WWE Star Cody Rhodes Names His MVP Of 2023 And Praises Dom Mysterio

In surveying the landscape of WWE this year, WWE's Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels recently hailed The Judgment Day's Dominik Mysterio as the company's 2023 MVP. On an episode of "The Michael Kay Show," Cody Rhodes was asked to provide his response to Michaels' statement, while also further analyzing Mysterio's contributions to WWE this year.

"Dom is a prickly individual, but if I was looking at it from tickets sold, merch sold, excitement over matches, genuine body of work, I'd say your MVP is, I'm not gonna say myself, but I'd say Seth Rollins, the World Heavyweight Champion, is probably somebody who's more of an MVP," Rhodes said. "Who am I to go against what Shawn Michaels said though? If Shawn Michaels sees something in Dominik Mysterio, that's huge because he's not one that often will make that claim. Dom, as difficult as he is to get along with, he is incredibly linked to the audience. He walks out now, he puts the mics to his lips, and you can't hear a word he's saying because they boo him out of the building. I have a sense that Dom will be getting that same reaction two or three years from now, but they won't be boos, they'll be cheers. There is something incredibly special about the young man."

While Rhodes may have had some tense interactions with Mysterio on-screen this year, he looks forward to seeing what the former "NXT" North American Champion brings to the table in the years that lay ahead, whether it be as WWE's premier heat magnet, or as a potentially reformed babyface. Regardless of what the future holds for Mysterio, it is clear that his efforts have not gone unrecognized. In addition to the praise he's obtained praise from Rhodes and Michaels, Mysterio has also impressed WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, who also recently regarded the young talent as the MVP of WWE this year, as well as a game changer for the company as a whole.

If you use quotes in this article, please credit "The Michael Kay Show" and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.