Why WWE Will Save Cody Rhodes From Burial
4. The False Comparisons
Yes, there are clearly similarities in how both Lex Luger and Cody Rhodes were stars whose supposed crowning moment was looming large on the WrestleMania horizon, but that's where any such comparisons should stop.
Sure, Luger and Rhodes both ultimately came up short at the Grandaddy of Them All, yet the WWE career paths of the pair will absolutely veer in vastly different directions. As mentioned, Lex slumped his way down the card and out of the company in the aftermath of his big 'Mania loss, but there were several key factors in that.
Firstly, Lex Luger was never the organic top babyface of the then-World Wrestling Federation. Luger had been handpicked by Vince McMahon to be his next top star in the same jacked-up, tanned, All-American mould as Hulk Hogan. The fans had never chosen Lex for this role, and instead the majority of the company's fanbase were eager for Bret Hart to be the guy at the top of the mountain.
Never was the want of the fans more apparent than at the 1994 Royal Rumble. With WWF management starting to have doubts over whether they'd made the right call by going all-in on Lex across the second half of '93, the decision was made to have Luger and Hart be co-winners of that Rumble. In doing that, the company could gauge the fan reaction to each talent, and thus it was clear that more fans were cheering on the Hitman than they were Lex.
For Cody Rhodes, he is currently the top babyface in WWE due to how organically over he is with audiences. Yes, the machine has clearly got behind Cody and presented him as a main event act, but the fans are absolutely with the American Nightmare. That fanbase will still continue to vehemently support Rhodes in the aftermath of his 'Mania 39 loss, for this is a star who has been incredibly popular since he returned to WWE last year.
Unfortunately for Lex Luger, the truth is that there was never a level of natural fan support to warrant him being a top WWE babyface in 1993 and into '94. As such, when Luger came up short at WrestleMania X, few were clamouring for him to remain in the main event scene and World Title picture.
By no fault of his own, Lex was placed in a false position. For Cody Rhodes, that absolutely is not the case.