Why The Cody Rhodes Angle Isn't Working?

[multiverseman.com]

Sandow and Rhodes are not engaged in one of the most heat-less, weak feuds in some time. The crowds have been dead on every show since Money In The Bank involving these two. The main reason is that it's derived from a place of such utter illogic that nobody can get behind it. We're supposed to cheer Cody Rhodes and hate Sandow because Sandow tricked Cody's dumb ass at MitB? How could he do that, they're friends! That's the weakest argument in history. It's a competition and it's every man for himself. Everybody knows that. So when nobody bought that, Cody says "I might have done the same thing, I'm just tired of his arrogance and the way he talks to people". Uh, weren't you right along with him the entire time? Nobody buys it.

 

[Mac Attack]

I while heartily disagree with you. The Sandow and Rhodes feud has been extremely interesting and one of the best feuds from true Midcard talent that we've seen in a very long while.

Clearly you're wearing headphones or simply don't watch RAW and Smackdown because the crowd has been far from dead in their promos. Sure the chants aren't the most vigorous but they both do get a reaction and both participants have recieved a loud amount of praise. How do I know that? Well considering I've been to a show in the last month which had both of them get reactions from the crowd, also the fact that I watch RAW with minimal volume due to sensitivity in my ears and can hear both parties. I think they have taken a concept which didn't seem like it would work and have made people believe in their feud.

Your qualms as to why the match is illogical don't make a lot of sense either. Sandow threw his friend off the top of a ladder and recieved the briefcase himself. Now I know "every man for himself" but at the same time they are friends. A friend in theory should be happy with their friend winning and Sandow not only didn't allow his friend te victory but caused Cody to fall and need stitches. We have all been hurt by friends before in real life and this is exactly what this feud is showing. The crowd has booed Sandow and cheered Rhodes that's an excellent thing for the two.

What we have been given to see for this feud has been interesting different and more importantly entertaining. Whether it be Sandow not being able to swim, Cody's mustache getting more over than most the undercard, whatever we have been entertained. It has been a good build and now seems like a logical match. I think to have two guys who really haven't done anything look good and appear to be ready to potentially move on to greater things can only be called a success.

 

[sevans13]

I enjoyed the segment where Sandow said he came from a family of intellectuals, where as Rhodes come from a family of clowns, and he has tried to take him under his wing but failed.

This gave a more personal side to the argument, and it was a great way to build more intensity into the feud. However, i did not agree with the whole throwing the briefcase into the Gulf of Mexico. This just seemed a cheap way for Cody to get a pop, but what did it really achieve?

I am excited to see a match between two excellent technical wrestlers, but i just cant see where the two men will be in a few months time? One will surely go onto gain the WHC, but will the other just slot back into the mid-card?

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

The OP is right. The angle doesn't makes sense. Money in the Bank match is "every man for himself". Doesn't matter if they were a tag-team or not.

Money in the Bank Ladder match (2011), Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel were also a tag-team but it didn't matter because Money in the Bank match is billed as every man for himself.

 

[multiverseman.com]

I while heartily disagree with you. The Sandow and Rhodes feud has been extremely interesting and one of the best feuds from true Midcard talent that we've seen in a very long while.

Clearly you're wearing headphones or simply don't watch RAW and Smackdown because the crowd has been far from dead in their promos. Sure the chants aren't the most vigorous but they both do get a reaction and both participants have recieved a loud amount of praise. How do I know that? Well considering I've been to a show in the last month which had both of them get reactions from the crowd, also the fact that I watch RAW with minimal volume due to sensitivity in my ears and can hear both parties. I think they have taken a concept which didn't seem like it would work and have made people believe in their feud.

That crowd sat on it's hands at RAW. They sat on their hands last week too. We must be hearing and watching different things.

Your qualms as to why the match is illogical don't make a lot of sense either. Sandow threw his friend off the top of a ladder and recieved the briefcase himself. Now I know "every man for himself" but at the same time they are friends. A friend in theory should be happy with their friend winning and Sandow not only didn't allow his friend te victory but caused Cody to fall and need stitches. We have all been hurt by friends before in real life and this is exactly what this feud is showing. The crowd has booed Sandow and cheered Rhodes that's an excellent thing for the two.

Oh, my reasons make perfect sense, you just don't like to hear it.

"A friend should be happy with his friend winning."

Maybe, but that doesn't mean you don't expect you friend to try and beat you in a competition. When you play a video game against your friend, do you quit at the finish line so he can cross first? Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan are friends, did you see Michael step out of the way and let Barkley score on him? MMA fighters are often friends, that doesn't mean you don't punch him in the face and win the match. That's ludicrous. Your goal in a competition is to win first, be happy for them second. If not, why compete in the first place? Cody getting upset at Sandow for beating him fair and square is the absolute wussiest, crybaby thing he can possibly do.

As far as stitches? So what? This is, for all intents and purposes, a physical sport. You fight, you get hurt. What do you expect?

What we have been given to see for this feud has been interesting different and more importantly entertaining. Whether it be Sandow not being able to swim, Cody's mustache getting more over than most the undercard, whatever we have been entertained. It has been a good build and now seems like a logical match. I think to have two guys who really haven't done anything look good and appear to be ready to potentially move on to greater things can only be called a success.

If you say so. I think Cody's mustache makes him awkward as a face. It was great to get heat as a heel, but now he just comes off like an unlikeable goofball.

 

[Mac Attack]

That crowd sat on it's hands at RAW. They sat on their hands last week too. We must be hearing and watching different things.

I don't know after reading your posts on the matter I feel like you could be a bit biased but regardless the only way to prove it is to post a video of all the segments and I don't trust anything on the WWE youtube channel because I feel like most of it is changed so I'll agree to disagree on this point until next week's live raw.

Oh, my reasons make perfect sense, you just don't like to hear it.

Actually buddy, you're talking to one of the few people on hear who will actually listen to others. However, the truth is it isn't logical as I will explain.

"A friend should be happy with his friend winning."

Maybe, but that doesn't mean you don't expect you friend to try and beat you in a competition.

Whilst in most things scenarios in real life I would concede this point to you, you need to look at what happened in the entire match. Rhodes and Sandow never make contact till the very end. The Real Americans don't attack each other and actually aid each other. Sandow in theory breaks this truce at the very end. Rhodes could have easily attacked Sandow in the match he didn't therefore you have animosity.

When you play a video game against your friend, do you quit at the finish line so he can cross first?

No but at the same time I don't equate playing video games as the same thing as throwing your friend off a ladder.

Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan are friends, did you see Michael step out of the way and let Barkley score on him? MMA fighters are often friends, that doesn't mean you don't punch him in the face and win the match.

True however reverting back to my first point they didn't touch each other the entire match. The entire match they were not competing against each other. Sandow turned on that and attacked Cody causing Cody to lose. This is nowhere near the same as a match where both parties want to comete the entire time.

That's ludicrous. Your goal in a competition is to win first, be happy for them second. If not, why compete in the first place? Cody getting upset at Sandow for beating him fair and square is the absolute wussiest, crybaby thing he can possibly do.

But I think this is where you're missing the point. Cody isn't complaining that Sandow beat him, he's complaining that Sandow destroyed their friendship. That is the true essence of the feud. The briefcase is more in the backdrop actually. Their talks aren't about the match at all more on their friendships.

As far as stitches? So what? This is, for all intents and purposes, a physical sport. You fight, you get hurt. What do you expect?

Generally I expect my best friend not to give me stiches. I think that's a pretty reasonable thing to expect right?

If you say so. I think Cody's mustache makes him awkward as a face. It was great to get heat as a heel, but now he just comes off like an unlikeable goofball.

Cody's face reaction for his moustache as a heel made it better for him to get heat when he was a heel? That's some convoluted logic right there...

 

[#tamale]

Sandow didn't trick Cody. About halfway through the match, Sandow went and hid over at the announcer's table (or timekeepers, can't quite remember). Cody stayed and cleaned house. It's not like Sandow stayed and helped Cody and then the two engaged in a fight for the briefcase. Sandow took the cowards route to obtain his prize. Yes, every man for himself, but at least be a man and not hide for half the match.

 

[dolphinzigglah]

You're absolutely right, it doesn't make absolute sense. But in the MITB match there was a side to Cody we hadn't seen, and he demolished everyone in the match. We got that stripped away from us when Damien pushed him off. It's a simple concept of somebody getting screwed of what was theirs, not every man for himself. The coward prevailed and as you know, many people don't like cowards. This is WWE, you can't over-analyze anything or you just won't enjoy it. Just watch it without using your brain every 3 seconds to say "DAMIEN SANDOW DIDN'T SCREW YOU IT'S EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!" and it'll be a lot better, I promise.

 

[Stagger Lee]

The angle isn't working because, for most of us, Cody Rhodes remains a joke as a legitimate dude who could beat someone silly. Put him in feuds with the Rey Mysterios and Tyson Kidds of the business and he might have more credibility, in my opinion. I'll admit he has come a long way from where he was a few years ago, but I still see him as a tiny man with skinny, girlish legs. He's not a high-flyer, so he relies on WRESTLING to beat opponents. And as a WRESTLER, I just can't believe he'd ever really be able to manhandle any of the guys on the roster that he regularly faces (and often beats).

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Well, I think Rhodes and Sandow being Sheamus' punching bags has a lot to do with the lack of crowd interest. Why should the people care about two guys, who CONSTANTLY lost to Sheamus over and over again for consecutive months?

Team Rhode Scholars had some momentum during their feud with Team Hell No, but WWE never pulled the trigger on Rhodes or Sandow as the team, who was going to take the titles off of Bryan and Kane. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, you could say going with The Shield was the right choice, but the fact of the matter is, Rhodes and Sandow's momentum as a team took a steep dive, when it became clear they weren't going to beat Kane and Bryan for the titles.

If we're breaking it down individually, Rhodes has been floundering since the disfigured character came to end. Rhodes was on a roll as this broken man, who wore a mask, and loathed all of society, and he had a pretty good feud with Rey Mysterio along the way. Rhodes still had a spark as IC Champion, but that spark died off after a while. Sandow had some heat and momentum going as The Intellectual Savior Of The Masses, and teaming up with Sandow helped him out for a little while, but now that he's on his own again, Rhodes is getting crickets for the most part.

Sandow? Why should people care about him? He's always losing, and yeah, I get WWE's point of having the shocker/sleeper pick to win at least one MITB briefcase, but I think this formula backfires more often than not. In the process, WWE sacrifices and takes the chances of jeopardizing the wrestler's chance of getting over for the shake of two shocking moments (the winning of the briefcase and the cash-in). Sandow has all the right tools, but it's hard to get interested in him, because he's always losing.

 

[Headman]

The WWE: "Hey fans are chanting for Cody's mustache! Let's turn him face!" Brilliant booking. Just brilliant. The feud isn't working because nobody on God's green earth cares about Cody. He was great with his paper bag and mask gimmick and they should have left well enough alone, but "Main eventers can't have gimmicks with paper bags and masks." so they take away the mask and he flounders. Then they put him in a tag team which gains a modest amount of popularity. Now Cody is on his own again and once again nobody cares. If I were Cody i'd find my inner "Goldust" and milk that gimmick for everything it's worth.

 

[The Eighties]

Mitch is right, the biggest reason that this feud is lukewarm is that suddenly the live audiences are being asked to get hyped for a match up between two jobbers. I like Sandow and Cody, but they have went from being weekly cannon fodder to being one of the main featured feuds on the second biggest PPV of the year.

On the mic Sandow has driven this angle along as best he can but I felt Cody needed a really strong promo to get it fully on track and he didn't deliver, however it's difficult as logically there's nothing in this angle to make him a babyface, and unlike Ziggler this is not an organic face turn where it takes based purely off the fact the crowd wanted it.

I think the two are capable of having a good match at Summerslam that can increase some interest, but long term I'm not feeling Cody as a face, Sandow will be fine though coming out of the other side of this angle.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In the grand scheme of things, I've found the feud between Rhodes & Sandow to be pretty interesting and well done overall. As another poster already mentioned, one explanation why some of the crowds have been more receptive than the others is the fact that neither of these men has a ton of momentum going for them right now. After all, they've spent most of the past several months being jobbed out in either tag team matches or in one singles match after another to bigger stars like Orton or Sheamus.

In the grand scheme of things, Rhodes' being angry with Sandow for how he won MITB might not come off as the most exciting or original idea. As for it not making any sense, well if you're someone that completely ignores the fact that human beings are highly emotional creatures that often react based on emotional reactions, then it really doesn't make sense. However, friend or no friend, it's perfectly natural to have feelings of bitterness when something doesn't go your way due to the actions of a friend. Ever been cockblocked by a friend who maybe swooped in while you were in the midst of putting the moves on some gal? Generally speaking, it's the same thing here. Cody Rhodes was about to score, the gal in this case being the MITB briefcase, only for Sandow to swoop in to not only block him, but to make off with the gal himself. In real life, would some friends simply brush it off and let bygones be bygones? Absolutely. In real life, would some friendships come to a crashing halt over bruised egos & feelings of bitterness? Most definitely. Cody Rhodes doesn't exactly come off looking like a saint by merely being the bigger man and letting things be, but whoever said he was supposed to be a saint? It hurts when a friend screws you over, no matter what the circumstances are and some people react to different situations in different ways. The entire plots of movies and television shows have revolved around situations in which friends put the screws to one another for some sort of personal gain. Why's it okay in that media forum but it's not okay for pro wrestling?

This sort of scenario has been used in pro wrestling since time immemorial to break up tag teams and friendships for the purpose of turning one of the characters to engage in a feud with the other. Promotion after promotion has used some sort of variation of MITB in which the winner of a match gets a title shot or something along those lines since before Vince McMahon was old enough to shave. The reason why it keeps getting used every so often after all this time is because it works.

 

[R.K.O]

Just to set thing straight people, Cody did not attack Sandow because Sandow cost him the MITB briefcase, he attacked Sandow because he was sick and tired of Sandow looking down on him and his arrogance. Which was displayed on several occasions where Sandow would cut off Cody when he was trying to speak. Cody clearly said this during the last Smackdown.

Why I think this angle isn't as hot as it should be, is because there wasn't a big enough impact when Cody finally snaps. That should be a big moment and not some random attack. A prime example of this done right was when Alex Riley snapped and attacked Miz, he instantly got over because of that. That was a missed opportunity, but I think WWE can still salvage it. Maybe they could make this feud extremely personal and lead it up to HIAC.

 

[chicagokmc]

They should have mixed things up a bit. We all knew if the team ever broke up that Rhodes would be the face and Sandow the heel. They should have reversed that and given us a surprise in turning Sandow face. The could have even brought in DiBiase off the scrap heap and reunited him with Rhodes in an attack on Sandow. This would have then given Sandow someone to beat up on (now that Sandow is a MITB winner some of that losing has to stop) while adding some freshness to this storyline.

 

[chibet]

I while heartily disagree with you. The Sandow and Rhodes feud has been extremely interesting and one of the best feuds from true Midcard talent that we've seen in a very long while.

LOL, Really? Reaaaaaallly? ..... I think this storyline is even worse than Fandango and Y2J in a mania match due to y2j refusing to pronounce his name correctly. LOL.

Meanwhile, in a MITB match, every superstar more or less climbs the ladder and is "about to become mr money in the bank!!!" Then they get thrown off. Its not like Cody was shining the entire match and had EVERYONE beat down to the point of him 100% securing the victory. Sandow did what everyone does in these matches, but bc they were friends Cody is WRONGED!?! so f*cking silly. When will the WWE return to interesting story lines with twists and surprises and , gasp, heaven forbid a little edginess.

 

[R.K.O]

LOL, Really? Reaaaaaallly? ..... I think this storyline is even worse than Fandango and Y2J in a mania match due to y2j refusing to pronounce his name correctly. LOL.

Meanwhile, in a MITB match, every superstar more or less climbs the ladder and is "about to become mr money in the bank!!!" Then they get thrown off. Its not like Cody was shining the entire match and had EVERYONE beat down to the point of him 100% securing the victory. Sandow did what everyone does in these matches, but bc they were friends Cody is WRONGED!?! so f*cking silly. When will the WWE return to interesting story lines with twists and surprises and , gasp, heaven forbid a little edginess.

Except it wasn't about Sandow costing Rhodes the MITB briefcase, you would know if you actually watched the show.

As for your quote on Rhodes shining and had everyone beat down, that actually happened.

The storyline is interesting. The briefcase was thrown to a body of water, while it was retrieved the contract is all soaked up which made it a question if it can even be used. Also, the contract itself is with Rhodes. Lots of possibilities that can happen here.

 

[enviousdominous]

I'm of the opinion that WWE creative has never hit on a good idea on purpose, their success is either accidental or as a result of a performer's spontaneous creative genius.

Their task is to make Cody Rhodes entertaining and they're failing. If they really want Cody to be taken seriously, he needs to emulate a persona that plays on the petty whims of the crowd.

They gave Damien Sandow the money in the bank briefcase for two reasons. He's HHH's friend, and this is a good way to enable a use for Cody Rhodes that doesn't involve the tired strategy of another meaningless IC title run. It's too early to determine if it will work, but it can only work if Damien and Cody do WWE Creative's job for them and make it interesting.

Cody needs bigger spots. His ring work is good enough for prime-time, but it's still generic. His flying kick was neat for a while, he should do that to set up a quick pin or maybe a reverse ddt. Maybe give him Al Snow's trapping head-butts or a somersault Alabama slam. Something beyond the usual drop kicks and suplexes.


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[Odisho]

This feud has been dull. its because we know whats gonna happen. Cody will win MITB. it would be stupid if WWE let Sandow win a world championship. It would be a disgrace if sandow were to win the championship.

 

[Nate DaMac]

It's not working because nobody gives a shit about these guys. And for good reason too. They booked them like jobbers for months on end then all of a sudden we're supposed to buy either one of them as legitimate threats? Go fuck yourselves.

 

[D-Will]

I think there are several problems with the angle itself. Sure, the concept may not be the strongest, but that's not what I think is the major problems with the angle. I think the timeline of the whole thing was odd: they made them contenders to the tag titles, lose said match, amicably break up the tag team to failed short-term singles runs, threw them back together, and then broke them back up at MitB. I know storylines don't always get wrapped up 100%, but there was a lot of holes in this whole angle.

I think the MitB "end of friendship" could have worked if slightly more composed. Had they not immediately jobbed Sandow the night after winning the briefcase, they may have been able to go right through with Cody being upset about the success of Sandow no matter what way they wanted to twist it. Sandow goes on to win a few matches, continues his talking down to the fans, talks about how Cody was holding him down, and that may have possibly made Cody's rant about being talked down to more successful.

I believe that these two both have the skills to put on a good match, and that the storyline is still savable. It'll take some work, but in the end, I think this could work out well.

 

[The Eighties]

In the grand scheme of things, I've found the feud between Rhodes & Sandow to be pretty interesting and well done overall. As another poster already mentioned, one explanation why some of the crowds have been more receptive than the others is the fact that neither of these men has a ton of momentum going for them right now. After all, they've spent most of the past several months being jobbed out in either tag team matches or in one singles match after another to bigger stars like Orton or Sheamus.

In the grand scheme of things, Rhodes' being angry with Sandow for how he won MITB might not come off as the most exciting or original idea. As for it not making any sense, well if you're someone that completely ignores the fact that human beings are highly emotional creatures that often react based on emotional reactions, then it really doesn't make sense. However, friend or no friend, it's perfectly natural to have feelings of bitterness when something doesn't go your way due to the actions of a friend. Ever been cockblocked by a friend who maybe swooped in while you were in the midst of putting the moves on some gal? Generally speaking, it's the same thing here. Cody Rhodes was about to score, the gal in this case being the MITB briefcase, only for Sandow to swoop in to not only block him, but to make off with the gal himself. In real life, would some friends simply brush it off and let bygones be bygones? Absolutely. In real life, would some friendships come to a crashing halt over bruised egos & feelings of bitterness? Most definitely. Cody Rhodes doesn't exactly come off looking like a saint by merely being the bigger man and letting things be, but whoever said he was supposed to be a saint? It hurts when a friend screws you over, no matter what the circumstances are and some people react to different situations in different ways. The entire plots of movies and television shows have revolved around situations in which friends put the screws to one another for some sort of personal gain. Why's it okay in that media forum but it's not okay for pro wrestling?

This sort of scenario has been used in pro wrestling since time immemorial to break up tag teams and friendships for the purpose of turning one of the characters to engage in a feud with the other. Promotion after promotion has used some sort of variation of MITB in which the winner of a match gets a title shot or something along those lines since before Vince McMahon was old enough to shave. The reason why it keeps getting used every so often after all this time is because it works.

What happened between Cody and Sandow isn't quite the same as those life and movie situations though IMO. If you deliberately steal a girl from under your friends nose that is a dick move, but in a contest for a prize that you both enter knowing that it's every man for himself, you can't be pissed when your friend does what it takes to win, not when the audience is then supposed to see the guy who lost as a face or hero if you like.

They are trying to work around this by Cody now saying he was getting sick of Damien's arrogance, but it's a bit late for that. I think if they have a good match and get things going at Summerslam fans will start to forget the reason the feud actually started and just focus on the rivalry, at least they will if JBL stops bellowing about how illogical Cody's anger is every chance he gets.

In hindsight it might have been better if they'd had Cody take it on the chin but snap when Sandow offered him the job as protector of the case.

 

[MCMG]

Lets remember, these two guys are hardly big name stars. I know Rhodes is talented and Sandow is likely to be a World Champ but as it stands they are just mid-carders. Of course the crowd aren't going to be overly excited by a feud between two mid-carders.

Moreover, the actual betrayal wasn't as strong as it could have been. It wasn't memorable or striking. It was obvious what they were doing but it didn't stand out. HBK and Jannetty for example was something shocking and done well.

 

[R.K.O]

They are trying to work around this by Cody now saying he was getting sick of Damien's arrogance, but it's a bit late for that. I think if they have a good match and get things going at Summerslam fans will start to forget the reason the feud actually started and just focus on the rivalry, at least they will if JBL stops bellowing about how illogical Cody's anger is every chance he gets.

In hindsight it might have been better if they'd had Cody take it on the chin but snap when Sandow offered him the job as protector of the case.

May I ask why is it late? They have been planting the seeds BEFORE the actual MITB match even happened. Sandow cut off Cody several times when he was about to speak and said "I've already spoken for him". It seems to me like it was the plan all along.

I agree with you on the second part though, Cody snapping should have been done better.

 

[The Eighties]

May I ask why is it late? They have been planting the seeds BEFORE the actual MITB match even happened. Sandow cut off Cody several times when he was about to speak and said "I've already spoken for him". It seems to me like it was the plan all along.

I agree with you on the second part though, Cody snapping should have been done better.

Yes I noticed that, I am sure other fans who post on forums like this did as well. However the commentators made no note of it and Cody never really reacted to Sandow doing it. When you are talking defining heel and face in wrestling and you want your general fanbase to get into it, it's often best to paint in broad strokes, I mean when Cody talked about being sick of Sandow's arrogance they should have thrown up some quick clips to illustrate his point for the fans.

Switching their Raw and Smackdown segments from the week following MITB would have done it.