Cody Rhodes is probably the best, most successful, quote-en-quote traditional babyface WWE has had in 20 years. Nobody has sustained their connection with the audience better, but should also be a good reason to read the room right now.
What the IWC – internet wrestling community – perpetuates isn’t always reflective of what the wider wrestling fanbase, or fans that attend the shows think. That’s easy to forget for the chronically online. But fans growing tiresome of Rhodes‘ good guy act and constant association to the title are appearing widespread.
Sometimes, the online fanbase it is a good window into the way the wind is blowing. Some might argue that Tony Khan picks up his proverbial nine iron and judges the wind a little too much via the internet, but few could argue which promoter has their finger on the pulse better right now.
If AEW Revolution taught us anything it’s that the company has steadily built around it’s top player in MJF and they’ve amassed a superb variety of secondary options. The returns of Edge and Christian, the surprise of Ronda Rousey’s arrival, the return of Will Ospreay from injury – and that’s all on one show. But that takes planning. That takes foresight.
Triple H has injected new life into WWE, sure. In the same way that a new bottle of Coke beats one that has been open a while and has gone flat; HHH would have had to try hard to any worse than the dying embers of Vince McMahon’s time at the top.
WWE was sleepwalking on a weekly basis under McMahon. They had some big isolated moments, but until the Bloodline story came along, nothing that generated a buzz or pushed the business forward in years.
That led to sell-out shows, record revenues and the biggest TV deals in the company’s history. Triple H enjoys a lot of the credit for that, but the ball got rolling under McMahon, even if it was pretty forced from Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman.
Flipping Reigns and going all in on that story was overdue to some, but it was the right kind of turn. The Tribal Chief was the right character. It wasn’t a case of Reigns becoming a bad guy, but that character.
And that brings us to Cody Rhodes. The WWE fanbase does seem to be getting tired of top-tier babyface Cody and in his defence, that’s more indicative of the world today than him. The days of saying your prayers and eating your vitamins are long gone. Being the hero that overcomes all doesn’t inspire fans when done repeatedly, it annoys them.
Look at Cena’s heel turn. That was a move that was over a decade too late in some eyes and even with that in mind, WWE’s original execution was almost perfect. But what transpired after it and the clear lack of thought put into how Cena would operate on the dark side quickly made it hollow. Especially considering how much people wanted it to happen.
Now, Rhodes finds himself up against it once again. This time, he is facing the reborn Randy Orton, a reincarnated relic of 2009 that WWE fans can’t help but love. Just a maniacal bad guy that will go to lengths no other star will and that is box office stuff.
Is that the best foil for Rhodes? A man who drifts between rapturous receptions and being booed out of the building for close to a year? It’s hard to see the fans rooting for Rhodes to overcome Orton in his pursuit for his 15th world title and first in over five years.
Perhaps that’s what WWE intend to lean into – and they should. The boos will likely grow louder. Orton should defeat Rhodes at WrestleMania and The American Nightmare’s descent to the darkside, for the first time since returning to WWE in 2022, could truly begin.
The last thing that should happen is Rhodes overcomes the bad guy once again. He has done so against Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, John Cena and Roman Reigns; what more could he do after Orton? Outside of a heel CM Punk run, the apex will have been reached.
WWE has stars like Dom Mysterio, Oba Femi, Trick Williams and Bron Breakker just waiting for the chance to be positioned as a top face, a real main event talent, and run with it. And not even in the traditional sense of being the good guy and getting the win – just being over. Just being popular.
WWE needs to take a chance by changing Rhodes and if they don’t, it’s quite indicative of how Triple H’s booking has become. Surprises for surprises sake during WrestleMania season just to throw people off the scent is a glass half-full kind of equation if you like to be kept on your toes, but that often unravels in unflattering ways in the long term and leaves many scratching their heads.
As John Cena might say, the time is now for Cody. He must evolve to help WWE do the same.
