Cody Rhodes Dreams Big: WWE Match on a Decommissioned Aircraft Carrier

While other sports leagues are busy booking boxing matches at the pyramids and MMA events at the White House, Cody Rhodes has his sights set on something equally ambitious—and nostalgic. The American Nightmare recently sat down with TMZ Sports and pitched an idea that would take professional wrestling back three decades: a WWE match on a decommissioned aircraft carrier.

The inspiration? Lex Luger’s legendary 1993 body-slam of Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid. That moment became one of wrestling’s most iconic images, a spectacle that defined an era when larger-than-life events felt genuinely larger than life. Rhodes isn’t just reminiscing—he’s proposing WWE recapture that magic. There’s something undeniably bold about the pitch. In an age where streaming and televised wrestling have become the norm, staging a match on a decommissioned naval vessel would be the kind of“random location gimmick”that cuts through the noise.

What makes this interesting isn’t just the audacity of the venue. It’s what it signals about wrestling’s hunger to create moments that transcend the squared circle. Boxing got the pyramids. MMA got the White House. Why shouldn’t wrestling have its own landmark moment? The logistics would be staggering—safety concerns, weather variables, the sheer logistics of rigging a ring on a ship’s deck—but that’s never stopped the industry before.

Rhodes caught up with the outlet while signing autographs for fans in New York City this week, touching on a few other topics too. He weighed in on the Knicks reaching the NBA Finals, crediting not just their roster depth but the so-called“Danhausen effect.”He also hyped his upcoming Street Fighter movie, hitting theaters later this year, predicting fans will lose their minds when it drops.

Whether WWE actually greenlights a match on the USS Intrepid or another decommissioned carrier remains to be seen. But the pitch itself reflects a broader truth: wrestling still wants to dream bigger, and Rhodes is the kind of star willing to push for it.