Team Rhodes Scholars....What happened?

[The Tay]

Look at that...when team rhodes scholars first debuted everyone(well maybe not everyone) had such high hopes.Many thought they would be the nex tag team champios.But it was announced on SmackDown that team rhodes scholars have parted ways.Both Rhodes and Sandow had been experiencing a significant push from the WWE as partners; whether these men will continue receiving such push as individuals remains a mystery.

Ultimately, the WWE's decision to break up the team may be a bad idea that may end up costing one of the two superstars—as often happens with the breakup of tag teams, *cough cough crime time cough cough*

What is your take on this? Do you think wwe just dropped the ball with the team? Or do you think there is some kind of long-term idea behind this? Give me your input.

 

[mace87]

i expected Rhodes Scholars to win tag titles at the Rumble which didn't happen.
I liked their partnership and expected it to last alot longer than it has however Sandow has looked impressive in majority of his singles matches and Rhodes had a good run as IC champion not so long ago so I imagine they will be decent mid carders for a while now

 

[Master JM]

It was for the best - they've lost to Team Hell No so many times that their credibility was falling apart quickly, and I have no idea where they could've gone as a team at this point, so this, in my opinion, was the only choice left. Yes, they could've been good in the tag team division, and it seems like WWE thought that too, but eventually just gave up on the idea.

This is a positive thing, though. Damien Sandow has been one of the hottest midcard heels since his debut, playing his character excellently and getting HUGE rubs by being involved in promos with DX and The Rock. I don't want him in the tag team division. A singles career is the best thing for him right now and I certainly hope that his push continues, with possibly even a World Title run in a few years time. No problems with how Sandow's being handled.

Cody Rhodes is a different case. I haven't seen a lot of good from him in the last few months. Getting squashed in most of his matches (including a submission loss to Daniel Bryan in under two minutes) wasn't helping him and now it looks like he's completely got nothing to do. I can see two ways in which he can go: A Wrestlemania feud with Goldust, which so many people have been talking about, or possibly even a face turn. With Jack Swagger, the only rumoured challenger to Antonio Cesaro's US Title, back as a heel, why not put Cody in that place? Cody Rhodes vs. Antonio Cesaro at Wrestlemania for the US Championship isn't at all bad. Releasing Cody Rhodes is not something that I can see WWE doing. He is the son of a legend, after all.

Honestly, I can say that I won't miss Team Rhodes Scholars.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I don't see why they were put together in the first place. Rhodes was a few months removed from being IC champion and Sandow had not long made his debut. Each should've been involved in mid-card feuds, one to establish Sandow and one to elevate Rhodes further up the card.

They seemed to be a popular team amongst the IWC. I don't know why. They were an alright team, but they were just thrown together and weren't going to be the saviours of the division. Needless to say, I was more upset when Demolition went their separate ways.

 

[Dagger Dias]

WWE didn't drop the ball with this tag team. I liked them, but they never seemed like tag team championship material. They seemed like one of the more random pairings in recent memory, although I'll admit they did impress me. That doesn't mean I thought they would defeat Team Hell No for the titles though. It was simply to give them something to do and the tag team division can always use more names. I doubt either one of them will be future endeavoured. This is most likely due to WWE wanting to continue their pushes seperately. Sandow has been doing great and can only improve. He could make it to the main event scene some day. I'd like to see Cody get there too, I can see Sandow getting the bigger push out of the two though.

Rhodes could go back to the Intercontinental Championship scene again. Another run with that belt may help him get some momentum he'd need in order to climb further up the card, he could turn face and feud with Barrett over that belt. He brought back the classic design so he can do promos about that and claim it as "his" belt whether he is a face or a heel. There's also the United States Championship that he could face Cesaro for, however I'd rather see Swagger defeat him instead of Rhodes. Sandow will probably begin going into upper card feuds soon. The fact that he's already gotten to work with DX shows they may have big plans for him in the future. Neither one are going to get future endeavoured, WWE just didn't want them in the tag team division anymore. They will be better off by themselves. They were never going to hold the giant pennies together anyhow.

 

[#heel420]

To me it's another case of WWE being scared to pull the trigger on something. They aren't finished milking Team Hell No yet, so they didn't want to put the titles on Rhodes and Sandow. I'm disappointed that they disbanded them so quickly as I had such high hopes for this team. I'm a fan of the team as well as both individuals, so hopefully this leads to singles pushes for both of these guys.

 

[dman1373]

cody rhodes just didn't hold up to well next to sandow. He should have right away once joining sandow should have tweaked his character and also his look(not counting the mustache). And when sandow would say something really smart, rhodes didn't have anything to add that sounded intelligent. And its sad cause cody was a great mid card singles star, but he couldn't hack it in team rhoads scholars.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

WWE didn't drop the ball with this tag team. I liked them, but they never seemed like tag team championship material. They seemed like one of the more random pairings in recent memory, although I'll admit they did impress me. That doesn't mean I thought they would defeat Team Hell No for the titles though. It was simply to give them something to do and the tag team division can always use more names. I doubt either one of them will be future endeavoured. This is most likely due to WWE wanting to continue their pushes seperately. Sandow has been doing great and can only improve. He could make it to the main event scene some day. I'd like to see Cody get there too, I can see Sandow getting the bigger push out of the two though.

Never seemed like tag team championship material? Have you seen the tag champions we have had in the past decade? The tag titles haven't meant shit since 2001. Of course they were tag team championship material.

Rhodes and Sandow should have won the titles in October but it wouldn't have mattered much in the grand scheme of things. People who thought the tag team division was revived were kidding themselves because look at what we have right now.

 

[Wrestling101]

I was hoping they'd be together for at least most of this year, because I thought they could have done very well for the tag division. I figured it would be a great way to get Sandow more exposure and not let him get lost in the singles shuffle. I'm hoping they split them up because they see great things in Sandow and want to give him a push, but with 2 heels as mid card champions, I don't know where he fits in. I think he can make a very good world champ eventually. I'm all for anything that gets Sandow more time to talk and wrestle.....

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Eh, I'm kinda disappointed in this decision. I enjoyed watching these two together and, for me, they were a consistently entertaining team.

In some ways, I do kind of understand WWE's choice to break them up. They've had a lot of bites at the apple when it comes to Team Hell No, but they couldn't get it done. If they'd had another match after the Rumble and managed to get the titles then, I don't think that it'd mean all that much. The Rumble was the last best chance to put the titles on TRS but they didn't go for it.

I can only hope that this means both of them will resume successful singles careers. Both men have a lot of talent. Sandow is solid gold on the mic and he's had zero trouble generating heat since he came to WWE. Rhodes is someone that's still extremely young and I could see him getting a main event run at some point in the future.

 

[Spencesc11]

This makes no sense at all??? If your already breaking up Daniel Bryan and Kane then why break up the #2 tag team going right now??? The creative people hopefully have something planned for these two otherwise I don't get it. I would pair Sandow with Wade Barrett it would be a much stronger looking team as well. Maybe have Barrett drop the I-C title to Jericho at Mania. Then put him and Sandow together to pursue the Tag Titles.
My post Mania top 5 tag teams would be
1) Sandow and Barrett
2) Mysterio and Sin Cara
3) The Shield
4) Dibiase and Rhodes (reformed)
5) Kofi and R-Truth (reformed)

This would give you some material to work with and keep these 8 guys (other than the Shield members) relevant.

A Dibiase/Rhodes vs. Sandow/Barrett feud could take off with the "scorned" ex partners angle.

 

[Wrestling101]

Rhodes is someone that's still extremely young and I could see him getting a main event run at some point in the future.

Agree to disagree....I just don't see anything about Cody to say he could dip his toe in the main event scene as anything more than the 6th guy in EC match or something like that. He could be a great career mid carder, and there's nothing wrong with that....I just don't see him higher than that.

 

[TempestH]

I think what happened is that WWE realized that they were lacking credible uppercard heels, especially with Miz and Del Rio's face turns, and figured that Sandow and Rhodes were needed as singles guys right now.

 

[SacredMesa]

To me what went wrong involved Cody's shoulder injury. The timing on that was just horrible as TRS was getting over big time. They where hot at that point and primed to win it but with his injury they got pushed back and just never got back to that point. Here's hoping they both have great singles careers.

 

[Mr. HD]

Not too surprised by this. It was going to happen eventually. Teams break up all the time.

Then again, this is what happens when you don't give them proper air time, have them job to the tag champs not only on the pay-per-views, but on RAW too, no development of their characters to see how they grow with one another, and no establishing feud beforehand to make them look like legitimate contenders.

Two great characters. Could've worked, but I guess they're better off as singles competitors. Maybe Cody will finally shave off that ridiculous mustache.

 

[Pedigree1]

To say I am disappointed in this is putting it mildly. Team RS to me was the best tag team the WWE had going. Splitting them up to me is a bad idea. Why did they put them together if they didnt intend of putting the titles on them to begin with? I knew as soon as they lost at the royal rumble they were splitting up.

They lost to team hell no so many times their credibility was shot. They should have won the titles in october! Why is everyone behind team hell no is beyond me. Team RS is or i should say was the best tag team they had. Little Jerry Lawler is right! The tag team scene hasnt been shit since 2001.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Whether they won the tag team championships or not is irrelevant in the discussion on whether they were a successful tag team or not. When the team formed Damien was still being pushed as he was since his debut, this team gave him actual meaning. While Cody was just floating around week-to-week not really feuding with anybody, post-Rhodes Scholars both men come out better than when they went in, which is the point of forming a tag team.

For what it was, they were entertaining, different, and both men got something from it. Sandow produces gold most times he speaks, it's just the return you get with such a well played gimmick. While Cody has got an actual meaning again, well at least you'd hope. Plus that mustache is outstandingly horrible, yet brilliant.

 

[SpoodBeest]

They never should have became a team in the first place. What did it do for either guy? Just have them do something in the tag division because they had nothing for each of them individually and it really came at the expense of Sandow. The entire team was basically formulated to make Rhodes relevant again by pairing him up with someone as naturally talented as Sandow is, so that Sandow made them entertaining while Rhodes brought some "credibility".

Most of their losses had Sandow take the majority of the falls to protect Rhodes and the entire time Cody was recovering from his brief injury set back Sandow was treated like a complete and utter jobber, disgraceful really and then he continued to take the losses for the team again once they resumed.

Made Cody look great again after he was floundering for awhile, to the expense of treating someone as talented as Sandow as a sack of shit. Unnecessary, stalled both men's careers and I'm fucking glad they're going to be singles stars again and I'm really hoping for Sandow to overcome these last few months and become the ultra heat magnet for the midcard we all know he can be and grab an IC or US title as some point this year.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I'm more disappointed by what seems to be a re-collapsing tag team division. Last year after WrestleMania there were so many good teams forming! There were non-title feuds and tag matches on both Raw and Smackdown and things looked to be going up. Technically there are still teams around, and technically they still have potential, but it just feels like they've gotten lazy again.

Epico and Primo are hardly ever on TV. They've been down in NXT several times. The Usos are even more a rarity, which is beyond stupid. Mysterio and Sin Cara didn't even see riing time together at the Royal Rumble, and while they seem to be next in line for a title shot after a big win on Smackdown, I don't see them lasting past Mania either.

I can only speak for myself here, but I was never super high on Rhodes Scholars anyways. I don't think the name is clever, with or without the "Team" in front of it. I don't find Damien Sandow to be as entertaining as everyone else does. He's good, and I prefer him over about 2 dozen other guys in wrestling right now, but I don't see him as the next big World Champion in the making either. He's really never done anything to impress me, except have a bunch of hype I don't get. I like Cody Rhodes, but as I don't Sandow his place in the tag team didn't do too much for me either. These are just my honest thoughts, and I know they won't be shared by very many people.

 

[JBK2008]

This was the only legit threat to Team Hell No. It sucks that they split, but like it's been previously said, they lost to the champs soo many times, it just seems that in the eyes of the fans, they'll never beat Team Hell No. Sandow is great in the ring on his own and Rhodes can hold his own, but for the sake of the tag division, if the big wigs truly want to keep life in the division, these two should've stayed together for most of this year.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

I wasn't a huge fan of them being a team in the first place. I wasn't a huge fan of Hell No being a tag team in the first place. Like Hell No, The Rhodes Scholars proved me wrong, they were an entertaining team. I would have liked at least a two year run, two SSeries elimination matches for the tag teams. I could have seen them as tag team champs. The issue I have when making tag teams is what we usually see. Two guys put together who are capable of being single performers or were solid single performers being put in tag teams when they don't really need it.

Sandow and Rhodes don't need to be in a team to be successful, like the Usos, or Prime Time Players, or the Colons. They can do well on their own, which is why I don't feel badly for them. I would have liked to have seen them be tag champs or have a TLC match for the belts at WM and win it there, but now that they're gone, maybe the Usos or PTP will get their shot.

 

[sportznutt]

I think we'll be seeing them individually succeed. I think we'll see Cody vs Goldust and Sandow getting some gold in the future......or his apprentice. And yes, this is my first (of many) posts.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

This would be great if Team Rhode Scholars had already won & lost the tag team championships & if it wasn't already the road to wresltmania but I think this is AWFUL timing by the WWE.

We are already officially on the road to Mania, where does this leave Sandow & Rhodes? I don't there is really any chance that either man comes out of this with a major singles push right now or even a singles match at Mania. There is already too much clutter in my eyes right now for the WWE roster & the landscape of things. If anything I think this just leaves more doors open for them to be forgotten about. Also doesn't a team usually break up after they have accomplished something? Besides being an awesome team IMO, they never truely achieved anything & after losing to Team Hell No at the Rumble, this seems like a VERY pathetic & lazy way to break them up.

Not to mention, above all else, what does this mean for the entire Tag Team Division now? Who does Team Hell No drop the belts to? There isn't a single team (besides maybe Rey&Cara which take your pick of which one will be out or injured at anytime) that has the credentials to take the titles off of Kane & Bryan now.

Honestly I don't see this as anything but a poor & confusing decision, that will probably just lead to atleast a breif period of the Tag Titles being irrelevant again.

 

[Aquaman6686]

As others have said, Rhodes Scholars were jobbed out to Hell No so many times they were no longer a credible threat, so it's best for both men if they go their separate ways. I'm not a big fan of Sandow, but I've always seen massive potential in Cody Rhodes and I continue to do so. I think Rhodes will have another championship in his future sooner rather than later.

 

[paulc101]

The first thing I thought when I seen this on smackdown was they want to trick the GM into putting them both in the elimination chamber match where they can team up and let one of them win.

Cody also needs to be a singles wrestler so he can continue his feud with Goldust and it doesn't leave Sandow stuck doing nothing.