It seems that after months of misbooking and misdirecting Cody Rhodes, WWE CCO Triple H has finally learned his lesson.
Cody Rhodes as a main eventer seems to suffer the most when it comes WWE and TKO experimenting with the shows. At first, it was Rhodes who got cut off when The Rock returned and was scheduled to have a match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. It was the fans’ incessant protests that ultimately led to the company backtracking on the plans. The same rings true for Rhodes’ feud with John Cena, where Travis Scott was inserted unceremoniously, much to the chagrin of fans.
The same was also true for Cody Rhodes’ first feud with Randy Orton ahead of WrestleMania 42, where Pat McAfee got involved ruining what could have been generational storytelling. But things seem to be changing now.
Cody Rhodes And Randy Orton Feud Gets Unhinged On WWE SmackDown
Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton’s second feud has been nothing short of impressive. This time round it seems Triple H has given both men the liberty to explore all angles and they have lived up to the hype. The feud started with an insane brawl and then another before Randy Orton explained that in his heart of hearts he is just jealous that Cody Rhodes has gone from being his lackey to becoming the top champion in WWE. The Viper couldn’t bear to see it.
The brawl and the feud essentially turned Cody into the monster he didn’t want to unleash. The American Nightmare is going above and beyond to explore the depths of his soul and is actually dissing out some amazing promos. He has shown that when it comes to being a heel and living on the edge, Rhodes can be as dastardly as Orton and there’s not stopping him.
A great example of this was the latest edition of the WWE SmackDown where Rhodes, the quintessential babyface retorted to Randy Orton’s remarks about Brandi Rhodes and Pharoah. Rhodes stated that Orton’s father was a “screw up” and nothing compared to his own father, Dusty Rhodes.
He returned Orton’s game back to him, essentially angering The Viper and almost causing him to snap. Both stars can’t lay a finger on each other before their match at SNME, and that isn’t stopping them from going all out.
Cody Rhodes is the babyface here, and Triple H has done a great job in maintaining the status quo while also hinting that getting his hands dirty isn’t beyond the QB1 of WWE. As a matter of fact, recently, there has been a shift in Rhodes’ character where even against CM Punk he didn’t shy away from getting his hands dirty from time to time.
This new avatar of Cody Rhodes really comes as a breath of fresh air. It seems Triple H has finally done the right thing and has let Rhodes be a character that suits the feud instead of being the generic babyface. It’s a great pivot from where Cody was going with his WWE run and how stale it was starting to become.
The next few months should be enjoyable.
