The UnDashing Gimmick Ended Too Soon

[HEELKris]

The first thing I'd like to say is that some fans didn't understand the UnDashing gimmick AT ALL. Cody Rhodes was wearing a protective mask NOT because of his broken nose (the surgery was a success after all) , but because he thought he was hideous. It was all in his mind. The commentators were calling him ''the psychologically scarred Cody Rhodes'' for a reason. I say this, because I saw a lot of moronic posts on the internet, such as ''cody rhodes doesn't need the protective mask anymore'' or ''his nose is fine, why is he wearing that mask''.

The hideous protective mask. The paperbags. The dark promos. Those things were what made him the most unique superstar in the WWE. Saying the UnDashing was ''good'' is an understatement, it was one of the best, if not the best gimmicks ever. Well, that was at least until Money In The Bank 2011, where Cody Rhodes came to the ring with that stupid sleeveless vest. Since then, he wasn't hiding his face as much as he did during his feud with Rey Mysterio. WWE ruined his gimmick, the whole point of him wearing a protective mask. But the worst was when Randy Orton unmasked him and put an end to The UnDashing Cody Rhodes. And all Rhodes had to say about that was ''Randy Orton emancipated me.'' Are you kidding me?
What has Cody Rhodes become? A generic, cocky, always smiling heel. His ''My Favorite Color Is White'' gimmick is pissing me off. But in all seriousness, he doesn't even have a gimmick anymore. The Rhodes/Booker T feud was a fail (props to Booker though, for not burying Rhodes). And now he dropped the Intercontinental Championship to Big Show... What's next for him?

Ending the UnDashing gimmick was a HUGE mistake.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

Agreed. Cody Rhodes was great when he had the UnDashing gimmick. Before that Cody Rhodes was just a generic heel but after getting the UnDashing gimmick he started doing better dark promos and the stuff with paper bags was entertaining as well. It gave Cody Rhodes a character but Cody Rhodes is now again a boring, generic heel just like Dolph Ziggler,Jack Swagger etc. Nothing unique about him.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I have to disagree all in all. Rhodes went about as far as he could with the gimmick. I think the gimmick was most useful in that it showed that Cody Rhodes is someone that's capable of doing a lot of different characters. He has a depth of talent that I don't think a lot of people really saw in him before this gimmick.

His Dashing persona indicated that there was talent there. Rhodes seemed comfortable in the character and he worked hard to get it over. The UnDashing angle made it easier to take Cody Rhodes serious as a long term star because he showed a side of himself, a darker side in which he used a lot of facial ticks, various expressions & body language to help sell the character.

Now, he seems to have come full circle. He won the IC champ, became easily the best IC champ of the decade, helped raise the status of the IC title and was thereby made a bigger star by being IC champ.

Also, the term "generic heel" is really becoming an overly used term. All heels have similarities in the sense of being arrogant. If Cody Rhodes came out with this arrogant persona in which he was wearing a thousand dollar silk suit while making proclamations of greatness, then I could see a generic aspect because that's something we've seen a LOT of in wrestling the past several years.

 

[TempestH]

Agreed with dman in saying that Cody couldn't have kept the mask forever the same way that Bob Orton used the cast.

However, Cody should've kept the other aspects of his character: the paper bags, the psychotic tendencies, and the entrance music, even after losing the mask. When he first started his current persona, I thought they were going with a hybrid of the Dashing and Un-dashing gimmicks but once he started feuding with the old timers like Booker, he started turning into a "generic heel".

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

this isn't 1985 and he aint bob orton. People cant have face gaurds or cast for 4 years.

Yes they can. WWE can make a storyline that Cody Rhodes doesn't want to show his face anymore. He likes it better with the mask....The mask makes him better,etc.

And talking about Cody Rhodes's reason to wear a mask why is Kane wearing a mask now ? Firstly he wore it for the "Storyline" purpose but why is he wearing a mask now ? Its pretty pointless and stupid.

 

[rabe222]

The Undashing gimmick is when i started to like Rhodes. Before that his character was good and he got over but this really made me see him as the ME star and believed in his character and ability to pull it off. Sometimes i got chills with the Un-dashing gimmick. He stood out and it was perfect for him.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I disagree, I think the "Dashing" gimmick is what ended way too soon. He was getting over HUGE with that gimmick. I think the UnDashing period slowed his momentum substantially.

 

[Foshinzo]

I completely agree that the UnDashing gimmick was great, and I think you're right that most people didn't get it.

The fact that his mask was clear, that you could indeed see his face sold it. His demons were only in his mind, and it caused him to lash out at the world; it's an IWC dream gimmick.

Still, I think it's lifespan was fine, though. They could have done more to enhance the gimmick, I feel. Like, what if Rey or someone had yanked the mask off or brought him to the ring and said, "Look, you're still handsome, which means you're just crazy," almost as if they were trying to help him. He even could have had a face turn when he came out of it. I think Cody is better as a heel, too, but I think the option of it is what justifies the action.

With that said, I sometimes cringed when watching Cody act out the gimmick. I know the point was to be hokey, but it was really hokey. I think the paper bags were a little much, too. They were trying too hard to make Cody a heel with the audience, when they should have just told the story.

If they had focused more on Cody's character development, then it should have gone on. But, as far as their writing potential was concerned, they gave us all they could with the UnDashing gimmick. It was getting old when it died, so I'd rather have fond memories of a short run then be sick of something that lived too long.

 

[The Extract]

I feel that the gimmick was one of the best i have ever seen. with that being said, i don't think it could have lasted much longer than it did. if anything, when they were planning him to feud with Booker T, it would have ended anyways. I do agree that they should have stretched that gimmick a little longer. when he was feuding with orton, he could have used the mask as a weapon to win, leading to a "masked ladder match" at TLC where whoever grabbed the mask would use it as a weapon(to replace the crappy HHH/Nash match). then they could have had the booker feud to go to elimination chamber, then big show challenges him.

 

[3:16]

I do agree that I wish the masked Cody could've continued but all good things have to come to an end. the undashing gimmick actually made me to look at him alot more. I also think it made alot of people look at Cody and recognize Cody. I think the gimmick accomplished what it needed to do and that was to get Cody looks and for others to recognize Cody and his abilities.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

At the end of the day, he Un-Dashing and Dashing gimmicks were equally as effective. In the Dashing gimmick, he showcased his ability to perform scripted material while staying in character. In his Un-Dashing gimmick, he more so displayed the ability to benefit through props and other tools (The bagmen, the bags, the mask, the hoodie, the voice change, the distorted theme music etc.) However as a heel, Cody Rhodes needs to continue building on giving offensive speeches that really irritate the crowd. His character's purpose was to generate heat by directly offending the live audience. Constantly calling them ugly will only get stale which is why his character got stale.

It was a decent idea but truthfully they played it out in a one-dimensional way. I believe they could go back to either gimmick but this go around, they need to give him more foils and storylines instead of making his only goal to piss off the crowd.

 

[the_mighty_biggs]

I loved that gimmick I always been a fan of Cody since his very beging feud with Bob Holly and orton.

he was creepy he did creepy well like his brother golddust he was lie the new kane in a way nothing was wrog with im he was just messed up and used a mask the match I wanted to see at mania UNdashing Cody Rhodes vs his brother Golddust.Instead we got the bamn big show vs Cody and it sucked