Before he was named the new SmackDown General Manager by WWE and even unseated as the seventh-longest tenured NWA World Heavyweight Champion behind Lou Thesz (3), Dan Severn, Dory Funk Jr., and Gene Kiniski, Nick Aldis was arguably most well known for his matches against Cody Rhodes, first at All In, where he dropped the “10 Pounds of Gold”  to the American Nightmare, and again at the NWA 70th Anniversary Show in 2018, where the “National Treasure” recaptured his strap and held it for 1,043 days until August of 2021.

So, with Aldis and Rhodes working for the same promotion once more, albeit with the former now in an on-screen authority role, could the two performers mix it up once more and finally finish off their trio with a definitive winner? Well, fans won't have to wonder forever, as that question was broached on Busted Open Radio, and the SmackDown GM had a very interesting answer.

“I will say, Cody and I, [our] rivalry, chemistry, story is sort of undeniable,” Nick Aldis told Busted Open Radio via Fightful. “He knows where I am, and I know where he is, and never say never.”

Whoa, well, considering the first time Rhodes and Aldis shared the screen together, it featured the latter stepping between the former and Roman Reigns with a little too much fire in his eyes for a typical in-ring shutdown, it shouldn't be too surprising that the fire between the two performers may not be done just yet. Then again, this isn't the first time Aldis has commented on his rivalry with the “American Nightmare,” as he actually put him over for being a trailblazer who has bet on himself in leaving and returning to WWE on the Generation of Wrestling podcast over the Summer.

“So I don't want to sit here and go, ‘Oh it's always the best way.' It was the right thing for me to do at that time, and it was the right thing for Cody to do at that time. I think it depends on your level of experience, and your level of maturity, and your willingness to take risks, and, I think, your self-awareness. You've got to be willing to sort of go, ‘Okay, how do people see me, and why is that?” Aldis explained via Wrestling Inc.

“In Cody's case, I think it was the same thing. He said, ‘Okay, people see me as this, where I see me as this. So now, I have to go and show them this guy. I have to go show them the guy that I see because right now, they only see me as this.' And it worked out. He's the ultimate example of a guy who bet on himself, and it paid off huge, and I'm very happy for him, very proud of him.”

While Aldis may ultimately follow in the footsteps of his fellow former NWA Champion Adam Pearce, hanging up his boots for good in order to focus on running a show, if the “National Treasure” ultimately gets back in the ring, don't be surprised if Rhodes is on the opposite side of the Vs. symbol.

Thom Latimer reflects on Nick Aldis jumping from NWA to WWE.

Speaking of Nick Aldis and his exit from NWA, one of his closest in-ring pals, Thom Latimer, was asked about his move to WWE by Steve Fall of WrestlingNewsCo.

Though it must be tough to see Aldis a bit less often, Latimer is excited to see his friend on his television screen weekly, especially since he's already proven he belongs.

“Jumping on to how Nick is now, I couldn't be any more any more proud. I'm actually over the moon. Saw the thing that he did on SmackDown the other night, it's a no-brainer. I mean, everyone's journey is different. He's taken a strange detour, weird route to get there, but like I was telling someone the other day, everyone's journey is different. I mean, I know some guys who started when I started, and only in the last few years, they've gotten signed. So, you know, again, everyone's journey is different. It takes as long as it takes. Once you give up, that's when you f**ked it, pardon my French,” Thom Latimer said via Fightful.

“For me, it's like, ‘Man, WWE should have known.' Maybe they did, but it's like, they should have known this from day one. Instantly, when he was on my TV screen, he's a guy that belongs. He is a star. He's a guy that you can put any situation, give any role, and he will knock it out of the park. So I'm very excited to see what comes of this and how he grows and develops in the role that he's got now.”

Could Aldis' journey eventually lead him back into the professional wrestling ring? Maybe yes, maybe no, but you don't necessarily have to wrestle to become a star.