Why Cody Rhodes is a much better heel than The Miz...

[GI Cake]

If you were to ask me 2 years ago who was the better heel, The Miz, or Cody Rhodes, I would have told you The Miz. The Miz as of late, has became WWE Champion and works week in, week out earning heat from the fans. Feuded with Jerry "The King" Lawler, and the Viper, Randy Orton, and John Cena. However The Miz's WWE title has nothing to get him over other than defending the belt against Cena at Wrestlemania.

And what has happened to Cody Rhodes in the last two years? Cody has been created two almost perfect gimmicks that had helped made Smackdown very entertaining for the last two years. First it started it wish "Dashing" Cody Rhodes. At first, I wasn't too thrilled with the gimmick, it was something that felt rehashed and redone one too many times. But it seemed he improved the "Handsome heel" role with his entrance music, the cyber mirror he would look into before the match, even the way he carried himself about the ring was pure genius. Even his promo videos made you want to hate the guy.

Only down side to that gimmick was he didn't really feud with anyone, he sorta drifted around the Mid-card, fighting jobbers and did a couple gimmick matches. He really didn't have a sense of direction... Until he had a run in with Rey Mysterio.

The Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes feud was pure gold. Rey, perhaps the most over face among the kids in the WWE, helped get Cody get over a ton. He even altered his gimmick to a more darker, cynical gimmick. He wore a new mask to boot.

And how has The Miz improved his gimmick and solidified his title reign? Not a damn thing. Week in week out, Miz comes out and starts insulting whoever he beat (Or lost to) Last week and then comes in and puts on a piss poor match.


Now where am I going with this? If the Miz can hold the WWE title for 6 months I don't see why Cody could not put on a amazing run with the World title, maybe perhaps feud with Christian...

 

[NotoriousWWE]

Are you serious? I couldn't be assed to read it all lol but, I mean come on. They have two COMPLETELY different gimmicks. Miz's is based on him being arrogant, annoying and extremely selfish and cocky. Whereas Rhodes is a shattered, broken and embarrassed man who is feels like he lives in the body of a monster. I see where your coming from but I don't see how a comparison can be made. I love both of them. Your basically saying that you prefer dark and eerie type heels rather than cocky and sly heels. Miz and Rhodes are both amazingly talented. Miz is better than Rhodes on the mic whilst Rhodes is better in the ring. Both are very even though. Rhodes vs Orton for the WHC once Christian goes back to mid-card should happen. Throw Ted into the middle of the two trying to choose who to go to.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I agree. Rhodes is improving more and more on the mic each week and I haven't seen anything special from the Miz in that department. I don't know what to make of Miz's in-ring style yet but I know I much prefer Rhodes in the ring. The Miz still hasn't given me that one moment where I think, "That guy has something." Maybe he will in the future but I haven't seen it.

 

[fenfool]

I think we need to slow down a bit...Cody is doing a great job with his current gimmick, but he's basically done it with one feud, and only for a couple of months. It's great that they are taking their time to develop the character well, but I think it is way too early to talk about a world title run, or him being a better heel than anyone.

 

[KidIncredible]

There's points on both ends.
Yes, Cody has been advancing his character while Miz seems to be staying in one spot.
But that's mostly because Cody was looking for the sweet spot while Miz seems comfortable where he is (and why shouldn't he? He's WWE champ, people hate him, it's working).

It will be interesting to see where Cody goes with his character after his Rey feud is over. Likewise, once Miz can finally shrug Cena off for a good extended period, I'd like to see where he takes his character. If Miz sticks with what's been holding him up, I predict a collapse from the top of 2002-Jericho-esque proportions (sorry Y2J)

 

[PowerHouse]

I think they are both terrible!!!! The Miz is straight up annoying... he isn't entertaining in the least possibly the worst World Champion outside of Sheamus's Titles reigns. Cody Rhodes is basically doing a smaller version of Kanes Gimmick and its not doing it for me cause his mask is see thru and you can see there is nothing wrong with his face. You could have made cody a loose cannon and had it be more believeable but adding the mask just makes it corny. Miz is obnoxious he isnt funny he isn't entertaining I mean I view him the same way i view Micheal Cole and waste of air time and I turn the channel cause its just not worth watching.

 

[Savior with faith 101]

At the end of the day, if your going to compare, then you should look at The Miz from 4 years ago to 2 years ago and compare that with Codys current evolution.

Since The Miz split from Morrison he started evolving into his current persona, he also had time where he was just moving from match to match without much to do. Then he had his "feud" with John Cena which really helped him to step up to the next level. He then held the US Title, won money in the bank and then became the most must see champion. In that time he changed his in ring gear, his style in the ring became alot more aggressive, his mic work became more refined and he really became a mainstay in the main event. The reason he hasnt changed up his gimmick recently is because he has it spot on at the moment. He has been the perfect foil for John Cena/The Rock and that says a huge amount about the progress he has made.

I would say Cody now, is at the point where Miz was just after he feuded with Cena, hes just had his first meaningful feud with a top star. He could now do with a mid card title reign and if he can hold that successfully then he can think about moving over to the World Title scene.

The difference is, Cody is showing alot of promise, but The Miz has just become one of the most important players in the game that is WWE. I remember reading somewhere that he is the longest reigning Champion in like 3 years, Cody has a long way to go before he can even come close to claiming to be as good or as successful as The Miz.

 

[The Hardcore Kid]

I think they are both terrible!!!! The Miz is straight up annoying... he isn't entertaining in the least possibly the worst World Champion outside of Sheamus's Titles reigns. Cody Rhodes is basically doing a smaller version of Kanes Gimmick and its not doing it for me cause his mask is see thru and you can see there is nothing wrong with his face. You could have made cody a loose cannon and had it be more believeable but adding the mask just makes it corny. Miz is obnoxious he isnt funny he isn't entertaining I mean I view him the same way i view Micheal Cole and waste of air time and I turn the channel cause its just not worth watching.

Comparing Cody Rhodes' current gimmick to Kane's original gimmick is ridiculous, and I do NOT understand why people do it, other than that they both wear masks. Kane's gimmick was he was badly burned, but nothing was ever about how he looked, how he was maimed, how he cared about his looks, etc. It was in essence just for effect, to promote him as a faceless, monster heel. Rhodes on the other hand, his looks were everything. He has delusions of him being some hideous freak (another pet peeve: "we can see his face is fine!!!1" it's in his head), in his mind he's lost everything because he is "disfigured". I honestly think Cody Rhodes' character has the best development/evolution of anybody in the PG era so far.

I love the Miz as well, in fact these two guys are probably my favorites right now, save CM Punk. But as others before me have said, they are two TOTALLY different characters. Both play their characters well.

 

[lenguy]

I agree, Miz has not shown me that he can elevate his heel persona and take it to the next level, hes been playing the same heel role since the beginning, just you're generic cocky "I'm better than you" heel and he seems to struggle to take his character to another level.

Rhodes on the other hand made the transition from his dashing heel gimmick into this tortured ruined and tormented soul persona very nicely and it flowed very well. Rhodes seems to have the ability to take on more than one type of character and that is what makes him so good as a heel. Miz seems rather one dimensional and because he lacks the ability to take his heel persona to another level, his character suffers and gets boring, so what if he can work a crowd? Its basically the same promo he delivers each time. In my opinion that's what it takes to be a good heel, but if you want to be a great heel then you need to have that ability to diversify and master different heel persona's. Take Jericho for example, he excels at that and its probably one of the reasons hes considered the best in the world at what he does and a darling among the IWC.

 

[KidIncredible]

Miz's stale promos are also hampered by the fact that he's basically having to deal with the same Cena feud every other month. It's hard to revise your promos when you're basically in the same program again and again.

 

[Beebeck]

I really don't see anything special in both of them.. I have found Miz's title run the worst in recent memories even worse than that of Swagger.. I just can't stand that guy, not that I hate him because he is a heel, I despise him.. His mic-work seems to be one dimensional, and hasnt got anything in the ring to excite me.. It was early for him to win the WWE C'ship.. As for Rhodes he is surely improving on the mic and is better the Miz in the ring but again, not so exciting.. How the fuck can they waste guys like CM Punk and give titles to shitheads like the Miz ??

 

[Amarillo del Bosque Verde]

Their gimmicks are both completely different. The Miz is now the top heel on Raw. He's the WWE Champion. He's arrogant and acts as if he's better than the rest of the roster. He cheats to win, he insults his rivals, and like alot of heels, proves his worth in the ring.

Cody is an upper-midcarder. His gimmick isn't the arrogant champion. He has a psychotic gimmick. He acts as if he was emotionally and physically scarred, all based upon something that happened with his previous gimmick. While he threatens and insults his opponent, he also insults himself, claiming he's disfigured and all.

They both play their parts very well. They both make great heels, and due to the gimmicks being entirely different, I see them both on about the same level as heels.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

At the end of the day, if your going to compare, then you should look at The Miz from 4 years ago to 2 years ago and compare that with Codys current evolution.

Since The Miz split from Morrison he started evolving into his current persona, he also had time where he was just moving from match to match without much to do. Then he had his "feud" with John Cena which really helped him to step up to the next level. He then held the US Title, won money in the bank and then became the most must see champion. In that time he changed his in ring gear, his style in the ring became alot more aggressive, his mic work became more refined and he really became a mainstay in the main event. The reason he hasnt changed up his gimmick recently is because he has it spot on at the moment. He has been the perfect foil for John Cena/The Rock and that says a huge amount about the progress he has made.

I would say Cody now, is at the point where Miz was just after he feuded with Cena, hes just had his first meaningful feud with a top star. He could now do with a mid card title reign and if he can hold that successfully then he can think about moving over to the World Title scene.

The difference is, Cody is showing alot of promise, but The Miz has just become one of the most important players in the game that is WWE. I remember reading somewhere that he is the longest reigning Champion in like 3 years, Cody has a long way to go before he can even come close to claiming to be as good or as successful as The Miz.

How has his character evolved? He's the SAME EXACT character he was with Morrison. Sure he changed his pants and raided Chris Jericho's dumpster for a new finisher, but other than that NOTHING about The Miz has changed.

 

[KidIncredible]

How the fuck can they waste guys like CM Punk and give titles to shitheads like the Miz ??

In theory, it's because CM Punk doesn't need a title to be over. Miz needs a title to be over (at least for now), and Cody will need one to move to the next level. CM Punk has been wasted by putting him in a program against other top level talent instead of helping a mid-carder get a rub.

I agree with the earlier post that this Rey-Cody program is just Cody's version of the Miz-Cena "Anti-Cena" rub. It will be interesting to see how they book Cody coming out of it.

 

[RendarSelin]

You make great arguments. Cody Rhodes took what I expected to be a terrible gimmick and not only ran with it, he blew it out of the park! Whether it was his grooming technique vignettes, or just his general cockiness, he perfected his gimmick.

Then came his feud with Rey Mysterio. When I heard the rumors that Rey had hand-picked Cody Rhodes for his WrestleMania opponent, this was yet another thing I had to question and just go "Uhm...say what?" But then again, that's why I'm not in the business. Rey obviously saw something with Cody and foresaw what would be an entertaining, refreshing feud. I have thoroughly enjoyed Cody's recent transformation into a darker heel, hellbent on retaliation against the man who "disfigured" him. His darker music, his posture during his entrance, and even his in-ring psychology have all evolved beautifully to grasp this gimmick. I definitely see gold in his future if Cody continues along this path!

Now as being a much better heel than The Miz...I'm not quite too sure that's true...yet. The Miz is doing a great job as a heel. He plays the coward role perfectly, he's cocky on the mic, he capitalizes on opportunities, and has put himself out there as the face of the company. The Miz has busted his ass off to get where he is. And The Miz has not only become a better character with the belt, his persona has soared with the belt. And the fact that everyone wants to see him get beat just proves he is doing his job perfectly.

I don't feel Cody Rhodes is on the Miz's level at this point, but the future is definitely bright! He definitely has the talent, charisma, and mic skills to get ahead. And the ironic part: one year ago we all dismissed Cody Rhodes and focused on Ted DiBiase as being the golden boy of Legacy...

 

[bltz524]

Are we REALLY comparing Rhodes to Miz, Really? There is no comparison, Miz isnt amazing in the ring. But Rhodes is god awful. He has a terrible look, no muscle he's just cut. He has really skinny legs and is not intimidating at all. And not wearing kneepads is stupid physically cause thats what keeps your from getting knee injuries and it looks dumb. He would never have been in WWE if his fat outta shape just as terrible father wasnt in it before. Rhodes has a terrible gimmick right now, i hate when people where those stupid plastic masks. His "dark/sinister" side isnt working. It would work if he actually had a intimidating look but he doesnt at all. Miz is by far the better heel, hence why he's World Champion and Rhodes will never be. If Rhodes or Kofi ever win the World title thats where i stop watching WWE. Lets face it, Rhodes will never be as AWESOMEEEEEEEE!!!!! as Miz

 

[smalltownfan]

The Miz and Cody Rhodes are heels in their own way and generate heat in their own style. The Miz, with the addition of Alberto Del Rio on RAW, is not even the biggest heel on his own show. In fact, with CM Punk around, he never was the top heel anyway in my opinion. As far as Cody Rhodes, I am really diggin his character right now. I thought he stepped it up a couple of notches with his "Dashing" persona, but now that he's gone to this darker character, he's stepped it up even more. With Del Rio gone from SmackDown, Cody Rhodes may have stepped in as that brand's biggest heel. Rey has done an incredible job working with him and getting him over. I see Cody Rhodes as a future world champion, no doubt.

 

[Swamp D.]

Great Post!

Miz is Terrible Always has been always will be. Don't see how anyone takes this guy seriously as a wrestler. I would be a great wrestler too (just take some steroids and copy everything Chris Jericho has done his whole career, genius!)

Cody Rhodes has the greatest gimmick I have seen in a long time. I think what makes this gimmick believable is his passion for it. He is a lover of video games and comic books and his character is straight from both! I think it can go in a million different directions and has the brightest future of anyone in the WWE. Not only is he a great wrestler but he is also a great wrestling actor.

Paul Heyman said a long time ago that he loved the ECW Raven character and that he could do anything acting wise inside the ring. I think Cody Rhodes is the closest wrestler I have seen to ECW Raven as far as mic skills and believability however a much better wrestler.

Passing the torch; 1) Jake Roberts 2) ecw Raven 3)Cody Rhodes

 

[rickfoxoclock]

i don't understand why there needs to be a comparison anyway. obviously the original poster likes cody rhodes but because the miz is wwe champion and he doesn't like the miz all that much, doesn't mean comparing the two is a compelling argument. i don't get to watch smackdown as often as i'd like so i've missed a lot of what cody rhodes has been doing but i've watched a lot of his transformation on youtube and it is very impressive what wwe is allowing cody to do with his gimmick. the reason it's impressive is because he has a great foil in mysterio to put him over. mysterio has been doing this a lot lately and the only reason why rhodes is so interesting is because mysterio gives him the platform to do so. Miz has had to battle the biggest face in the company. there isn't any way wwe is going to allow the Miz to dump all over Cena week in and week out, cleanly. Cena probably doesn't make the decision to be over every week but it does hurt anyone he competes against. this is why Miz feels very static or stale. I'm hoping that alex riley moving to Smackdown allows Miz to finally start winning matches cleanly and build the credibility he deserves while Cena feuds with Alberto Del Rio.

 

[jellmoo]

Are we REALLY comparing Rhodes to Miz, Really? There is no comparison, Miz isnt amazing in the ring. But Rhodes is god awful. He has a terrible look, no muscle he's just cut. He has really skinny legs and is not intimidating at all. And not wearing kneepads is stupid physically cause thats what keeps your from getting knee injuries and it looks dumb. He would never have been in WWE if his fat outta shape just as terrible father wasnt in it before. Rhodes has a terrible gimmick right now, i hate when people where those stupid plastic masks. His "dark/sinister" side isnt working. It would work if he actually had a intimidating look but he doesnt at all. Miz is by far the better heel, hence why he's World Champion and Rhodes will never be. If Rhodes or Kofi ever win the World title thats where i stop watching WWE. Lets face it, Rhodes will never be as AWESOMEEEEEEEE!!!!! as Miz

Holy shit dude, are you for real?

The Miz has the worst build in the damn business. He's small, puffy and has no muscle tone. At all. He looks like girl scout with the gout and a nervous twitch could beat him up. The is nothing physically impressive about Miz. At all.

Cody Rhodes isn't a jacked up freak, but c'mon, the guy is seriously cut. He has a Randy Orton like build. He might not be the most physically imposing superstar on the roster, but at east it looks like he hits the gym.

I'm not the world's biggest Cody Rhodes fan, but to say that the Miz has a better look or is better in the ring is laughable. The Miz has mic skills. That's it. That's what brings him to the game. That's what Cody needs to build on.

The Miz isn't awesome, he's vaguely out of shape and boring in the ring. That just doesn't make such a hot catch phrase so he went with the "awesome" thing.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've been impressed with Cody Rhodes over the course of roughly a year. I enjoyed his "Dashing" character and I enjoy his darker, more emotionally & psychologically twisted character even more. He's given some great promos and anyone that says Rhodes is awful in the ring should just stick to the indy circuit spot monkeys.

As has been said, however, they're two completely different heel personas. Rhodes' character is dark & twisted, psychologically traumatized and angry at the world. I can see a lot of Foley's original Mankind character in Rhodes, at least in general terms of the mood & tone he sets. The Miz is more of a classic arrogant heel with a nice little pinch of douche bag added to the mix. Both of them are enjoyable to me.

The Miz is never going to be accepted by the IWC no matter what he does. People call the guy out of shape because he doesn't look like a gym rat, that he can't talk because he's "repetitive" in his promos while it's perfectly acceptable for other wrestlers to have a certain style with mannerisms & catchphrases & facial expressions or that he can't wrestle because he doesn't do one mindless high spot after another during his matches.

 

[FreezeIzGAWD]

As everyone know I HAVE REPEATEDLY SAID THAT I THINK THE MIZ IS THE WORST MOST OVERRATED BUM IN HISTORY... I would rather watch a BROOKLYN BRAWLER /RANDY MULKEY IRONMAN match than anything the MIZ does... HE IS GARBAGE! His in ring skills are minimum at best. His catch phrases are the WORST in history... PLUS I HAVE SAID REPEATEDLY HE LOOKS LIKE THE COLLEGE GUY I PERSONALLY CAN BEAT UP... I think he is the WORST... That being said I thought CODY was worse... I hated that he was in LEGECY because he looked and was terrible. I also laughed at his STICK FIGURE legs... But WOW... HE REALLY HAS STEPPED UP BIG... I liked the DASHING gimmick... I thought the promo giving Beauty tips were hilarious... And the new DARK CODY IS GREAT... Him passing around the paper bags on SD lasy week was PRICELESS... It hs been a second since I actually felt someone was portraying a GOOD CHARACTER... I hate that now VINCE wants 2 move away from the wrestling aspect of WWE because that is where a lot of the HEART AND SOUL WAS... I wish he would bring back certain pats of the OLD WWF... Cody is really developing a THROW BACK CHARACTER and I love it... INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE REIGN within 6 months... Believe it...

 

[Mustang Sally]

Rhodes is improving more and more on the mic each week and I haven't seen anything special from the Miz in that department.

Good points. With Miz, it's the same thing over and over. He speaks very well, but he's a one-trick pony as far as what he says. Honestly, I think his championship reign has lasted too long; I believe he's a mid-carder who managed to hit the jackpot.

Cody is a comer. As Little Jerry said, he's getting better with time and I've been really impressed with his intensity during the vignettes. It's hard to maintain the "tortured" persona he's using, and I honestly thought his routine would have petered out by now. Instead, he seems to be getting stronger.

I never expected to be impressed by Cody Rhodes.....but there it is.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

Good points. With Miz, it's the same thing over and over. He speaks very well, but he's a one-trick pony as far as what he says. Honestly, I think his championship reign has lasted too long; I believe he's a mid-carder who managed to hit the jackpot.

I had to rep you for beating me to the punch.


That is my problem with the Miz. All of his promos since he won the US belt last year have pretty much been "blah, blah, No one thought I would succeed. Blah, blah, everyone hated me. Blah, blah, now that I am here, I am awesome and you are all losers. blah blah." Like I get it, you are butt hurt because people didn't think you were WWE material. Get over yourself. Like even when he won the WWE belt, he was more obsessed with people thinking he is a loser instead of trying to change it up a bit.


While I am not as big on Cody as everyone else (frankly his look grosses me out), I can't deny that the guy has made the best of his opportunities given to him on Smackdown. It's weird how last year, Swaggie, Ziggles, Drew and Kofi were all primed to break out of that mid-card on Smackdown, yet Cody is the only one that has shown any growth at all. He has become a very good worker and controls his gimmick.

 

[TheNewStyle]

The problem with Miz is every single time he talks to a mic, it's basically the same. "I'm awesome, I'm the WWE champion, I can beat anyone, the whole WWE combined got nothing on me, I'm most must-see, you are outdated, I'm the future" etc and etc...

Cody is improving on a weekly basis and although I still have no reason to hate him, he is getting there.