{"id":125134,"date":"2024-06-22T08:00:03","date_gmt":"2024-06-22T12:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=125134"},"modified":"2024-06-22T00:46:54","modified_gmt":"2024-06-22T04:46:54","slug":"too-soon-for-cody-rhodes-vs-solo-sikoa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/06\/22\/too-soon-for-cody-rhodes-vs-solo-sikoa\/","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s Way Too Soon for Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa for the WWE Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">At the<strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/06\/17\/directions-for-wwe-following-clash-at-the-castle\/\" target=\"_self\"> Clash at the Castle<\/a><\/em><\/strong> premium live event, the World Heavyweight Championship was at center stage, but the WWE title took an interesting turn at the start of the night. <strong>The Bloodline<\/strong> getting involved at the end of that match was shocking, but it is way too soon for <strong>Cody Rhodes<\/strong> vs <strong>Solo Sikoa<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Smackdown needs the biggest main event possible for <em><strong>SummerSlam<\/strong><\/em> after sagging ratings over the past few months. This Solo Sikoa shift is still the most interesting direction the Bloodline could have gone after WrestleMania. With three new members joining him the faction does feel fresh. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Still, Solo needs to develop more before he can stand across from Cody Rhodes. Beyond Solo, his new Bloodline as a faction has yet to have a signature win, and squaring up with Cody Rhodes et al. is not likely to change their fortunes. No matter how you look at it, it isn&#8217;t the right time for Solo Sikoa to enter the spotlight.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Smackdown Faces Shrinking Summer Ratings<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Smackdown ratings are declining, a trend that was almost inevitable after the post-<em><strong>WrestleMania<\/strong> <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/05\/18\/whats-next-for-wwe-champion-cody-rhodes\/\" target=\"_self\">Cody Rhodes championship<\/a> tour. However, WWE&#8217;s other programming is not experiencing the same slump as the blue brand. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">To address this, WWE and the creative team need to carefully plan its summer programming on Friday nights until the return of <strong>Roman Reigns<\/strong> or <strong>The Rock<\/strong> to inject more star power into the main event. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">At the moment, one of the key players on Smackdown is the legendary <strong>Randy Orton<\/strong>. His inclusion in the main event aligns with WWE&#8217;s strategy to improve ratings and keep the audience engaged. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cody Rhodes battles the undefeated Solo Sikoa ahead of WrestleMania: Raw, March 27, 2023\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JAHU_Y_YWto?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes have a history together, and fans are already excited about the prospect of them facing off. From his joining Orton&#8217;s Legacy faction to Orton standing by his side against The Bloodline, those two have a real history that a scripted story can&#8217;t match. He is a credible champion, too. Yes, the student can become the teacher. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">However, the veteran Orton can show Cody that he hasn&#8217;t shown him every trick he&#8217;s developed throughout his iconic career, stealing a win and the title away. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The program can be brief, but just a few months of the two coming face-to-face on Fridays could revitalize fans&#8217; interest and get more viewers. Couple that with <strong>Logan Paul<\/strong> and <strong>LA Knight<\/strong>, and then Solo can focus less on carrying the show and more on building his resume and his team. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Solo Sikoa Isn&#8217;t World Championship Caliber Yet <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In addition to Randy Orton being the more significant matchup, Solo Sikoa isn&#8217;t championship material yet. So far, this Bloodline is the successor to the original in name only, and it seems like even WWE is leaning into the idea that he is an illegitimate chief of his tribe. Nobody watching believes that Solo is a real threat to win the title. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Even <strong>AJ Styles<\/strong>, chronically under-booked, was able to get fans to buy in before his second match with Rhodes. That comes with more reps, more stories, and more accolades. Sikoa, through no fault of his own, has very few of those.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Randy Orton &amp; Kevin Owens vs. Solo Sikoa &amp; Tama Tonga: WWE Backlash France highlights, May 4, 2024\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0lAd0DMl40A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The WWE has a unique opportunity to elevate Solo Sikoa to a star status within the formidable Bloodline. This could be <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/04\/23\/solo-sikoa-is-going-to-save-the-bloodline\/\" target=\"_self\">a defining moment<\/a> in his career, with new members and a host of potential rivals across both shows. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">His inevitable clash with his cousin Roman could be a masterpiece, reminiscent of the feuds Reigns had as champion. However, pushing Solo too high up the card and into a loss could jeopardize these future plans. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It&#8217;s challenging to build the stars of the future. Trying to build one that consistently loses to his elders is probably not going to work in the long run. Solo has a much better narrative as the &#8216;savior&#8217; of the Bloodline if he spends some time actually trying to do that before failing to take out Cody. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Bloodline Needs More Wins First<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It feels a little too soon for Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa because Solo and The Bloodline are coming off several losses. As a unit, they have had a few memorable moments, mainly revolving around their coming together for the first time. The recent addition of <strong>Jacob Fatu<\/strong> to their ranks serves as another intriguing moment. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Also, the team has had a few wins in the past couple of months, but not overwhelmingly. Each individual member, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/02\/04\/jacob-fatu-the-samoan-werewolf-unleashed\/\" target=\"_self\">apart from Fatu<\/a>, has lost in singles or tag team action since creating Solo&#8217;s Bloodline. Jumping right to the top of the card feels unearned. The unit does not feel like a threat. WWE doesn&#8217;t want to build a paper tiger out of the group, which is what pushing them now would probably do.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">OMG! Jacob Fatu is here!!!<\/p>\n<p>He just took down <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RandyOrton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@RandyOrton<\/a> with ease! \ud83d\ude33<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#SmackDown<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZLFCBtL29D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/ZLFCBtL29D<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1804334090805489801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A strong Bloodline could help the product in so many ways right now. For one thing, they could eventually be a strong foil when they run Cody Rhodes vs Solo Sikoa. Obviously, The Rock and Roman Reigns will want the faction to be at full strength when they <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">return<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0as either friend or foe. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">WWE is also going through a faction renaissance, capped off just recently by the fantastic<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/06\/20\/wrestling-stars-react-to-wyatt-sicks-massacre\/\" target=\"_self\">Wyatt Sick6<\/a><\/strong> debut. Given how much mileage Solo and his crew still have ahead of them, it makes far more sense to wait on this run. Focusing on matches that The Bloodline can win for now is the most sensible plan for this summer. There will be time later for Cody Rhodes vs Solo Sikoa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Building toward the Way Too Soon For Cody Rhodes vs Solo Sikoa Match<\/span><\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udc40 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#SmackDown<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/azBzno61ME\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/azBzno61ME<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1803971098993701347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 21, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">WWE is somewhat intent on this program between the two. Recently, WWE hinted at a team match on the horizon. Randy Orton would likely factor into those plans which is great. Making The Bloodline a mere setup for Orton and Rhodes diminishes that faction, which used to rule Friday night programming. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It is likely better than the alternative for Cody, WWE, and the fans attending <em>SummerSlam<\/em>, though. If the plan, though, really is to move forward with a Cody Rhodes vs Solo Sikoa match, then <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Bloodline needs to get bigger, brighter, and scarier as soon as possible. Any hidden members that are just waiting for the right moment, now is the time to bring them out. Any angles that might be over the top should be considered well below the ceiling. Cody and Solo need to make <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/03\/27\/predicting-every-ple-the-rock-wrestlemania\/\" target=\"_self\">The Rock&#8217;s beatdown<\/a> of Rhodes earlier this year look tame. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">When it ends, Solo needs to look inevitable as a champion, not just a prospect. That will charge up the title match to where it needs to be.\u00a0 Hopefully, it will also make Solo and Roman&#8217;s feud for &#8220;head of the table&#8221; even more significant when it happens.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/h3>\n<p><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/span><\/em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the\u00a0<\/span><\/em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/watch.wwe.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">WWE Network<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><\/em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Peacock<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the Clash at the Castle premium live event, the World Heavyweight Championship was at center stage, but the WWE title took an interesting turn at the start of the night. The Bloodline getting involved at the end of that match was shocking, but it is way too soon for Cody Rhodes vs Solo Sikoa. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4470,"featured_media":125142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2192,4,3],"tags":[98,58,8343,7994],"class_list":["post-125134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-cody-rhodes","tag-randy-orton","tag-solo-sikoa","tag-the-bloodline"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4470"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}