Before I start this thread I want to say I am a big Rhodes fan, but I will try to be as un bias as possible and I'm not going to big him up like Hatred saying he should be World Champ instantly etc because that's just stupid but yeah nows that's out of the way let's get on with the thread.
A lot of people have recently been saying that Cody Rhodes is boring, average in the ring and poor on the mic... Please those who say Cody Rhodes is rubbish and an average Wrestler, please look back to his dashing gimmick and try to say that again. Really there's nothing wrong with the guy in the ring, and during the dashing gimmick he excelled on the mic and had confidence and great delivery, if he really is not as good as people make out then why did he have promo segments each week on Smackdown which all went for at least 6-7 minutes, WWE obviously had faith in him and he didn't disappoint. I could understand if he was a lazy worker and was an ass backstage but I've not heard any stories regarding this and as far as I'm aware he's fine. Sure, I'll admit that at this moment in time he's really gotten boring and tiring to watch, he doesn't do much interesting any more and he's become a generic heel. But is he the only generic heel in the company? Of course not, just take a look at your WWE IC Champion, yes he is a great mic worker, but apart from saying he's awesome he's just as generic as Rhodes.
So, where did it all go wrong? Well honestly I feel that the hot run for Rhodes ended when Orton broke his mask and removed it, in fact I'm pretty sure that the Orton feud killed a lot of momentum Rhodes had. I just didn't get the whole concept of that feud when Rhodes began it looking so strong, attacking Orton a few times and standing over his lifeless body, before being made to look like a complete fool. I mean what was the point in them even feuding when the IC Title wasn't even on the line and Orton was more of a Heavyweight Title contender at the time? Following on from this Rhodes didn't really feud with anyone up until Wrestlemania, no title defences, which let me remind the people hating on him for that, was the bookers fault. He feuded with the Big Show, which once again had him poorly booked and lost the title, after his match at 27 with Rey, and 26 with Orton and DiBiase, this was a massive step down and really there was no logic/need for him to lose the title to that waste of space Big Show. After winning the title at Extreme Rules, Cody Rhodes lost the title to the returning Christian at Over The Limit, to be honest I had no problem with this, because Christian is a great worker and worked well with Rhodes in the past (check Smackdown 2010? when Rhodes debuted on the brand), and I knew that Captain Charisma could help Rhodes to become a great Wrestler, because despite people say he's good, and I know he has potential to become great in ring if given the chance. The feud should of been great, but it really didn't turn out that good, for some reason WWE doesn't know how to correctly book a good heel/face midcard feud and with Christian as champ and getting wins over Rhodes it killed Rhodes's momentum once again and the feud never became anything exciting. Then came the WWE Money in the Bank...
Yeah, I'm going to start this bit in a different paragraph because I believe this was where the steam really ended for Rhodes. Originally Rhodes didn't get in the match, after a qualifying match where his partner the A-List (soon to be released list) David Otunga took the pin, Rhodes pleaded to the board of directors to give him another chance to get in the match. Rhodes got another chance and won in convincing fashion. After squirming his way back into the match, in heelish fashion I really thought that this good of been the start of good things for Rhodes. Going into the Money In The Bank, Rhodes and Ziggler were the clear favourites, and deservedly for him Ziggler won. I'm not disappointed Ziggler won as I'm a fan of the guy, but really I feel the win should've of gone to Rhodes and it was a huge hit on his career for him not to win after being one of the favourites 3 years in a row. Why should of Rhodes won it over Ziggler? Well, this is my opinion, but I feel it's shared by a lot of other people, and it's the fact that Ziggler already had enough tools to move up into the main event without the main event and didn't need the Briefcase to help him get over as much as Rhodes did. Sure, it may help Ziggler a bit, but in the long run it would've helped Rhodes a LOT more. Disagree with me? Well please, go a head and take a look at Daniel Bryan, the guy was a great in ring worker but wasn't over at all with the fans, the Money in the Bank helped him out a lot and made fans believe he COULD do it, it would've done the same for Rhodes in my opinion. Ziggler should've gone for the title and won it the proper way, which is become a number one contender and finally win it after failing so many times, it would've been a great way to see him finally overcome the odds, and too many guys are booked to win the title the cheap way with MITB cash ins these days... Anyway, following Money in the Bank, Rhodes has really fallen down the pecking order, which in my opinion is a huge shame, a feud with Sin Cara really isn't going to help because we all know that Sin Cara isn't going over...
So, after his recent poor run of form what does WWE need to do to get Rhodes back up there as a solid mid carder who finally enters the main event? Well, one option could be to bring back the Dashing or Grotesque gimmick. It may seem weird to bring back an old gimmick, but when both worked so well for him, it might be worth giving them another go and letting Rhodes run with them again, where he truly looked in his comfort zone. Another option could be to put the guy as the US Champion, but actually book him properly and have him defend it a lot, unlike he did with the IC Title. I mean let's face it Santino is an awful US Champion, and somehow even Cody Rhodes, a guy with zero momentum could be seen as a credible contender for the title with Santino's awful reign. Thinking of a new gimmick for him to go along with a possible US Title reign is quite tough, but considering Rhodes takes gimmicks many guys couldn't pull off and makes them work, I'm sure they could find something for him, perhaps something to do with him being above the values of typical Americans etc etc? Of course, after beating/feuding with Santino for the title, Rhodes would need to feud with other guys, and there's plenty of guys I'd love to see him face. First of all, I'd love to see him feud with Christian, not just a half hearted feud, a full blown well booked one in which both guys are made too look good, and Rhodes goes over in the end in a brutal battle. I strongly believe that Christian is the guy to help Rhodes master his in ring skills and take him to the next level. After speaking with Allen (Big Red Jericho Punk), we both agreed that although Rhodes had obvious potential in ring, but he doesn't take the next step and look like he's commanding the action, not only this but his in ring psycology is quite poor and I think Christian could help him improve this a lot. I'd also love to see Rhodes feud with Sheamus, not necessarily for the US title considering Sheamus is MASSIVELY over, but as sort of a grudge feud because I like the chemistry the guys have with each other and Rhodes would get a big rub with feuding off Sheamus. Other guys I'd like to see him feud with are Randy Orton (properly this time), Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler, of course Bryan and Ziggler are Heels right now but I expect one of them, if not Rhodes, to be a face in the future.
So that's what I think the WWE needs to do with Cody Rhodes to get him back on track. Quite honestly, even myself as a massive fan has become bored of the stuff he's doing recently, and although I think he's partly to blame, I think creative are hugely responsible considering the Dashing Gimmick was over quite a lot and the Grotesque gimmick did well too. Sure, I don't think Rhodes is on the level of Dolph Ziggler right now, but the guys 27, 5 years younger than Dolph, so there's no stopping Rhodes becoming just as great. He's not amazing in the ring, but as I've said before when facing guys like Christian, Rhodes does really well and I KNOW that he can become great. In terms of mic work, many say that his lisp hiders him. It's a valid point but to be honest it's not been a set back for him in the past, he cut really good promos during the dashing gimmick and the grotesque gimmick and he really sounded passionate and used a variety of voice tones to make things work. He's miles better than the other guy with a lisp in the WWE, Jack Swagger, and before he became a generic heel he owned Randy Orton in my opinion as well. Also, let's face it the guy has a pretty boy look, just like Ziggler, and this is a great tool for getting over. At the end of the day, I just hope Rhodes doesn't fall off completely and ends up like DiBiase, the guy in my eyes has huge potential and it would be sad to see this go to waste. I understand some of you will disagree with me and rip me apart, but I tried to be as un bias as I could and it's not like I bigged Rhodes up to the extent of saying he was the best at everything in the WWE because at the moment that is not true and even I admit that. Whilst Ziggler is the hot young star at the moment, and Sandow looks like he is going to be up their soon as well, I have confidence that Summer 2013 will see the rise of Cody Rhodes.
Thanks for reading this article, and I'd love to hear your responses.
A lot of people have recently been saying that Cody Rhodes is boring, average in the ring and poor on the mic... Please those who say Cody Rhodes is rubbish and an average Wrestler, please look back to his dashing gimmick and try to say that again. Really there's nothing wrong with the guy in the ring, and during the dashing gimmick he excelled on the mic and had confidence and great delivery, if he really is not as good as people make out then why did he have promo segments each week on Smackdown which all went for at least 6-7 minutes, WWE obviously had faith in him and he didn't disappoint. I could understand if he was a lazy worker and was an ass backstage but I've not heard any stories regarding this and as far as I'm aware he's fine. Sure, I'll admit that at this moment in time he's really gotten boring and tiring to watch, he doesn't do much interesting any more and he's become a generic heel. But is he the only generic heel in the company? Of course not, just take a look at your WWE IC Champion, yes he is a great mic worker, but apart from saying he's awesome he's just as generic as Rhodes.
So, where did it all go wrong? Well honestly I feel that the hot run for Rhodes ended when Orton broke his mask and removed it, in fact I'm pretty sure that the Orton feud killed a lot of momentum Rhodes had. I just didn't get the whole concept of that feud when Rhodes began it looking so strong, attacking Orton a few times and standing over his lifeless body, before being made to look like a complete fool. I mean what was the point in them even feuding when the IC Title wasn't even on the line and Orton was more of a Heavyweight Title contender at the time? Following on from this Rhodes didn't really feud with anyone up until Wrestlemania, no title defences, which let me remind the people hating on him for that, was the bookers fault. He feuded with the Big Show, which once again had him poorly booked and lost the title, after his match at 27 with Rey, and 26 with Orton and DiBiase, this was a massive step down and really there was no logic/need for him to lose the title to that waste of space Big Show. After winning the title at Extreme Rules, Cody Rhodes lost the title to the returning Christian at Over The Limit, to be honest I had no problem with this, because Christian is a great worker and worked well with Rhodes in the past (check Smackdown 2010? when Rhodes debuted on the brand), and I knew that Captain Charisma could help Rhodes to become a great Wrestler, because despite people say he's good, and I know he has potential to become great in ring if given the chance. The feud should of been great, but it really didn't turn out that good, for some reason WWE doesn't know how to correctly book a good heel/face midcard feud and with Christian as champ and getting wins over Rhodes it killed Rhodes's momentum once again and the feud never became anything exciting. Then came the WWE Money in the Bank...
Yeah, I'm going to start this bit in a different paragraph because I believe this was where the steam really ended for Rhodes. Originally Rhodes didn't get in the match, after a qualifying match where his partner the A-List (soon to be released list) David Otunga took the pin, Rhodes pleaded to the board of directors to give him another chance to get in the match. Rhodes got another chance and won in convincing fashion. After squirming his way back into the match, in heelish fashion I really thought that this good of been the start of good things for Rhodes. Going into the Money In The Bank, Rhodes and Ziggler were the clear favourites, and deservedly for him Ziggler won. I'm not disappointed Ziggler won as I'm a fan of the guy, but really I feel the win should've of gone to Rhodes and it was a huge hit on his career for him not to win after being one of the favourites 3 years in a row. Why should of Rhodes won it over Ziggler? Well, this is my opinion, but I feel it's shared by a lot of other people, and it's the fact that Ziggler already had enough tools to move up into the main event without the main event and didn't need the Briefcase to help him get over as much as Rhodes did. Sure, it may help Ziggler a bit, but in the long run it would've helped Rhodes a LOT more. Disagree with me? Well please, go a head and take a look at Daniel Bryan, the guy was a great in ring worker but wasn't over at all with the fans, the Money in the Bank helped him out a lot and made fans believe he COULD do it, it would've done the same for Rhodes in my opinion. Ziggler should've gone for the title and won it the proper way, which is become a number one contender and finally win it after failing so many times, it would've been a great way to see him finally overcome the odds, and too many guys are booked to win the title the cheap way with MITB cash ins these days... Anyway, following Money in the Bank, Rhodes has really fallen down the pecking order, which in my opinion is a huge shame, a feud with Sin Cara really isn't going to help because we all know that Sin Cara isn't going over...
So, after his recent poor run of form what does WWE need to do to get Rhodes back up there as a solid mid carder who finally enters the main event? Well, one option could be to bring back the Dashing or Grotesque gimmick. It may seem weird to bring back an old gimmick, but when both worked so well for him, it might be worth giving them another go and letting Rhodes run with them again, where he truly looked in his comfort zone. Another option could be to put the guy as the US Champion, but actually book him properly and have him defend it a lot, unlike he did with the IC Title. I mean let's face it Santino is an awful US Champion, and somehow even Cody Rhodes, a guy with zero momentum could be seen as a credible contender for the title with Santino's awful reign. Thinking of a new gimmick for him to go along with a possible US Title reign is quite tough, but considering Rhodes takes gimmicks many guys couldn't pull off and makes them work, I'm sure they could find something for him, perhaps something to do with him being above the values of typical Americans etc etc? Of course, after beating/feuding with Santino for the title, Rhodes would need to feud with other guys, and there's plenty of guys I'd love to see him face. First of all, I'd love to see him feud with Christian, not just a half hearted feud, a full blown well booked one in which both guys are made too look good, and Rhodes goes over in the end in a brutal battle. I strongly believe that Christian is the guy to help Rhodes master his in ring skills and take him to the next level. After speaking with Allen (Big Red Jericho Punk), we both agreed that although Rhodes had obvious potential in ring, but he doesn't take the next step and look like he's commanding the action, not only this but his in ring psycology is quite poor and I think Christian could help him improve this a lot. I'd also love to see Rhodes feud with Sheamus, not necessarily for the US title considering Sheamus is MASSIVELY over, but as sort of a grudge feud because I like the chemistry the guys have with each other and Rhodes would get a big rub with feuding off Sheamus. Other guys I'd like to see him feud with are Randy Orton (properly this time), Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler, of course Bryan and Ziggler are Heels right now but I expect one of them, if not Rhodes, to be a face in the future.
So that's what I think the WWE needs to do with Cody Rhodes to get him back on track. Quite honestly, even myself as a massive fan has become bored of the stuff he's doing recently, and although I think he's partly to blame, I think creative are hugely responsible considering the Dashing Gimmick was over quite a lot and the Grotesque gimmick did well too. Sure, I don't think Rhodes is on the level of Dolph Ziggler right now, but the guys 27, 5 years younger than Dolph, so there's no stopping Rhodes becoming just as great. He's not amazing in the ring, but as I've said before when facing guys like Christian, Rhodes does really well and I KNOW that he can become great. In terms of mic work, many say that his lisp hiders him. It's a valid point but to be honest it's not been a set back for him in the past, he cut really good promos during the dashing gimmick and the grotesque gimmick and he really sounded passionate and used a variety of voice tones to make things work. He's miles better than the other guy with a lisp in the WWE, Jack Swagger, and before he became a generic heel he owned Randy Orton in my opinion as well. Also, let's face it the guy has a pretty boy look, just like Ziggler, and this is a great tool for getting over. At the end of the day, I just hope Rhodes doesn't fall off completely and ends up like DiBiase, the guy in my eyes has huge potential and it would be sad to see this go to waste. I understand some of you will disagree with me and rip me apart, but I tried to be as un bias as I could and it's not like I bigged Rhodes up to the extent of saying he was the best at everything in the WWE because at the moment that is not true and even I admit that. Whilst Ziggler is the hot young star at the moment, and Sandow looks like he is going to be up their soon as well, I have confidence that Summer 2013 will see the rise of Cody Rhodes.
Thanks for reading this article, and I'd love to hear your responses.
