggler, and Kofi Kingston all graduated to the main roster and won at least a World Championship.
The American Nightmare is now a two-time WWE Champion, after Rhodes defeated Cena at SummerSlam.
| OVW’s Class of 2002 | OVW’s Class of 2006 |
| John Cena (WWE Champion x14, World Heavyweight Champion x3) | Cody Rhodes (WWE Champion x2) |
| Randy Orton (WWE Champion x10, World Heavyweight Champion x4) | CM Punk (WWE Champion x2, World Heavyweight Championship x4, ECW World Championship x1) |
| Batista (WWE Champion x2, World Heavyweight Champion x4) | The Miz (WWE Champion x2) |
| Mark Henry (World Heavyweight Champion x1, ECW World Championship x1) | Beth Phoenix (Divas Champion x1, Women’s Champion x4) |
| Dolph Ziggler (World Heavyweight Champion x2) | |
| Kofi Kingston (WWE Champion x1) |
Punk recently became a seven-time World Champion in WWE after defeating Gunther at SummerSlam, although it was short-lived after Seth Rollins’ shocking Money in the Bank cash-in.
Kofi Kingston won a sole WWE Championship by defeating Daniel Bryan for the belt at WrestleMania 36, which was dubbed KofiMania.
The Miz is a two-time WWE Champion and main evented WrestleMania 27, defeating Cena to retain his championship.
Phoenix won four World Championships during her time on the main roster, while Ziggler won the World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.
Cody Rhodes opened up about what CM Punk was like in OVW
Punk was one of the most experienced stars in OVW in 2006 thanks to his legendary run on the independent scene and in ROH.
Rhodes was taken under the wing of the Best in the World, and the American Nightmare has revealed what Punk was like.
“The first OVW show I walked into Brent Albright versus CM Punk was the main event, and Punk was also like running the whole show,” said Rhodes at the 2024 Royal Rumble post-show.
“[He] made me set up the ring,” explained Rhodes. “To see that, sometimes you want another person who you admire and respect to stop looking at you as the kid and look at you and see who you are.”
Rhodes and Punk are yet to wrestle a singles match since the star’s epic return at Survivor Series in 2023.