Is Cody Rhodes Hurting The IC Titles Credibility?

[GI Cake]

Just because the previous champions had worse title reigns, that does not mean that Cody's reign is good.

Common logic would dictate if someone did something worse than you, that means you did something better.

Overlooking a title always hurts the prestige. Cody rarely even mentions that he holds a title. For example Dolph Ziggler, no matter how many world title matches he was in, always made reference to being champ. You can tell Dolph wanted to keep his title. Cody's belt is taking a back seat to his feud with Big Show right now.

When Cody Rhodes dropped the mask, he changed his gear to match his Championship title. He does more than enough to promote that he is the IC Champion. Hell, you would be foolish to think his title is taking a back seat in any of his feuds. Booker T wanted to take the title away from Rhodes because he wanted to humble the second generation Superstar. And now Big Show wants to do the same thing, but with extra incentive to prove he isn't a Wrestlemania bust. If you're unable to see how important Rhodes has made his title, than I can't help you.

It would be the next logical step in Drew McIntyre's progression. You can also have Johnny Ace cheat to let Otunga take the strap, since Teddy Long put a Raw title on a Smackdown guy. Also as I stated earlier in the thread, it's time for Dibiase to move up the ladder.

You can't have a heel take the title away from a heel. Besides that, the title is already being put on the line against Big Show at Wrestlemania, which also seems to be the big pay-off for the Teddy Long/Johnny Ace storyline. And really, Dibiase as champion over Cody Rhodes? I don't know if you noticed, but he gets the same reaction as the average ref. If you think the title would be in better hands with Dibiase than Rhodes you truly have no idea what you're talking about.

You hit the nail on the head when you said generic, but I don't see him as obsessed, I see him as generic, plain, boring. After he lost his mask, I wanted him to progress, I was hoping for a new mask. A Mankind/Abyss type of mask to progress his character. Instead they took his mask off and he has no character.

Why would he need a new mask? He out played his grotesque gimmick. If he put on a new mask just because he wants to put on a new mask it would get stale quickly. But you obviously fail to see the growth of Cody's character.

 

[cmjericho]

It would be easy to blame the current IC champion but in reality he isnt booking himself first of all. Second the IC and US title have not been relevant for a number of years now. Also I take in the factor that the last 2 WWE ppvs have been Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber. He was in the rumble match and had a decent showing and at EC he was in the main title picture. Yes I think the belt should be defended atleast 3 times a month on either raw or smackdown I would say a win over show at mania might help him gain some credibility back. I think an IC and US title unification or the end of the brand extension will bring prestige back to the belt. I would get rid of the WHC as well and be done with all WCW related aspects of the WWE. Go back to what brought you to the dance.

 

[Shotaro]

I don't think Rhodes is devaluing the title, in order for him to devalue it, it would mean it had value before he won it.

The mid-card titles mean very little right now and while a lengthy reign has been good for Rhodes and the title, it's clear it is just a jumping off point for Cody. Although in reality Rhodes elevated position on the card should mean people are chasing him rather than him chasing the big show around. This whole feud just reeks of last minute booking to ensure big show appears on the card since the annual stunt casting thing has evidently fallen through.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

The Intercontinental Championship is being defended two or three times a week every week since Cody won the title. Just because he isn't defending it on TV shouldn't devalue his title reign. This isn't the Television Championship which could only be defended on TV, this is the Intercontinental Championship which is defended all over the world on live events. Cody is doing a marvelous job and has had great matches with the likes of Justin Gabriel, Booker T, John Morrison, Ted DiBiase and many others. If anything, he's helping the title.

The last good Intercontinental Champion was Dolph Ziggler. Kofi, Wade and Ezekiel didn't do much with it afterwards, but Cody has put the title back on track and whoever takes the title off him will get a huge rub.

I hope its DiBiase or Ryder who gets the title, but I'm guessing it will either be The Big Show, Kofi Kingston or, the most likely, Sin Cara.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Just recently he was announced as the Intercontinental Champion, so I don't see how he's not being recognized as Intercontinental Champion. He brought back the old classic white belt and that's my favourite version. So what if the last time he defended his title was against Booker T? He's gonna be defending the title at WrestleMania against Big Show is he not? It's not like he's NEVER defending the title, just not often. Cody Rhodes' reign was also mentioned by Michael Cole. If anything, I don't even want the title to fall off Cody Rhodes because of the way he's handling it. I just don't see anyone else that could hold the title as proudly as him right now.

 

[CMSawall]

Really I wouldnt blame Rhodes for all this, I blame the lack of fueds, the past few months have been crap for some of the talent, they are all getting injured and put on the shelves for months to come, leaving a LACK of talent to feud with. The title isnt holding him back, and he isnt holding the title back, its just everyone is out to get injured on SD! so There is no competition.

 

[Ballin247]

No, LegendKiller716 you are hurting this website's credibility with your crappy threads. You suck ass you worthless piece of crap. lol.

As far as Rhodes goes I think he has done good. He looks strong as champion and is actually defending the title at wrestlemania. I think he should defend it a little more often but he is better than most IC Champions we had. Zeke was bad and did nothing.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Nobody in the mid-card is going to give the title more "credibility" than Cody Rhodes. It's common to hear complaints about the title not being mentioned or even defended that often, but it's really only a modern "problem". Back in the so-called glory days of the title's lifespan, it would go months without being defended.

Cody did more for the belt by bringing in the new design than any champion has done in the last ten years for the Intercontinental Championship. He's the champion, he addressed being the champion for several months in a row... What do you want him to do? It's not like he can go out every week and cut the same promo about being the IC Champion. He moved on with the belt around his waist and entered into feuds. His battle with Booker T involved the title. His feud with Big Show at WrestleMania will involve the title. He couldn't put the belt on the line IN the Rumble match, and the Chamber match was for the World title!

I get what you're saying - the title should be bigger than the Superstar and elevate his game just by holding it. But it's not. Thing is, giving it to ANYBODY else that would conceivably hold the IC title would make it LESS valuable, not more. He's an upper mid-card talent that gets good exposure on his brand and is involved with decent feuds - what more do you want!?

IF he retains the belt at WrestleMania, which he SHOULD, he'll probably start gunning for those top positions as Champion. He'll be in the Top 10 longest reigns, but he could easily start an angle where he shoots for #1. Every month, or few months he'll come across a record held by a legend, and can make a big deal about defeating them. The focus right now is WRestleMania. Instead of talking about how the belt has no "credibility", why not just adjust your view and realize credibility is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Fear&Loathing]

I think Cody is a great person for the Title I think it was great bringing back the classic IC Title but it would have made more sense if he actually defends it more and IC title matches happen more on Pay Per Views. I will be very dissapointed if Big Show wins the Title at mania.

 

[redwings19]

yeah i think cody is hurting the belt just cause he never really defends it and i dont know how he gets over he is a little nerd who weighs like 150 pounds he should be a mid carder and if big show loses at mania there something wrong

 

[XXJJ]

His actual title reign has been lackluster. His best feud during his reign was a non title feud with Orton. I thought his feud with Booker could of been better. I wish they made it a best of 7 series like they used to do with the US title.

But he is a credible ic champ. Cody has been champion this long because their are no midcarders on SD worthy enough to take the title off him

Look at the Smackdown midcard. You got guys like Ezkiel Jackson, Ted, Khalil. Compare that with Raw's midcard (Dolph,Ryder,Kofi,R-Truth,Santino,Swagger etc). That is a big difference between the two brands.

He doesn't have many wrestlers to feud with. Thats been the main problem with him. Smackdown needs to do a better job with the midcarders.

 

[sTyLnK]

I don't understand why people make threads and act like what a wrestler is doing is his choice. The WWE is scripted. Do people understand what that means? Most wrestlers don't have a choice. They're doing what they are told, so why do people blame a wrestler? Blame creative.

Cody is a great wrestler, he's great at talking and to me he should be in the main events. He has all the tools and the potential. But, the WWE is stupid as hell and never gives a wrestler a full time push. It's all part time and it's like a roller coaster. Give a wrestler a push, then demote him, give another wrestler a push, demote him. Very few stay at the top. You want to push young talent, push them down people's throats like Cena and fans will adapt and get used to it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I fail to see how Rhodes in any way, shape or form is bad for the IC title. As with most other subjects regarding pro wrestling, and the WWE in particular, this sounds to me as if some are wishing for perfection in an imperfect world.

Even back during the IC title's "glory days", it wasn't as though it was defended every other week on television. I know some of us like to romanticize days gone by as a time in which pro wrestling was perfect, when every match was a classic, every feud an epic, every promo was gold and every title reign was the stuff that dreams were made of but that's not exactly how it was. Back in the days during the reigns of Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior & Mr. Perfect, the vast majority of title defenses took place at house shows just as they do today. You'd very rarely see a title defense for free on television and you'd see them on ppv, which wasn't surprising as there were only 3 or 4 ppvs at the time. Rhodes has defended the title a lot via house shows, he's defended it on some ppvs and has sometimes defended it on television.

Aside from there, there's more to being a good champion than carrying the title around or even defending it. We've seen the progression of Cody Rhodes from a lame, one dimensional flunky to one of the top young heels in wrestling during the past 2 years. Rhodes carries himself like a star, he behaves like a star, he cuts promos like a star, he continuously puts over the importance of the IC title, he puts over the lineage of the title and can very much deliver inside the ring. Also, for the first time in many years, we're actually going to see a true IC title match take place at WrestleMania. If I'm not mistaken, the last real match for the IC title at WM took place at WM 18 between RVD & William Regal. Rey Mysterio & JBL had a match for it at WM 25, if you want to call 20 seconds a match.

I think it's a little ridiculous to suggest that Rhodes is doing anything to hurt the title att his point. Overall, it probably means more now than it has in close to a decade.

 

[LegendKiller716]

IF he retains the belt at WrestleMania, which he SHOULD, he'll probably start gunning for those top positions as Champion. He'll be in the Top 10 longest reigns, but he could easily start an angle where he shoots for #1. Every month, or few months he'll come across a record held by a legend, and can make a big deal about defeating them. The focus right now is WRestleMania. Instead of talking about how the belt has no "credibility", why not just adjust your view and realize credibility is in the eye of the beholder.

This is what I would want to happen. Move Cody away from the world title picture, and have him start gunning for Honkey Tonk's record. IMO the last time the title was interesting is when Santino was running this angle. I think Rhodes can easily be the guy to break the record, and I think by doing so Rhodes elevates himself further.

If Rhodes can start to focus on his belt on break the record not only will he elevate himself, he'll be giving a big rub to whomever takes the belt off of him. IMO it's all the personal feuds that are hurting this reign (Orton, Booker, Show). If Rhodes can move away from personal feuds, and start focusing on title feuds, this has the potential to be the best I.C. title reign in the last 10 years. However, as of right now, I think the reign has been mediocre at best.

 

[ICMPointParkU]

Rhodes is a star. He has risen far above DiBiase and is going to be making serious moves in the near future for sure. As far as the IC title, bringing back the classic belt was awesome. Defending it rarely and against the likes of Booker T, not so much. They need to build a better mid-card (ala the US title hunt is looking a lot better) and then it will be more fun. Right now, though, it does look good on him.

 

[LegendKiller716]

Rhodes is a star. He has risen far above DiBiase and is going to be making serious moves in the near future for sure. As far as the IC title, bringing back the classic belt was awesome. Defending it rarely and against the likes of Booker T, not so much. They need to build a better mid-card (ala the US title hunt is looking a lot better) and then it will be more fun. Right now, though, it does look good on him.

Completely agree here. Hopefully the draft can help even out the mid card. I see Rhodes taking the belt to Raw, which as you said is pretty good, while a few guys like Santino, Alex Riley, Evan Bourne, Sin Cara, and Dibiase Try to rebuild Smackdown's mid card.

 

[Wrestlemania 20-0]

Cody Rhodes is an good IC champion but i prefer to see Chris Jericho or Rey mystério with the built.

 

[The Idiot]

Right now the IC title is more of a prop than a goal.

All the titles are props in todays wrestling.

Look at Punk/Jericho @ Wrestlemania. It's for the #1 championship in the business and it's not the main event, nor is it the co-main event. It's #3 on the card.

The days as the WWE championship respresenting the #1 guy in the company are long gone.

Rhodes is doing good....and he should keep the title for longer, IMO. I agree that he should defend it more often, but having a tournament for the IC belt wouldn't make any sense. Maybe if it was for the unified US/IC...then possibly. But a real tournament, not some 8 man cheese dick crap fest. A legit 16 man tournament between Raw and Smackdown to determine the #2 guy in the company. Yes I said #2, because the WHC and WWE title should be merged as 1 as well.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Goddamn, some of you still think it's 1975.

Rhodes being the champion, being the star, and talking about how much the belt means to him and how he loves being the IC champ is the equivalent of a guy back in the day beating jobbers for the title in defenses every week.

He doesn't hurt the IC title at all. It looks good on him, he's relevant, he talks about how awesome the belt is, he's over, thus, it's over.

 

[ultramattman]

People need to understand something about the Intercontinental title. No matter what or how much you do to build it up, it will ALWAYS be the 3rd-best WWE title. And you can only make the #3 belt so interesting.

People complain about how much more the IC title meant back in the day, and most miss the point. The WHC is now what the IC title used to be. The #2 belt. The WHC is more elevated than the IC was, but its presence alone means the IC will always be a bronze medal at best.

Now just because you can't build it up that much doesn't mean you can't bury it. When it's being hotshotted around to mediocre midcarders with no rhyme or reason, the belt looks pathetic. The IC seems important when it's a) attached to an engaging star, or b) being fought over. Currently it's the former and not the latter, but it's still a good run. Cody Rhodes is a major villain on Smackdown. Hell, he currently has the only non-title, non-legends singles match at Wrestlemania. Beats the hell out of throwing the belt on the likes of Ezekiel Jackson or Justin Gabriel.

 

[y2grae]

I think the situation with Rhodes holding the belt and the bookers booking him to not defend it, IS hurting the belt.
I dont think Rhodes alone holding it is hurting it.

hope that makes sense

 

[lowandmighty]

Fuck no! Cody Rhodes is doing wonders for the Intercontinental championship. He's such a great star and the fact he has the belt even if he doesn't defend it that often just makes it better. When he finally loses it it will be like the new champion has found untapped oil.
I've always been a great believer in long title reigns being better and because of that I get pretty pissed off when someone crap wins a major title. Thats why I was so pissed off when Daniel Bryan won the whc because he sucks.

It actually makes me sick that they let a stooge like Daniel Bryan have a world title reign that's just boring an uninteresting when there's actual talent like Cody Rhodes floating around. I really can't see where they're going with Bryan. I feel embarrassed to see him there at all let alone being the world heavyweight champion. Even when Benoit was the champion I still thought he was at least funny to watch because of his slight dwarfism but there's absolutely nothing about Daniel Bryan that interests me, he's about as interesting as a set of windscreen wipers.
Jesus daniel bryan is shit.

 

[Endless Mike]

He should allign with Laurinitus, vacate his IC title to Otunga (Where Otunga will defend it regularly, winning cowardly), become Laurinitus's main man, and begin to challenge Punk for the WWE Championship on the Raw brand.

The heel stable could be Laurinitus, Cody Rhodes (main heel and WWE Title contender/champion by June), Otunga (I.C. Champ and 2nd in command), and Swagger/Ziggler w/Vicki as tag champs.

That would be something fresh and exciting for the Spring.

 

[theBec2101]

I think Cody Rhodes is hurting the Rhodes credibility. I dont see it. Small enough is should be a high flyer put isnt, all he has is that one leg kick of the rope. Also havent seen technical wrestling out of him either for him to be in a wrestling family.

 

[SteelRevenge]

Rhodes isn`t hurting its cred, his booking is.

1st three months of his reign they guy was fed to the viper, who in turn was fed to the stupid brit, so basically WWE took all Cody`s momentum and gave it to the rookie.

Rhodes has worked incredibly hard and you can tell he is one of the few in this industry who actually care about it as opposed to others who just want to grab the WC ASAP then pull a lesnar.

In the end there is only so much a superstar can do: ring work and mic work. The rest is up to creative who have the power to make irrelevant rookies the ME and make seasoned vetrans totally worthless.