The WWE Series: 8) Cody Rhodes

[Adam Rush]

What kind of investment has Cody Rhodes been for the WWE so far? Positive, neutral, or negative?

This is another hard one to do. He is only 27 years old, and he's been in the WWE since July 16, 2007. He's a 2-time Intercontinental Champion, a 2-time World Tag Team Champion, and a 1-time WWE Tag Team Champion. Did you know that the 999th RAW was Cody Rhodes's 5-year anniversary in WWE? And yet...he has the added pressure of using "Rhodes". He seems to be on the brink of becoming a champion, but something seems to be holding him back, and I'm not sure what it is. I think so far, Cody Rhodes hasn't lived up to expectations; that being said, he's getting to where he should be and he will be a future World Champion. At this point, I'll rank him neutral.

Thoughts? Feel free to vote/reply/request.

 

[pepentorresHHH]

I voted positive not because of what he hasnt achieved but for what he has..... Ill be honest, when I saw cody rhodes enter wwe to defend his dad and then feuding and teaming up with bob holly I really didnt believe he had much of a future in wwe but then he joined priceless and then legacy.... he stock certainly rose because he got a chance of not only being in the spotlight but learn from a guy very similar to him in randy orton, and thanks to legacy he got to be a part of feuds with establised talent that would help him polish his skills inside and outside the ring.

so yes, maybe he hasnt won the world title but you cant judge a career based on how many world title you win, roddy piper, mr perfect, ted dibiase and many others are considered among the best EVER but they never held the world title.....

he has won numerious tag team championships, IC titles, he gave us a new/old belt, and he is one of the rising stars in the company who will carry it for years to come. the best from cody is yet to come, and this comes from a guy who isnt that big of a fan of cody rhodes.....

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In my eyes, Cody Rhodes has been a very positive investment. Rhodes has come a hell of a long way since WrestleMania 26 and prior to that when he was Randy Orton's lackey in the Legacy faction. Rhodes is, overall, where a lot of people and the so called "experts" expected Ted DiBiase to be by now.

The WWE didn't try to rush into things with Cody Rhodes and they built him up slowly but steadily. He got MUCH better on the mic, learned to use body language and facial expressions in telling a good story on the mic and he improved inside the ring. He developed himself as a good, solid presence as a character and has probably been the greatest Intercontinental Champion since the days of the Attitude Era. Cody Rhodes did bring a lot of prestige and interest back to the IC title, which has languished off and on over the course of the last decade.

As of late, Cody's push has been stopped but I'm not worried about that to be quite honest. To me, it just seems to go along the lines of what WWE has been doing with Cody, which is taking their time. Cody Rhodes is only 27 years old, and he's already been in WWE for several years, and the WWE doesn't want to make the kind of mistake they made with Orton. Randy Orton is only about 32 years old, but he's a 9 time World Champion. He was a multiple, multiple time World Champion, IC champ, tag team champ, Royal Rumble winner & a WrestleMania main eventer all before he was 30. Where do you go with Orton from here?

A few years back, Triple H said something along the lines of how difficult it is to go out there on the indy circuit and find guys that are both young but also have a ton of experience and accomplishment. He said that he thought WWE made mistakes in the past by pushing young guys only in their early to mid 20s so hugely because, as I aluded to earlier, what do you do with someone like Randy Orton? I think WWE has been careful to not rush into things with guys like Rhodes, Ziggler, Bryan and some others.

Barring serious injury or premature death, Cody Rhodes is someone that has the potential of being a major player in WWE well into the next decade or more.

 

[xavyer]

I say that Cody Rhodes is a positive, because the WWE not only needs Main Event guys, they also need solid mid card wrestlers, and that's how i see Cody Rhodes, as a modern day Owen Hart, he's good in the ring, decent on the Mic, but i'm not sure if he's good enough to carry a company on his shoulders, don't get me wrong even if i'm not his biggest fan, i like him, he's going to be multi time IC, US or tag team champion, or probably on the later days of his career he might become world champion, kind of like Mark Henry, as a thank you for all your services, i'm not bashing him, being a solid mid card in the WWE is not exactly bad, he's going to be that step on the WWE or WHC title hunt for guys like Ziggler, Barret or Sandow, can main event a few RAWs or one or two PPVs here and there, as good as he is, i don't think he'll be the face of the WWE, but he will be a very well respected person and very valuable in the locker room, and definitly can put good matches........

 

[Ethelion]

Did you know that the 999th RAW was Cody Rhodes's 5-year anniversary in WWE?

That's a very interesting trivia. Can't remember the WWE using him on that day though.

Guys, let me know if he did perform okay?

Now, on to business. Like I've said with Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes has been a neutral investment to the WWE so far. Don't get me wrong, I like him and I wanted to say positive too, but with the phrase, "so far", let's face it, there's nothing going on for him right now. And by this I mean that he doesn't have a program in the very least.

I enjoyed the trio of Randy Orton, Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes as the Legacy in 2009 as they revived the makings of a great stable like Evolution. When the faction imploded on WrestleMaina XXVI, I also enjoyed Cody's solo run with his Dashing Gimmick. He captured the WWE Tag Team Championships with Drew McIntyre during this stint. Then after Mysterio legitimately broke his nose, a feud between them was inevitable. He had to change his old gimmick to his Disfigured Gimmick, which was a huge development for him as he was able to accomplish the following: He improved his mic skills tenfold, defeated Mysterio on the following WrestleMania, captured the Intercontinental Championship and brought back its prestige by bringing back its classic look. After his nose healed, his gimmick evolved into a hybrid of his Dashing and Disfigured Personas: with an arrogant but devious personality. With this, he held on to the IC Title for over 200 days, one of the longest IC reigns in a long time. But after losing it, he lost his momentum.

Like what most people have said, the WWE should have him keep the strap longer enough to be a threat to Honky Tonk Man's reign, giving the latter a run for his money. But since that's not going to happen by a longshot, I believe that they should just put him at least in a feud to make him relevant again.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I put positive for Cody for a couple reasons:

-The Legacy
-Triple Threat at Mania 26
-vs. Rey at Mania 27
-Feud w/DX
-Feud w/Orton

I have enjoyed his work and I think, ESPECIALLY because of his last name, he will have a lasting postive impact on WWE and the WWE universe will not forget him.

But by biggest concern right now is that he is in a place simular to Daniel Bryan right now IMO. Both men are at a crossroads in my mind, where they could go on to be Hall of Famers or get fired today, never come back to WWE and WWE would not really lose a step.

No doubt both will be remembered for their earlier work, Bryan most likely in ROH. But both are at a very in between place with character & gimmick. Both seem past anything but the WWE title, which MAYBE Bryan could win but still seems unliekly. Yet unless you have a title or your last name is Cena, creative seems to forget you exist. But with ALOT less air time and relevance, I think Rhodes is at a much greater risk of losing his "HOF Career".

I don't think the question is whether or not Cody had a poistive impact in WWE or not, rather on what LEVEL & how MUCH of a positive impact will he have when it is all said and done.

 

[HBsam31]

I voted positive. I have enjoyed everything that Cody has done, and I think he is on the brink of becoming a maineventer. I did think they could have done so much more with his long IC title reign, but that isn't his fault. He is young and has a long career ahead barring a serious injury, and I think he is going to be Champion at some point.

 

[Beyond Pro Wrestling]

First I'll start by quickly saying good luck on college I heard you start soon and thats why you're doing this quick. I'm also starting college next week.

With that quickly out of the way this will probably be the first and only time I post in this WWE Series because I have so much to write but so little time.

CODY RHODES = POSITIVE
CODY RHODES = FUTURE CORNERSTONE OF THE WWE

27 Years Old 5 year veteran, 2nd generation superstar, 6 feet 2, Great Look, Great Character Gimmick, Nice Finishing Move, Wrestling Knoweledge, Athletic, Good Promos, CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT. I see a lot of young Orton in Cody and young Orton was one of the coolest wrestlers and the one I loved to hate when I was still a 11 to 12 year old and became the first heel i liked once I matured into a smark... I didn't always like Cody but the details man, the zelda boot, the xmen archangel jacket, the exposed knee and moves with the knee... That made him cool in my mind. And then the disfigured gimmick... That has to be one of the best turnarounds/improvements/original gimmicks ever... It was the closest to what seems like a comic book villain on WWE as there will probably ever be. And especially recently I have found a lot of similarities in comic books and WWE in fact I think they should hire comic book writers to help them. So Cody gets this meanstreak from this new gimmick and changes his whole previous 3 to 4 years of character development and makes it work. And the protector mask... It just looked different and fun. Then he USES the IC title as an instrument to knock on the mainevent scene and is very succesful... UNTIL his newest gimmick... The dashing again... he lost the intensity from the disfigured and I think he needs that dark side because right now he's just what orton became for a while when on smackdown around 2006. A generic heel. So Cody keep improving on the ring use Superstars as a place where you will always go over and showcase your wrestling skills, keep improving and I think at Wrestlemania 30 you won't be in a MITB match, You won't be at a mid card match, you will be at one of the main events opposite dolph ziggler, taking on the undertaker for the streak and possibly while holding the title, and I'll be rooting for you. Ushering the new decade and era in the E.

 

[Dolph Ziggler]

He was over pushed, i don't like him and the fact that he get's tv time and drew doesn't who does everything cody does but way better make's me sick

 

[Kitten Cutter]

I vote him as a positive investment for work ethic alone.

There aren't too many Superstars who come as close to the unemployment line as Cody Rhodes and come out shining, but that is exactly the path he has gone. Cody went from the lower end of Legacy to the high end of Smackdown, and there is a definite World Heavyweight Championship in his future, barring any injuries or bad marriages.

If anything, he's an example of how a repackaging of a character can actually work to a person's benefit.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Lets take a look at this:

So far he is a multi-time Tag-Team Champion, been a member of a faction with one of the top-names in the company (Randy Orton), was given one of the best gimmicks in the last few years (the deformed one) and has had one of the longest Intercontinental title runs in recent memory.

Yeah, I think he is doing ok!

WWE have been smart with Rhodes. He has been around the mid-to-upper card for a while now, and although at present his push seems to be on the backburner for whatever reason, he has accomplished alot. Many see him as a future World Champion, and I tend to agree with them, I see alot of potential in Rhodes.

He has the pressure of trying to emulate his Dad, but hasn't been dragged into becoming a Dusty clone, like DiBiase kind of ended up being, he has done his own thing and I think its been great. WWE haven't rushed him to the main event like they tried to do with Jack Swagger- and look how that ended up! Cody is still only 27, Bret Hart and Ric Flair didn't win the title until they were in their 30's if I am correct. Cody could have 20 years left in this business, there is no need to throw the belt on him yet.

He is DEFINITELY a positive investment so far, he's only been there 5 years and came in as a kid. Anyone who votes differently has no idea what they are talking about. Cody is in a great spot, and looks set for a great career in my eyes.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Neutral, but leaning toward positive.

It is still too early to tell if Cody will be a positive investment, although I am sure he will be. 4 time Tag Team Champion (with Dibiase twice, Hardcore Holly, and Drew McIntyre) as well as a 2 time Intercontinental Champion. That's not bad so far. If he keeps it up and climbs further up the card then there is no doubt in my mind that he will be a positive investment for WWE.

They invested a great deal into his two previous personas Dashing Cody and Disfigured Cody, which helped him get noticed even further. That's without even mentioning Team Priceless or the Legacy angle. Some find his current persona boring, but I like it. He's more serious as a potential threat and I can't wait to see what his future holds at this point.

 

[Canadian Dragon]

Negative. Rhodes is overrated and overpushed. The guy hasn't had an interesting promo since the Dashing gimmick. He looks like a knock-kneed kid with blown up shoulders, failing to appear dangerous in any way. His ring work is decent, but you can say the same for dozens of other superstars and prospects who are far more interesting. In other words, he reminds me of the Miz minus a personality.