When Cody Rhodes signed with the WWE, it was a BIG DEAL. And quite frankly, the WWE gave Cody ALL THE LEVERAGE IN THE WORLD with their failure to make babyfaces that the casual audience cares about since John Cena. Now, keep in mind that this was ALL BY DESIGN.
It was Ryback who told the story of Triple H telling him that there were going to be “No More John Cena’s” in the WWE, and by GOD, Trips MEANT IT. What he was saying was that no wrestler was ever going to be bigger than the WWE itself, ever again. When you are a box office draw like the Rock or Cena, you are now in a position where you call your own shots, and quite frankly, you don’t need the WWE anymore. The truth is that they need YOU more than you need them.
That doesn’t fly with Vince or Trips, so Hunter made it clear— from now on, we are going to keep a thumb on all talent—which they did—and control just HOW OVER they get. Why do you think you see 50-50 booking in the WWE? One week you win, and one week you lose. That keeps everybody EQUAL. Who do you think you see so many wrestlers come and go? Changing characters like “Wrestling Marks” change their minds? It’s all about CONTROL.
I always found the WWE’S logic on the matter COMPLETELY HYSTERICAL! Why? Because “Raw” and “SmackDown” are TELEVISION SHOWS, and the audience wants to see STARS on Television Shows. Not middle of the road, win some, loss some, mid-carders.
So as Roman Reigns “organically” grew in popularity, and we went through all the “Big Guys” he could wrestle; Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and Brock Lesner . . . there was nobody left. Cody is smart, man; no doubt he saw what I saw. He put himself in the best position possible, as the WWE—NEEDED HIM MORE THAN HE NEEDED THEM. So he signed a contract, and he came in ON TOP—GOOD FOR HIM!!!
Unfortunately, Cody almost immediately got injured. I was not as impressed with him working with black-n-blued skin as others were, simply because I saw numerous wrestlers work with that same injury throughout my career. But, again, to his credit, Cody used that injury to his advantage BEAUTIFULLY, using it to showcase he had the “Heart of a Warrior” and would work injured without even missing a beat. He played that beautifully, and NO, I’m not being sarcastic—I’m 100% being honest.
Finally, after a long hiatus, Cody once again entered the picture ON TOP because, once again, there were no other babyfaces that were over due to the “Hunter Rule.” But with that, Cody came back with pride, with conviction, believing in himself, wanting to show that he was INDEED the best. Cody carries himself like a champion, dresses, speaks, and can carry the ball like one.
Now while there are certain things that I may not agree with concerning Cody’s “Presentation,” that is all subjective, and it really concerns Creative and not the man at all. As a writer, I would make some tweaks, but as far as BEING THE GUY? Yes, CODY is the GUY. The WWE has man him, THE GUY. He has made himself THE GUY. And, regardless of what he had to say about me—a person he never even met—I 100% AGREE that he SHOULD BE THE GUY!!!
Kudos, Cody, you’re doing a GREAT JOB. Your dad WOULD BE PROUD. It’s just really unfortunate that you felt you had to be one of the “Cool Guys” by slandering my name with absolutely ZERO MERRIT in an attempt to get over with the “Cool” Wrestling Marks.
“Cool Wrestling Marks” . . . what an oxymoron.
(With baseball season coming up, Vince is promoting a new platform surrounding his love for the game. Go to Patreon.com/VRFBB and learn how Vince can help you MASTER your Fantasy Baseball League!!!)
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