"Dashing" Cody Rhodes. Where did the gimmick stem from.

[benm1989]

Personally I think......well obviously its a variation of "Ravishing" Rick Rudes gimmick, but I think it all stemmed from the gillette "be a superstar" ads on wwe.com. I mean Cody did a great job on those and has all the material from that that he uses on his now epic promos on Smackdown with this gimmick the sky is the limit for Rhodes.
I also think that being on Nxt pushed him immensley to be a solid heel.
Please can I get your thaughts on who if not Cody could have pulled this gimmick off.
My next pick would have been JoMo.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

I absolutely love his gimmick. When he first started it out I wasn't excited at first but it's grown on me quickly. I think his promos are absolutely hilarious. This new gimmick has really solidified him as well, because before he started it he was going downhill fast without Legacy.

As far as who else could pull it off, JoMo's not a bad pick, but when he was a heel I think he was too much of a smart ass for it. Plus he already knew he was "pretty" or whatnot because of some of his mannerisms and other things like decorating his abs (which was great btw). Still he's probably the best pick other than Rhodes I guess. JoMo could've lost his smart ass qualities after his split with Miz since that was a common thread among the two. Chris Masters' "Masterpiece" gimmick could theoretically pull it off if he was capable, but I really don't think he is.

Either way, I definitely think they picked the right man. He's got that perfect smug look and his entrance is awesome.

Side note: Be sure to use your thread title as what you want people to respond to, because you're probably going to get people who respond with little more than "he got it because the divas picked him as the most handsome/attractive active wrestler" because a lot of people don't read the OP and only go off the title. Just a thought. I know because I've made that mistake as well.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

When you think of metrosexuals, you think of men that are some what effeminate. Or, at least, that's something of a stereotype that's been displayed in the media. You know, you're not a "real man" if you go to the spa or get manicures or facial treatments and all this and that.

I can see some of the Ravishing Rick Rude character in this as well as some aspects of The Model Rick Martel. After all, the arrogant heel that takes surpeme pride in his appearance isn't something that's new, but I don't think it's really been taken in quite this same direction. Overall, I enjoy it because Cody Rhodes legitimately seems comfortable and natural in this character.

 

[hurleyworld4]

I think the argument could be made that the "Dashing" gimmick stemmed from the desire to set Cody apart from his father. Dusty Rhodes is remembered as being the common man, a one of us type wrestlers. Dusty was rather large and genuinely average looks-wise. Cody is being portrayed as more of a sophisticated wrestler who possesses a fit, trim look. The vignettes are spot on, and I watch intently every Friday for the next installment (I want a straight razor.) Even when he was interacting with Husky at the beginning of NXT 2, he would point out the distinct differences in their looks and further utilize that to gain a nice amount of heat.

It's as if the WWE is conducting a gimmick experiment. They give Teddy the Million Dollar Belt and a valet, mimicking Ted Sr. and then give Cody the polar opposite of his father. I believe they are watching to see which path they should take in the evolution of gimmicks regarding generational wrestlers.

In regards to another wrestler to pull off the gimmick, I'm gonna say Zack Ryder. He's brash, smug, charismatic, and well kept. If he was handed the reigns with this gimmick, I could see Uptown makeovers and a pg version of the Godfather. That's just me though. I've always liked Ryder, and I want to see him move forward instead of standing still.

 

[Chill]

I think that, as a few people have already mentioned, the gimmick stemmed from old personnas such as 'Ravishing' Rick Rude and Rick 'The Model' Martel but 'Dashing' Cody Rhodes is also supposed to get him out of the shadow of Dusty Rhodes, and it's certainly working. Cody Rhodes is now the exact opposite from his father, which is a great thing...not only is he totally different in appearance but his on-screen attitude does not resemble the 'Common Man' either, another positive.

Cody's current gimmick is good no doubt, but it isn't new which doesn't matter particularly, what's important is that it's slowly getting him over and taking him further away from his roots. If you recall, WWE tried to get him over as the 'Uncommon Man' for a few weeks before completely going the opposite direction with his current persona and while I feel the uncommon direction could have also worked, there's no doubt the dashing gimmick is helping him come into his own and that's the main thing.

 

[3/4 Facelock]

At first it was the Uncommon Cody Rhodes. A very obvious play off his father's common man gimmick.

Now with him being "dashing" I'm not too sure where it stems from. The divas like him. They voted him best look or some shit like that. Maybe that.

It seems to me that everything they've done with this gimmick is reminicent of early "Boy Toy" Shawn Michaels. Both had/have a narcissistic gimmick with a mirror they look into. The only thing that Cody would have to get to floow the Shawn path is a valet/manager....oh and he would have to sing his own intro like Shawn did too. HAHAHA

 

[LascoX]

To find the Alpha incarnation of this gimmick you need to go all the way back to Gorgeous George, he was the first one that I know of to bring a mirror to the ring that I know of. Since then many incarnations of this gimmick have been used like the ones previously mentioned. Cody's incarnation reminds me of Ravishing Rick Rude with a dash of Mr Perfect and the tag line "not in the face" - from Tommy Rich from early ECW. Cody was a good person to rehash this gimmick as he has a decent look and a good arrogant attitude to complement it. He finally found a gimmick that will get him a good heel reaction.

 

[LigerBomb]

Rick Martel and Rick Rude as many have already said. Plus if I'm not mistaken Cody orginally tried to be an actor first. So that had to help him as some of the more talent/charisma-less guys in the back could've never done near as good a job. Actually I would love for him to eventually skew the character into a more absurdest comical face role and imitate the Old Spice Guy vignettes. I don't know how that would work exactly and in fact it may be a horrible idea in execution but I don't care. I'd laugh for a while and that's really all that important to me.

 

[darqknyt]

Rick Martel & Rick Rude.But I'm loving this gimmick.The funny thing is that I thought Cody would struggle post-Legacy but it now seems that Ted will be the Janerty of Leagcy because of his decision to cock-ride his daddy's gimmmick.Cody has managed to create a persona of his own & will be a success becuase of it.

 

[And_Overall_AWESOME!!!]

"Dashing" Cody Rhodes has a great gimmick. His Theme Song is Beast. N the mirror is ill. so i think this is the way hes gunna go for a while. The gimmick is obvious to have stem from "Ravishing" Rick Rude's gimmick. Reason I say is because hes cocky n arrogant. But, he has his on intinuity.