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Summary
This yr has understand emotion towardsCody Rhodesrun a gauntlet of highs and lows , unlike anything he has face up since rejoin toWWEin 2022 . Some rooter have been question if Cody Rhodes has been a good WWE Champion in the comparatively short meter he ’s had with the party ’s primary deed of conveyance , and while some of the literary criticism is apprehensible , his reign has already all the signs of immenseness . Starting the year by eliminate CM Punk to win the Men ’s Royal Rumble Match in January , becoming only the fourth man to ever deliver the goods the case back - to - back , it ’s hard to see anything but great storytelling that honors all parts of his traditional knowledge .
WWE Fans Revolt And Change The Course Of WWE History
“We Want Cody” is the perfect start to Cody’s Championship Reign
Rhodes has used this title reign thus far to continue his phenomenally nuanced long - terminal figure storytelling that brings his past into his present , while always creating a new future .
The escort was February 2nd , 2024 , and the occasion was the coming of SmackDown at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham , Alabama . A white - hot gang erupted for the announcement of The Rock vs Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 , a match that has been in the making for so long that it was referenced on April 12th , 2022 , in Season 2 Episode 5 ofYoung Rock . One glance at the reaction online and it was a completely different story .
It does n’t feel controversial to call the Internet Wrestling Community an opinionated and dissentious place . Still , the words " We Want Cody " seemed to unify just about everybodyas it trended for days on social medium . profit momentum thanks to the support of the pop Sirius XM hand-to-hand struggle show Busted Open , the hashtag raise into a real movement that the WWE was agile to capitalise on . As The Rock say during the Wrestlemania 40 behind - the - scenes infotainment ( attracting his own share of criticism and comical meme for apparently ask the merit for it ) , the office decide that it was potential to have Rock and Roman in the same tintinnabulation AND give Cody what he deserved .
The rest is history asCody headlined WrestleMania and justifiably finish up his narrative by becoming WWE Champion , ending the historical 1,316 - dayChampionship sovereignty of Roman Reigns , andsetting up a succeeding one - on - one face-off with The Rockin a sensory segment to unfold the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania . It felt like all was right in the world and theWWE unquestionably had the right guy as their Championfor their smart new future .
" He represents the party in such a positively charged path outside of the ring , off of the television blind . I just do n’t think you could find a better World Champion right now . " Eric Bischoff,83 Weeks
However , In the four calendar month that have passed since he give the top of the mountain , the story that Cody Rhodes is telling does n’t seem to have connected with everybody . This feel surprising give the evidence at hand . Rhodes has used this statute title reign thus far to continue his phenomenally nuanced long - term storytelling that brings his past into his present tense , while always creating a new futurity .
Cody Has Been Honoring His Time On The Indies
Cody’s First Title Defense Honored the Time He Spent Away From WWE And AEW
vagabond your judgment back to 2016 and it becomes more patent that"from unwanted to undeniable " is far more than just a catchy catch phrase . Over the grade of three years , up to the formation of AEW and the first episode of Dynamite , Cody Rhodes traveled the globe on the sovereign wrestling circuitto put on every great wrestling match there was to be made at the clock time . Kazuchika Okada , Kenny Omega , Kota Ibushi , Drew Galloway ( now McIntyre ) , Zack Saber Jr. , the list goes on , and it provides the base of what makes Cody so popular today . Those long time count forever because his credibility can never be questioned .
The relevance this has on his current reign is that Cody Rhodes had to have a good enough ground to jump-start from WWE in the first plaza . The burgeon independent scene enabled him to go it alone andCody ’s first defense as WWE Champion was against one of the men that assist pave that route , AJ Styles . These two are both majorly creditworthy for fastball Club stand for what it does today , and they receive for the first time in a WWE hoop at Backlash . The match was incredible and only best by the energy the two created for a rabid Parisien crowd . The follow - up at Clash At The Castle was every mo as unspoilt .
The same argument can also be made for Kevin Owens , who Rhodes will confront for only the 2nd time in ace competition at Bash In Berlin , butCody is n’t only honoring his past .
He Legitimized Logan Paul In WWE’s Main Event Scene
A Great Champion Elevates His Opponents
Logan Paul has been amazing at generate incredible amount of heat , partially fuel by not oppose the US Championship between WrestleMania and SummerSlam . Look nearer at his WWE Championship peer in May with Cody Rhodes , and it exact on large significance in both his time with the US title and WWE ’s big photo .
If the WWE Champion ’s caper is to elevate talent , Rhodes did that with Logan Paulat King And Queen Of The Ring . This seems to be universally live with as the moment Logan Paul ’s day as US Champion were numbered , as he became accepted as part of WWE ’s Main Event view . Quite si accomplishment for what ’s fundamentally a rookie , and he has William Frederick Cody to thank for that .
All Roads Lead To Roman Reigns
Roman’s Face Turn Has Completely Changed The Landscape
Despite the promises that the chronicle was finished , it seems that Cody could not disentangle himself from the Bloodline after all , but that ’s not necessarily a bad affair . One of CM Punk ’s major cause for departing WWE under the past regime was that he was grim of having nobody to work in the recollective condition . The current originative management , on the other hand , has been thriving on long - terminal figure storytelling , which is one of the secrets behind the company ’s success .
BeforeRoman Reigns ' incredible returnin August , he had not been see since Wrestlemania in April , but that metre has been used improbably well to build the course that reign and Rhodes are about to embark on . It ’s easy to see how drastically that landscape Punk give in to has altered , with the Bloodline plot line going on for years and showing no sign of stopping , or of losing impulse .
On the airfoil , Cody Rhodes has been stand off violation from Solo Sikoa and the new - look Bloodlinein late month . Sikoa just headlined his first PLE at SummerSlam in a losing drive against Cody for the WWE Championship , and Jacob Fatu is now one of the most feared enemy in WWE . Not only that , for the first time since Cody signed for WWE in 2022 , he encounter himself on the same side of the fence as Roman .
The game thickens with Survivor Series looming large and a newly babyface Roman having to face the consequences of his actions of the past few years . Reigns has no friends to help him deflect regular lacing from The Bloodline . Where does he rick ?
" Now you see the emergence of Solo and Jacob Fatu and the Tongans and the fact that they are a real threat " Paul Heyman , Not Sam Wrestling
William Frederick Cody ’s role in this scenario is fit to be fascinatingto watch play out . Will Cody see past the harassment and anguish that Roman Reigns put on him and his kin name or will he allow him to suffer the sure as shooting dusty shoulders of Kevin Owens , Randy Orton , LA Knight , Sami Zayn , and pretty much anyone else in the top one-half of the world ’s roster?Does he take chances the wrath of those who Roman wronged across his sovereignty of scourge to help him?This is the business leader of long - terminus booking and the level that Cody Rhodes ' WWE Championship reign is telling .
One risk is that Roman ’s spell could eclipse Cody ’s character as the company ’s top babyface . While it ’s undeniable that Cosy is doing a great line in playing a John Cena - esque role , it ’s also true that many rooter and critics see his behavior and style as more apt to a heel . Cody is smashing at kissing child and give kids his belt , but he also dresses and talk as the prototype of the privileged man that the WWE ’s working - class fans sputter to identify with ( unlike John Cena ) .
It may only be part of the way through , butCody ’s claim sovereignty finger like the perfect follow - up to Roman Reigns ' account - make effort . It is hard to envisage that Cody wo n’t be WWE Champion going into the caller ’s first night on Netflix ( even if he technically wrestles on Smackdown ) . Regardless of the opinion on Cody ’s reign , what fans can be indisputable of is that thing wo n’t be induce . The Paul Levesque era of WWE has empty the necessary trust to recount a complete story with Cody . His reign has been great so far but , if there is something that unites both those who are and are n’t enjoying his running play with the knock , it ’s the enceinte feeling shared by all WWE rooter at the moment : the good is still yet to fall .
