The Roid Rage
Getting Noticed By Management
Now right off hand you might think I am crazy, and your partially right, but hear me out. A lot of people I think underestimate Cody Rhodes. I myself am guilty. When I saw him first come around wrestling Bob Holly I thought he had nothing, now I am glad to say I was wrong.
Often times when it comes down to the debate of who has the brighter future him or Ted, you the people seem to side with Ted Jr. more often than not. I think we are overlooking Cody Rhodes for one primary reason that being he appears to be too small to be a contender for anything beyond the mid card level title. My mind is changing quickly about that though. Let me explain.
Appearance is 1/3 of the pie when it comes down to it. Sometimes you look alone can be your bread and butter depending on how imposing a figure you really are. Other than that it as I said it is 1/3 of a pie the other 2/3 consist of ring ability, and mic ability. If you aren't good in the ring and you can't talk, it doesn't matter how good you look. For the sake of argument let's go ahead and go on the premise that Cody Rhodes has the 2/3 and appearance is what we need to fix. I think you could make a case for him in the category of wrestling ability and microphone work. He is generally the one who carries the segments anyways and I'd have to say he is better in the ring than Ted too, he just isn't quite as big.
So, you gotta take a look at Cody Rhodes and ask "What needs to change, what is it about his look that is making him less convincing?" I think I have the answer. Let's go from head to toe. Now I would have to say he has a pretty menacing look about him when he wants to. Go ahead, take a look, he's got a dark side and you can see it. He has that smirk and the dark features, the heel role fits him perfectly. Some people just naturally have a pretty boy look, or a sinister look to them, in this case it is not his facial appearance that is the problem.
Then you move to his upper body. He's bigger than he looks. Obviously he is cut and in great shape, but until you see him in person you don't really get a feel for how big the guy really is. His upper body is big enough, he is actually kind of wide in the torso area so it's not like he's too small up top either.
But, then we get to the legs. Now his legs are big too, but because he is a taller guy somewhere in the neighborhood or 6' 4'' his legs look thinner than they really are. Part of this illusion is because of his trunks and knee pads. Look at Batista, they use his trunks, elbow, and knee pads to break up the parts of his body to make him look taller along with lifts in his boots. Cody Rhodes has the same thing going on with his lower half. Because it is broke up his legs look thin and weak, making his upper half also look thin and weak. If you want him to be taken seriously, he needs to look serious, not like a scrawny kid in his underoos.
So, with that piece of enlightenment laid out there, now to the solution. A simple wardrobe change is what would be in order. I think the perfect model for what to do with Cody, is Edge. Look at the two of them. Neither is exactly buff although Cody is more cut, both are tall, thin, solid wrestlers. If you gave Cody Rhodes tights like Edge, with the knee pads under the tights, and boots with kick pads or kind of like C.M. Punks boots his base would look much thicker and more solid, making his upper body appear thicker and stockier as well. If he looks bigger, he will look more legit and his aggressive style will take on a new kind of ferocity.
Imagine seeing him come out with a new look, and a more vicious personality. He could pull it off and I used Edge as a reference because I think that is exactly who he could be like. Let him come out and beat people with chairs, interfere in their matches, attack people unprovoked, and really get nasty. I think it would be somewhat shocking. It would be a good way to launch him into the singles division again, but launched for success.
Take the floor ladies and gentlemen.
Often times when it comes down to the debate of who has the brighter future him or Ted, you the people seem to side with Ted Jr. more often than not. I think we are overlooking Cody Rhodes for one primary reason that being he appears to be too small to be a contender for anything beyond the mid card level title. My mind is changing quickly about that though. Let me explain.
Appearance is 1/3 of the pie when it comes down to it. Sometimes you look alone can be your bread and butter depending on how imposing a figure you really are. Other than that it as I said it is 1/3 of a pie the other 2/3 consist of ring ability, and mic ability. If you aren't good in the ring and you can't talk, it doesn't matter how good you look. For the sake of argument let's go ahead and go on the premise that Cody Rhodes has the 2/3 and appearance is what we need to fix. I think you could make a case for him in the category of wrestling ability and microphone work. He is generally the one who carries the segments anyways and I'd have to say he is better in the ring than Ted too, he just isn't quite as big.
So, you gotta take a look at Cody Rhodes and ask "What needs to change, what is it about his look that is making him less convincing?" I think I have the answer. Let's go from head to toe. Now I would have to say he has a pretty menacing look about him when he wants to. Go ahead, take a look, he's got a dark side and you can see it. He has that smirk and the dark features, the heel role fits him perfectly. Some people just naturally have a pretty boy look, or a sinister look to them, in this case it is not his facial appearance that is the problem.
Then you move to his upper body. He's bigger than he looks. Obviously he is cut and in great shape, but until you see him in person you don't really get a feel for how big the guy really is. His upper body is big enough, he is actually kind of wide in the torso area so it's not like he's too small up top either.
But, then we get to the legs. Now his legs are big too, but because he is a taller guy somewhere in the neighborhood or 6' 4'' his legs look thinner than they really are. Part of this illusion is because of his trunks and knee pads. Look at Batista, they use his trunks, elbow, and knee pads to break up the parts of his body to make him look taller along with lifts in his boots. Cody Rhodes has the same thing going on with his lower half. Because it is broke up his legs look thin and weak, making his upper half also look thin and weak. If you want him to be taken seriously, he needs to look serious, not like a scrawny kid in his underoos.
So, with that piece of enlightenment laid out there, now to the solution. A simple wardrobe change is what would be in order. I think the perfect model for what to do with Cody, is Edge. Look at the two of them. Neither is exactly buff although Cody is more cut, both are tall, thin, solid wrestlers. If you gave Cody Rhodes tights like Edge, with the knee pads under the tights, and boots with kick pads or kind of like C.M. Punks boots his base would look much thicker and more solid, making his upper body appear thicker and stockier as well. If he looks bigger, he will look more legit and his aggressive style will take on a new kind of ferocity.
Imagine seeing him come out with a new look, and a more vicious personality. He could pull it off and I used Edge as a reference because I think that is exactly who he could be like. Let him come out and beat people with chairs, interfere in their matches, attack people unprovoked, and really get nasty. I think it would be somewhat shocking. It would be a good way to launch him into the singles division again, but launched for success.
Take the floor ladies and gentlemen.
