Is Cody Rhodes Hurting The IC Titles Credibility?

[metalbass]

It's actually the opposite in my opinion. Rhodes's lengthy title reign has actually helped the credibility of the IC title. That belt fits him like a glove, and so what if he's in main event matches that aren't for the belt? The fact the IC champ is in those matches further enhances the credibility of the title.

Rhodes is one of the few wrestlers today that I feel has been built up properly. He's stayed on a level that suits both him and the IC title and his few but important main event caliber matches makes him even more relevant. He has brought prestige to the title that hasn't been around for over 10 years and he's on the level of Roddy Piper, Greg Valentine and Honky Tonk Man as one of the best IC champs in the business.

 

[Litle Jimmy Rocks]

Here's the problem IMO we are dealing with 2 seprate superstars here what I mean by that is this....
1. Cody Rhodes the Superstar

2. Cody Rhodes the IC champ

Theirs no doubt that Cody has been excellent hanging his own with main events despite losing on most occasions futire world champ definately the bad news is creative not Cody are forgeting his duties as IC Champ and that is what hurts the cred of the IC title I mean when is the last time he defended the title? The TLC PPV. (give me a break) So with that being said I think Cody shouid drop the title soon to give the focus his main event push desives.

 

[ropeninja89]

i dont beleieve he his bring down credibility but i do believe he is breathing new life into an already stale title. i mean come one hes held it for a while and even though he hasnt defended it much but when he has it has been one hell of a match

 

[iwinulose]

No Rhodes brought glory back to the title. It's not his fault the wwe won't book matches in which Cody is forced to defend. If he was he would put on great match up's, unfortunately the wwe has other ideas in mind the IC title is just being tossed on the back burner (which is unfortunate). Hopefully after WM 28 the wwe remembers the IC title and let's it get defended more often, and yes hopefully he loses it to someone in the near future have a nice feud with them then move on to something bigger (the WHC for instance cause we all know sheamus will win it before his and bryan's feud ends).

 

[GI Cake]

Here's the problem IMO we are dealing with 2 seprate superstars here what I mean by that is this....
1. Cody Rhodes the Superstar

2. Cody Rhodes the IC champ

Theirs no doubt that Cody has been excellent hanging his own with main events despite losing on most occasions futire world champ definately the bad news is creative not Cody are forgeting his duties as IC Champ and that is what hurts the cred of the IC title I mean when is the last time he defended the title? The TLC PPV. (give me a break) So with that being said I think Cody shouid drop the title soon to give the focus his main event push desives.

I still fail to see how Cody not defending his title every month devalues it. If Cody Rhodes is being booked to the moon right now and rightfully so. He is a killer talent. What bothers me even more is that people think having the IC champ occupied in the Upper-card and the Main-Event hurts the title as a whole is completely absurd.

The only way a Superstar could hurt the credibility of the title is if Cody was being booked poorly and didn't defend the title. If Rhodes was feuding with lower card jobbers and not defending the belt. Or if Rhodes wasn't performing at the caliber he currently is, then I could see why people would believe the titles credibility is being hurt.

But wouldn't a bunch of lower card, more forgettable feuds hurt Rhodes and the title? I mean, how many mid-card guys can Rhodes feud with before he is stuck defending his title against Tyson Kidd or Trent Barretta every month? Give Rhodes the chance to shine and grow and fit into the Mid-Card, and defend the title when given the chance to a more memorable feud. Booker T and Cody Rhodes was great, Big Show and Rhodes is shaping up to be a great match at Wrestlemania.


But beside all of that, the title isn't meant to be held onto forever. It was meant to help elevate the Lower card guys and put them into the Main-Event scene. And Rhodes has done wonders with the title. Week in and week out he is looking like a Main-Event heel all thanks to the IC title. That gives the title prestige and credibility. The fact it could bring someone up and put them in matches for the world title will make it more credible and will do the same thing for Rhodes.

 

[TheChosenOne10]

I think having the IC belt on someone who has been on such a roll like Cody has if anything is helping it. Yeah it hasn't been defending much but Im hopeful that will change. We actually have an IC Title match on the card for WM and last time we got that was WM25 with Rey beating JBL in 20 seconds and before that was WM18 RVD vs. Regal. I was actually surprised when i looked this up that in the last ten years the title has only been defending twice one barely being a match. So I think this is a step up for the title to be defended on one of the biggest WM's in awhile. This is a pretty stacked card and for it to make it on is saying a lot.

But i do agree that the title hasn't been the focus. I don't think Ive heard Show mention once that he wants the IC Belt just that he wants to beat up Cody. After WM id like to see Cody enter some actual feuds over the title with guys like Kofi, Ryder, Riley, McIntyre, Gabriel, Swagger, DiBiase, Miz etc... I think it would benefit the title if Cody holds onto it for a long time until the end of the year maybe more but defends it often. The WWE doesn't do long title runs anymore with the title being the focus. Usually 5 months and they switch it to someone new, or with the mid card titles usually someone wins it you wait till the fans forget who holds the belt and they drop it to someone for a storyline purpose. We need a strong champion to make the belt look good and I think Cody is the perfect guy for that. Look at Austin Aries in TNA, he's I believe the longest X Champ in their history and he defends that title every PPV. He is looking stronger and the title looks stronger. With Cody he looks stronger but the title is still where its been the past few years.

 

[The Big Gunnzbowski]

Not as much as Daniel Bryan is hurting the credibility of the WHC.

But let's face it. The IC title hasn't carried prestige since the 90s. Cody Rhodes could be a great IC champion if they would let him focus on doing so. Meaningless storylines and dead end buildups are stupid and are hurting his credibility as a champion. Let him get some clean wins with some credible opponents, and he could restore some prestige to that title. Why bring back the old white-strap belt if they're gonna bury it?

 

[Radical]

I think having the IC belt on someone who has been on such a roll like Cody has if anything is helping it. Yeah it hasn't been defending much but Im hopeful that will change. We actually have an IC Title match on the card for WM and last time we got that was WM25 with Rey beating JBL in 20 seconds and before that was WM18 RVD vs. Regal. I was actually surprised when i looked this up that in the last ten years the title has only been defending twice one barely being a match. So I think this is a step up for the title to be defended on one of the biggest WM's in awhile. This is a pretty stacked card and for it to make it on is saying a lot.

But i do agree that the title hasn't been the focus. I don't think Ive heard Show mention once that he wants the IC Belt just that he wants to beat up Cody. After WM id like to see Cody enter some actual feuds over the title with guys like Kofi, Ryder, Riley, McIntyre, Gabriel, Swagger, DiBiase, Miz etc... I think it would benefit the title if Cody holds onto it for a long time until the end of the year maybe more but defends it often. The WWE doesn't do long title runs anymore with the title being the focus. Usually 5 months and they switch it to someone new, or with the mid card titles usually someone wins it you wait till the fans forget who holds the belt and they drop it to someone for a storyline purpose. We need a strong champion to make the belt look good and I think Cody is the perfect guy for that. Look at Austin Aries in TNA, he's I believe the longest X Champ in their history and he defends that title every PPV. He is looking stronger and the title looks stronger. With Cody he looks stronger but the title is still where its been the past few years.

I'm a relatively new to this forum but have been reading for a little while now. I certainly don't want to get off on the wrong foot but naturally wrestling fans can have slightly different views on things.

I do agree with you that the fact that Cody Rhodes has held the IC title for so long it has made his reign as champion more memorable than many of the most recent past holders of the title.

But you brought up how there haven't been very many IC title matches at WM in the last few years and I think that is kind of sad. I mean why even have that title around if it really isn't going to be treated as a special prize?

I mean you are so right, in this entire fued with Cody vs Big Show I don't think Big Show has mentioned once that he really wants the IC title he basically is just mad at Cody for interfering with him and pointing out how he has been a failure at WM in the past... he just wants to BEAT Cody, the fact that the IC title is on the line almost has no meaning. I mean the storyline alone is legitimate enough that this match could just be Cody vs Big Show without the title on the line and I think the match would still have intrigue because of how the careers of the two Superstars has gone lately.

And that's my main 'issue' if you will with Cody as the IC champion right now. I know it's not his fault for not being booking in title defense matches but it certainly would HELP him if he defended it more during his reign.

Actually, it is more the WWE's fault for not pushing talent up enough to have anyone seem like a credible threat to Cody. I mean they have to bring Big Show DOWN (from recently being a World Title contender) just to feud with Cody for a IC title. They can't bring anyone up because there is no real mid-card Smackdown face that is a credible threat right now.

My last point will be:

If the WWE is going to bother having a secondary title on both shows (IC and US) then they should always (or at least more often) book towards fueds for that title. That would bring a lot more prestige to the title.

I mean, heck, no other Superstar even seems to CARE about the IC title other than I guess Cody because he has it ... there used to be a time where a storyline was built around a guy who actually WANTED the title...

Actually... it wasn't that long ago... Think Zack Ryder's quest for the US title. Say what you want about Ryder's gimmick but the fact he actually cared about that title and fans actually cared that he would get it made his feud with Ziggler and his eventual win actually something special.

 

[Beastmode 24]

I don't think that Cody Rhodes has hurt the crediblilty of the IC title, in fact, i think that he's been the best IC champion of the last 15 years or so. His long run has brought a lot of credibility back to the IC championship, which is something that honestly all of the WWE titles need. The Tag Team division is a joke, the U.S championship has changed hands 3 times since December, the Divas championship is almost nonexistant..the only two championships that really mean anything are the Top Two. I think that Cody Rhodes is doing a great job of bringing something good to the IC title.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I don't think that Cody Rhodes has hurt the crediblilty of the IC title, in fact, i think that he's been the best IC champion of the last 15 years or so.

His long run has brought a lot of credibility back to the IC championship, which is something that honestly all of the WWE titles need.

How does having a long run instantly bring credibility to the belt? I see everybody clamoring to be Diva's champion since Phoenix has had it for a while.

The Tag Team division is a joke, the U.S championship has changed hands 3 times since December, the Divas championship is almost nonexistant..the only two championships that really mean anything are the Top Two. I think that Cody Rhodes is doing a great job of bringing something good to the IC title.

So you say the U.S. Title has been a joke because it's changed hands 3 times since December but fail to mention that Rhodes has had about five or six title defenses in almost 8 months and hasn't defended the title since the first week of January.

Like I've said before, I don't give a damn how long you hold a title. It's what you do with the title that matters and Rhodes hasn't mattered to me at all.

 

[cmedge]

Cody is a wrestler not a booker!! Cody is just doing his job being told by the higher ups who to defend it against and when! Its not codys fault that he doesnt defend the title every 30 days (isnt a champion supposed to defend the title every 30 days anyway? Tag titles WHC WWE Champion IC Champion but thats another thread). Cody is a freaking amazing talent and really IMO he is above the IC title anyway!! After he beats the big show he will go on to defend it against the likes of ADR and why not ziggles!!

IN reality Cody has brought back credibility to the title and is using that as a stepping stone for an eventual run at either the WHC or WWE title depending on this years draft! When cody does in fact lose the title sometime whoever takes the title off of him better keep the ball rolling and help bring prestige back to the IC title like cody has!!

Above the title? He's a great talent, future World Champ but what makes him better? You must have forgotten about amazing IC Champs like Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Stone Cold and The Rock...

 

[cmedge]

I don't think that Cody Rhodes has hurt the crediblilty of the IC title, in fact, i think that he's been the best IC champion of the last 15 years or so.

The Tag Team division is a joke, the U.S championship has changed hands 3 times since December, the Divas championship is almost nonexistant..the only two championships that really mean anything are the Top Two. I think that Cody Rhodes is doing a great job of bringing something good to the IC title.

Stone Cold, The Rock, Triple H, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler NUFF SAID.

And the only thing he has done for the title is change the look and made old fans jizz about it.....

 

[TempestH]

Cody Rhodes hasn't hurt the credibility of the IC Title. The lack of credible faces hasn't hurt the title. The problem was simply that creative pushed him too fast.

They booked themselves into a corner with the Orton feud. Either Orton had to "step down" by challenging for the IC Belt, or Rhodes had to be built up in order to believably stand up to a main eventer, and as a result Rhodes ended up leaving everyone behind.

 

[Wwe Fan 4Eva]

Before Cody Rhodes won the Intercontinental Championship i did not really care who held the title but now that Cody Rhodes is holding it i am pulling for him to win in every defense he has.

So i think Cody Rhodes deserves a long run with the I.C. Title and he has brought importance back to a title that meant so little for so many years.