In addition to his own in-ring work, Cody Rhodes dedicates himself to molding the next generation of wrestlers at the Nightmare Factory. The training facility, located in Atlanta, Georgia, was founded in 2020, with Rhodes and QT Marshall serving as the head trainers. Along with Rhodes and Marshall come occasional guest coaches, such as former WWE Champions John Cena and Sheamus. Recently, the former made a return to the Nightmare Factory.
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As revealed by Rhodes on X (formerly Twitter), Cena visited the current trainees at the training facility for a special talk. Rather than donning his signature t-shirt and jean shorts, Cena wore a pinstripe suit with a pink tie for this occasion.
A few hours before Rhodes posted his photograph of Cena, the future WWE Hall of Famer seemingly signaled his visit with a parody image of Rhodes uploaded to his Instagram. In it, fans can specifically see a blend of Rhodes' current gimmick as "The American Nightmare" and his former face-paint-wearing one known as Stardust.
Last month, WWE announced the introduction of its WWE Independent Development ("WWE ID" for short) program, which aims to support and develop independent wrestling schools and wrestlers themselves. The Nightmare Factory became one of the first five training schools to receive an "WWE ID" designation alongside Reality of Wrestling, the Black and Brave Academy, Elite Pro Wrestling Training Center, and Knokx Pro Academy.
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Meanwhile, Cena is preparing for his year-long retirement tour, which is set to begin in January 2025. So far, Cena has confirmed himself for the 2025 Royal Rumble premium live event. He's also expressed interest in being present for the Netflix premiere of "WWE Raw" on January 6.
