Just What IS Cody Rhodes' WWE Story Anyway?!

Cody, after several years of almost endearing self-owns, walk-backs, and fits of hypocrisy, was coy at the 2023 Royal Rumble post-show press conference. He acknowledged that speaking in absolutes had made a fool of him before. He was however unwavering, subsequently, in what his story meant. He wouldn’t have finished the story, were he to have won the World Heavyweight title created on April 24, 2023 and won by Seth Rollins. That, obviously, wasn’t the title his father came close to winning. It is ostensibly a World title, a top prize, promoted by WWE - but this is a story deeper than strict historical accuracy and a sense of romance. Cody doesn’t want a title that WWE can claim, selectively, when the narrative suits, is the biggest prize in the industry. The story isn’t just about Cody winning a title that was promoted under a banner - the WWWF - that no longer existed when he was born. Cody’s story is about being the man. He needs to defeat Roman Reigns in order to accomplish that irrespective of what the title is called. He needs to be a “champion like Hulk Hogan” to prove that his family’s dynasty is as strong as any other in the sport. Cody has never once wavered in what the story is. He hasn’t tried to talk his way around a potential demotion, to justify WWE’s selective continuity. He might have known some sort of chicanery was coming. It was; until the #WeWantCody backlash, WWE tried to put out some nonsense about the WWE title being the one you have to “politick” to get.

Cody is intelligent enough to know that the fans must believe in a babyface. He, to his immense credit, isn’t letting WWE “get away with” anything when allowed to speak candidly to the press.

After failing to finish the story in 2023, he was reheated by winning a ‘PLE’ trilogy over Brock Lesnar. It was booked in a boilerplate WWE way - fortuitous win, Austin-style “he didn’t tap!” technical submission loss, clean win - but it served its purpose and the series, while transparent in its time-wasting, reached a brilliant peak at SummerSlam.

In red-hot tags across the summer and autumn against various combinations of the Judgment Day faction on Raw, Cody continued his association with Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Jey Uso. Raw felt like a constant rerun of itself at times, and while it wasn’t interesting, necessarily, it was still hot. It was almost good that it was so repetitive - for Cody’s prospects, anyway. Cody, a ticket-selling sensation, proved his staying power. Nobody complained when his nailed-on Royal Rumble win materialised. It wasn’t “predictable”. His name wasn’t prefixed with “Super”. He was simply the best and most over babyface.

He was more over than the most popular man ever associated with WWE: the Rock. The Rock, in a bizarre development that harkened back to the dire 2010s, decided to take the WrestleMania match with Roman - at Cody’s behest and after Cody had won the Rumble. This plan was in place before the Rumble (!). It seemed odd, when it was reported that WWE had deliberately engineered a plan to turn Cody into the “new Daniel Bryan”. Bryan Danielson may well be the single greatest pro wrestler of all-time - this is no knock on his legendary name - but Cody was a bigger star within WWE than even Bryan was. Cody sold more tickets, led a boom period, and is far closer to a John Cena type. He doesn’t have a contrarian set of fans rooting against him, either. The New Daniel Bryan was below a star of Cody’s stature.

The gambit worked rather too well; the #WeWantCody movement unfolded, and a very savvy Rock moved more quickly than he has since 2001 to rescue it. He turned heel, channelled 2003 to incredible and deafening effect, and will team with Roman Reigns to wrestle Cody and Seth Rollins on night one. WWE should be praised for the pivot. The noise in those buildings on Friday nights is nuclear. None of this is “cinema”, but WWE has, in its key programme, perfected sports entertainment. Cody has to win. As great as he is, fans will grow to resent a choke artist. He’s going to finish the story. WWE’s ability to truly listen to the fans is make or break on night two of WrestleMania XL. WWE is too big to fail outright - if it wasn’t, the promotion wouldn’t have survived 2019 - but the beginning of the end of the boom begins on April 7, 2024 if Cody does not finish the story.

That is his WWE story; his real story is far more significant than even becoming the most universally popular WWE megastar since Stone Cold Steve Austin. (John Cena, while a bigger star than Cody, was not universally popular).

Cody Rhodes is the professional wrestler to have best applied the demand bestowed upon every top name. More so than anybody else, Cody Rhodes, when it is all said and done, will have left the business better than he found it.

Cody Rhodes entered a completely dysfunctional system. He learned the trade in Ohio Valley Wrestling when OVW was in its catastrophic death throes. He didn’t spend too long there, received just enough education to perform, and was installed on the main roster in 2007. Recently, when sparring verbally with Drew McIntyre on Raw, Drew made a frivolous but accurate remark. He mentioned that, once upon a time, he and Cody were Tag Team champions together. Virtually everybody watching must have felt the exact same reaction:

What?

When did that happen?

That shouldn’t be a slice of strange but true trivia - ideally, you should remember champions, since they are meant to be outstanding in their field - but it was, and it about sums up the vast majority of Cody’s WWE run. Cody entered WWE at a time of completely asinine chaos in which almost nothing mattered beyond the main event scene. He won feuds, lost feuds, was dashing, disfigured. He was a scholar. He wore a moustache. He was the sh*t thrown at the wall to see if he’d stick.

He won titles!

When his oafish opponents stepped through tables.

He was in a stable with Randy Orton!

Which disbanded, leading to one of the most mediocre matches in the modern history of WrestleMania.

He was going to win Money In The Bank!

Before Vince McMahon decided - twice - against his own decision on the day of the event.

Wild as it is to write in 2024, the self-anointed knowledgeable fandom of the day was far more convinced of Dolph Ziggler's ability to succeed at the top level in WWE.

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