6 Ups And 5 Downs From WWE Raw (March 6)

by Scott Carlson

1. A Hero's Endorsement… And Then A Hero’s Response

WWE Raw Cody Rhodes Sami Zayn
WWE.com

When John Cena welcomed Cody Rhodes out to hug him and wave to the fans, it all felt very weird and forced.

Sure, it was clear it was an endorsement from Cena to the new babyface to carry WWE going forward, but it felt odd that this was Rhodes’ only involvement on Raw, considering how prominent he’s been since returning at Royal Rumble.

But then after the main event, Cody sprinted to the ring to save Sami Zayn from a beatdown from the Bloodline, thus pulling himself into this feud as his title match against Roman Reigns is morphing into a real rivalry against the entire family rather than just a simple main event for a title.

Rhodes’ actions also were reflective of what a babyface hero would do: stand up for the underdog and chase off the bullies… meaning, something a Cena type would do. In the span of a little more than an hour, Cody went from receiving Cena’s endorsement to taking the mantle of virtuous babyface protector of what is good and decent, saving a fellow babyface from his doom.

Very nicely woven.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.