As it does with its’ Championship-winning football squad, the city of Philadelphia has a long and storied history with professional wrestling. The stories told in wrestling echo reality as much as possible and the rise of Jalen Hurts is no exception.
The similarities between the trials, tribulations, and magical finishes in the career of Super Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and WWE Champion Cody Rhodes are remarkable. Both men failed in their initial title opportunity, only to emerge even more dedicated to overcoming the challenges in front of them. The superstar athletes persisted in the face of adversity and criticism, scaled the championship mountain, and held that shiny World Championship above their heads for the entire world to see – just as both men proudly professed to the whole world they would do.
On Monday, Cody Rhodes tweeted congratulations to Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles. “Just a couple of QB1’s finishing their stories,” Rhodes said on social media. “The greater challenge is what comes next, but Jalen Hurts is certainly built for it.”
For those who might not understand the similarities between the Houston, TX-born Eagles starting quarterback and the Atlanta, GA-born WWE Champion, let’s examine how the pair followed similar paths to greatness in completely different athletic endeavors.
A Brief Peak at Philly’s Impact on Wrestling History
Even before the Paul Heyman-led Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) days revolutionized wrestling from South Philadelphia in the 1990s, the former United States Capital was a hot spot for the growing sport in the 1950s as a host city for championship title fights in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
ECW popped up in Philadelphia on Swanson Street in a 1,000-person capacity facility, formerly the ECW Arena, featuring a more realistic brand of wrestling instead of men cosplaying trash truck drivers or Southern pig farmers. The company’s success was fueled heavily by the raucous crowd of passionate Philadelphians shown every weekend on their late-night TV programs. While ECW may have come and gone in a few short years, that crazy crew of wrestlers and its fiery fanbase changed the fabric of professional wrestling.
WWE adopted many principles from ECW, leading to the successful “Attitude Era” where legends like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and more took wrestling’s popularity to new heights.
This past April, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) selected Philadelphia and Lincoln Financial Field to host its biggest event in company history, Wrestlemania 40. The main event featured Cody Rhodes seeking his legendary family’s first world heavyweight championship title despite decades in the industry and plenty of people expressing opinions to tell him he just wasn’t world championship material after he failed in his first quest for Championship glory …. Hmm, that sounds like a familiar narrative now, doesn’t it?
Early Career Gut Checks For Cody Rhodes & Jalen Hurts
It’s been a rollercoaster of a career for Cody Rhodes. After an early WWE career with an unbreakable, mid-level glass ceiling over his head, he requested his release in May 2016. Over the next three years, he became the hottest name on the independent wrestling scene. His success outside of WWE helped create All Elite Wrestling (AEW), the first serious competitor to WWE in years. Rhodes (and some friends) linked up with Jacksonville Jaguars Chief Football Strategy Officer Tony Kahn, a noted wrestling fanatic, to launch the new company in 2018. You might remember Khan as the man wearing a neck brace in Jacksonville’s NFL draft room last year.
The company co-founder, Rhodes, was a star for AEW over the company’s first four years between 2018-2022 before being lured back to WWE in 2022, where he re-debuted on the scene at WrestleMania 38 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
In the 2018 National Championship Game against Georgia, sophomore starting QB Jalen Hurts struggled and was replaced by Nick Saban at halftime in the biggest game of his career. Tua Tagovailoa, a future NFL starting quarterback, came off the bench to lead the comeback victory for Alabama, complete with a game-winning score to DeVonta Smith. Hurts watched Tagovailoa from the backup position the following season until the 2018 SEC Championship Game, where he replaced Tagovailoa due to injury.
Jalen Hurts led his own comeback against Georgia using the same passing and running hybrid skill set Eagles fans have come to love. Trevor Lawrence outdueled Tagovailoa in the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship Game weeks later while Hurts watched from the cold steel again. The second-string QB transferred to Oklahoma for his senior season before being selected by Philadelphia in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft. It was a head-scratching selection after Philly recently signed Carson Wentz to a 4-year contract the prior season.
Cody Rhodes & Jalen Hurts Both Denied First World Title Opportunity
Before discussing the magic of Wrestlemania 40, we rewind the tape more than a year to Cody’s re-emergence on the WWE scene. Rhodes was welcomed back with open arms in 2022 but tore his pectoral muscle in June before completing a full main event match days later. The injury cost Rhodes the rest of the year in 2022. Upon his return in early 2023, Rhodes won his way to WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, California, which led many to believe destiny was on the horizon in Hollywood.
The main event match featured a battle between Rhodes and Roman Reigns, a long-standing champion for over two and a half years. In one of the greatest swerves of all time, despite doing everything in his power to win, Rhodes was screwed by outside interference from Solo Sikoa. Reigns scored the pinfall victory, and Rhodes left WrestleMania 39 empty-handed with more questions than answers.
In 2022, Jalen Hurts had a similar experience at the Super Bowl LVII when he could not do anything about the end result. Hurts was exceptional in a 38-35 Eagles loss in Glendale, Arizona. Hurts threw for 304 yards, ran for 70 more, and scored four total touchdowns in a soul-crushing defeat, assisted by a late pass-interference call setting up the game-winning field goal for Kansas City. The Eagles quarterback had one of the most memorable quarterback appearances in an NFL title game but ended up with little more than a motivating screensaver of red and yellow confetti as if 1980s Hulkamania invaded his phone screen.
The road back to glory wasn’t easy for Jalen Hurts or Cody Rhodes
Good stories are never straight roads, and both athletes faced adversity on their path back into the Main Event spotlight of their respective sports. Two legendary WWE wrestlers, C.M. Punk and The Rock, returned to the company that changed the landscape of WrestleMania 40. Even after Rhodes prevailed with a guaranteed Championship appearance, he battled the quicksand of celebrity that threatened to derail his narrative of Championship glory heading into Lincoln Financial Field. Rhodes lost a tag team match during Night 1 of WrestleMania 40, putting himself at a disadvantage heading into his Championship bout the next night in Philadelphia.
Despite a 10-1 start to the 2023 NFL season, The Eagles unraveled over the last six weeks of the regular season as Jalen Hurts battled injury. An uncompetitive loss in the Wild Card game at Tampa Bay ended Philly’s season in the blink of an eye. Philadelphia talking heads told anyone who would listen that Hurts was a liability and suggested Philly seek an alternative at the NFL’s most important position. Instead, Eagles GM Howie Roseman added around Hurts with a new starting lineman and a high-profile running back, Saquon Barkley, that rekindled title hopes in the City of Brotherly Love. Even those hopes reached shaky ground for many fans after a 2-2 start to the 2024 NFL season for the Eagles.
The Ending was Already Written for Jalen Hurts
The entire focus for Rhodes after his WrestleMania defeat in Los Angeles was to get back to another title opportunity and “finish the story” heading into his World Title matchup in the middle of Lincoln Financial Field. Despite earning the opportunity he sought, many roadblocks, including The Rock, stood in his way of winning the elusive first championship.
With a bit of help from some notable WWE names like John Cena, Rhodes finally found himself one-on-one with Reigns to pick up the championship win as 72,000+ fans inside the Birds Nest erupted in celebration with millions around the world who needed The American Nightmare to celebrate a World Heavyweight Championship victory on that cold April night. Heading towards WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Rhodes still holds the World Heavyweight Championship he fought to earn for over two years.
“It’s already been written,” Jalen Hurts to Chris after the NFC Championship game.
— Green Light with Chris Long (@greenlight) February 10, 2025
Congrats MVP🦅 pic.twitter.com/09i16s4eR7
On Friday, millions of Philadelphia Eagles fans will descend on our beloved city to commemorate the Eagles’ 40-22 win in Super Bowl LIX. Hurts imposed his will on Kansas City in the rematch, helping the Eagles to claim their second Lombardi Trophy in team history. Led by a starting quarterback who told Eagles Super Bowl LII champion Chris Long, “It’s already been written” before the game, Hurts captured the Super Bowl MVP with 293 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns.
While Jalen Hurts also had help from some buddies in the form of the offensive line, DeVonta Smith, and Saquon Barkley in the game, the Eagles quarterback closed the book on whether or not he was a championship-caliber QB by writing the final chapter in the pre-Championship saga of his story with a resounding yes. Hurts finished the story and became a World Champion – just like Cody Rhodes did months ago on Broad Street at WrestleMania 40.
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
