{"id":127106,"date":"2024-09-23T07:00:22","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T11:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=127106"},"modified":"2024-09-23T02:28:54","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T06:28:54","slug":"cody-rhodes-undisputed-wwe-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/09\/23\/cody-rhodes-undisputed-wwe-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cody Rhodes Undisputed WWE Championship Run Needs More Substance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Cody<\/strong> <strong>Rhodes<\/strong> and his Undisputed <strong>WWE<\/strong> Championship run hasn\u2019t exactly lived up to the hype that preceded his beating <strong>Roman Reigns<\/strong> at <em><strong>WrestleMania XL<\/strong> <\/em>and subsequently \u2018finishing his story. &#8216;<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, as the months since &#8216;Mania have waned, there has been much left to be desired.<\/p>\n<p>And with a title and header like that, I guess I haven\u2019t ingratiated myself with the legions of fans Mr. Cody Rhodes has, but trust me, dear readers, my heart is in the right place.<\/p>\n<p>Cody is, to me as well, a great pro wrestler and one who more than deserved to dethrone the former record-breaking champion, Roman Reigns. But so far, his title run and the storylines he\u2019s been dealt with are a tad lackluster.<\/p>\n<p>The company and its many loyal fans needed change, and the fact that the change above at the top occurred was definitely a good thing for business, but after all that struggle\u2014and the whole \u2018finishing the story\u2019 deal was a struggle that lasted a longer time for Cody himself and for his fans too\u2014but the payoff, which is the subsequent run as champion, should have been and should be a lot more satisfying after everything he and we had been through on both sides of the spectrum.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we\u2019ll be looking at just three possibilities that will add that flair (pardon the pun) to a much-deserved epic title run for one Cody Rhodes, and in the end, it will make the wait that much more worth it for Cody himself and for his many fans.<\/p>\n<h3>Stepping Away to Prove Himself<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Nec3vf0btpQ?si=6ua93qz0OGTGUfEw\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>WWE groomed Cody Rhodes. Of course that makes perfect sense. His father, the legendary <strong>Dusty Rhodes<\/strong>, was a pivotal cog in the company and its rich history, specifically with the <strong>NWA<\/strong> and, of course, <strong>WCW<\/strong>. So, after a brief time of wanting to chase an acting career, Cody embarked on his journey.<\/p>\n<p>He, too, became a product of the now legendary<strong> Ohio Valley Wrestling<\/strong> developmental territory, following in the mighty footsteps of many great pro wrestlers that would not only dominate but become legendary themselves; a list that includes <strong>John Cena<\/strong>, <strong>Dave Batista<\/strong>, <strong>Randy Orton<\/strong>, and of course <strong>Brock Lesnar<\/strong>, and we\u2019re just naming a few here.<\/p>\n<p>Cody, in his first run with the company, would make it to the main roster in WWE, but his time there would prove to be frustrating. He found himself trapped under a glass ceiling, one he couldn\u2019t see past for the time being.<\/p>\n<p>That frustration led to his stepping away and finding a home for himself on the independent circuit, and what a home that would turn out to be.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h4><em><strong>\u201cI talked to him (Triple H) in Gorilla when I was really frustrated doing Stardust. I went to walk out, and he said, \u2018Rattle the cages.\u2019 That could have meant a lot of things. \u2018Go talk to the writers.\u2019 I took it literally and went out and rattled (the cages) as much as possible. I\u2019m so glad that relationship gets to develop now,\u201d <a  href=\"https:\/\/wrestlingheadlines.com\/cody-rhodes-recalls-triple-h-telling-him-to-rattle-the-cages-addresses-shots-he-took-at-triple-h-in-aew\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cody stated during a press conference<\/a> following the Royal Rumble in 2023.<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>A Frustrating Turn of Events<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gvn7s3mIiKQ?si=qCJnYGw56s9xs5H_\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And boy would he rattle said cages. He not only rose to the top in companies like <strong>TNA Wrestling<\/strong> and <strong>Ring of Honor<\/strong>, but he also dominated <strong>NJPW<\/strong> and became one of the more pivotal members of the famed <strong>Bullet Club<\/strong> faction.<\/p>\n<p>He brought a lot of gold home, but his most important accolade was the co-creation of <strong>AEW<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Like it or hate it, that new company\/promotion has done the pro wrestling business a world of good. They made WWE take notice, and the fact that WWE isn\u2019t a monopoly any more and competition is out there on a larger scale made WWE step up its game big time.<\/p>\n<p>With just one big company at the top, that isn\u2019t good for the fans or the wrestlers themselves.<\/p>\n<p>But as time wore on, fans got frustrated with Cody in AEW. He had some important issues to deal with\u2026specifically one of regret, not \u2018making it\u2019 where he had been groomed, and not getting his hands on a very important accolade for him and his family.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps it was the most important accolade of all.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h4><em><strong>\u201cFor me, it was just time to move on. I get an opportunity at my dream; I get another chance at it. And you really can\u2019t leave any stone unturned with that,\u201d<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.cagesideseats.com\/wwe\/2022\/4\/2\/23008217\/cody-rhodes-explains-wwe-return-prove-best-aew-exit-personal\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Rhodes stated at a press junket back in 2022.<\/a> And so, at WrestleMania 38, he did return in a match that has gone down in history as being one of his absolute best.<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And despite an early pectoral tear injury, which he suffered while training for yet another epic match with the incomparable <strong>Seth Rollins<\/strong> (a match he wrestled anyways, by the way), and a Royal Rumble win a <em>WrestleMania<\/em> loss, another Royal Rumble the following year.<\/p>\n<p>After two matches at <em><strong>WrestleMania 40<\/strong><\/em>, he would finally get his hands on the dream he\u2019d been after for a very long time, dethroning Roman Reigns, the Tribal Chief himself, and ultimately finishing the story.<\/p>\n<p>But the story has yet to begin because in pro wrestling, the story never really ends until the boots are left at the center of the ring and the pro wrestler in question rides off into the sunset, which shouldn\u2019t be happening for Cody Rhodes any time soon.<\/p>\n<h3>So&#8230;Now What?<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0CwJOvN07K4?si=toyQRez_NGtI48Fp\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Well, we seem to be getting what I\u2019ve started to call \u2018Filler Matches.\u2019 In art, any form of art, \u2018filler\u2019 is what an artist puts out as material to hold off the masses for something bigger they are planning down the line, and oftentimes, this \u2018filler\u2019 work is a lot less than acceptable by most.<\/p>\n<p>All of the feuds Cody has been put to since winning the title from Roman fall under this unfortunate category. Case in point: The fact that his match at <em><strong>Bad Blood<\/strong><\/em> is not a title match as of this writing, and is a tag match pairing him and his former foe, Reigns, going against <strong>Solo Sikoa<\/strong> and <strong>Jacob Fatu<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>He has been in this position since becoming champion; we seem to be repeating ourselves over and over again, and only the players are being shifted around. That\u2019s no way to keep up the momentum for what should be one of their greatest Undisputed WWE Champions: Cody Rhodes.<\/p>\n<p>They are totally missing the boat here. Cody Rhodes has a rich history that dates back to his father\u2019s career. He was a part of that, was around for it, was backstage for it back in WCW.<\/p>\n<p>And his history can be used here as well. What follows are just three possibilities that pull from Cody\u2019s aforementioned rich history and would make his story that much more original and interesting, especially with fans of his father and of his.<\/p>\n<p>*Of course, after this week\u2019s dramatic promo featuring both Cody and Reigns in the empty stadium, a dramatic playing field has definitely been established, and there is a possible match between the two down the line.<\/p>\n<p>This makes sense, but hopefully, the entire year isn\u2019t centered just on the possible future 3<sup>rd<\/sup> match between Cody and Roman. That would be a waste of Cody\u2019s run.<\/p>\n<p>As stated, they need to make the time between Cody\u2019s and Roman\u2019s ultimate rematch interesting, and they could do better than they have thus far.<\/p>\n<h3>Triple H and Ric Flair Groom Brock Anderson<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mfkiPrFXGE8?si=ItnqdYZTWywSYo1w\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The<strong> Four Horsemen<\/strong> and Dusty Rhodes were bitter enemies back in the NWA. Can anyone remember the events that led up to the Four Horsemen (<strong>Ole Anderson<\/strong>, <strong>Arn Anderson<\/strong>, <strong>Ric Flair<\/strong>, <strong>Tully Blanchard<\/strong>, and even manager <strong>JJ Dillon<\/strong>)\u00a0sneaking up on Dusty in a parking lot and jumping him, delivering blows with a blunt object to his hand?<\/p>\n<p>How about when Flair turned on Rhodes and, with the assistance of the Andersons, broke Dusty\u2019s leg?<\/p>\n<p>Yes\u2026all folklore by now, but this rich history can be utilized now. Cody was privy to it, and he has called attention to this rich history in interviews. As confusing as it was for him, it was how he learned the business at first.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h4><em><strong>\u201cHe always explained it to me in a way that I didn\u2019t mind. I liked being disillusioned by it all. And his simple ways of putting it to me always&#8230;\u2019 oh, okay, that makes sense.\u2019 As he explained, you couldn\u2019t fight outside of the ring; otherwise, the \u201cleague\u201d and the vague league would fine you. Or there would be these big repercussions. And at a young age, I bought it. That makes sense\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n<h4><em><strong>\u201cSame as when we got older. I\u2019d see guys bust a wooden chair over his (Dusty\u2019s) head and then shake his hand later. And he says, \u2018Respect back here, out there is the only place where we can truly compete.\u2019 Never once did I question it. I didn\u2019t want to question it. The show was too dang fun,\u201d stated Cody while on the Rich Eisen Show back in 2019 (<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.cagesideseats.com\/videos\/2019\/9\/26\/20886143\/cody-rhodes-explains-how-dusty-rhodes-never-broke-kayfabe-wwe-aew\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">transcription: Cageside seats).<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But Ric and Arn Anderson can\u2019t face Cody in a match now, can they? No, they can\u2019t. But what if Arn Anderson were to return to WWE and bring his son and Ric right along with him? Maybe even Tully! Then we\u2019d have something there.<\/p>\n<p>And what about good old <strong>Triple H<\/strong>. Did Cody not smash the throne of one <strong>Hunter Hearst Helmsley<\/strong> while wrestling abroad\u2014specifically in AEW?<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, he did, to raucous reactions across the board in the pro wrestling community. How could Triple H not want revenge for that\u2014the character that is? Well, what if these three GOATs got together to thwart Cody and his success?<\/p>\n<h3>Randy Orton Turns Heel for One More Run and Perhaps Championship Reign<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W7AQkOso7NU?si=imdR08_Kq7xLe-uo\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Does anyone remember <strong>Evolution<\/strong>? We all know Randy\u2019s character, and although he is enjoying his time as a babyface right now, Randy\u2019s infamous voices have to be giving him a headache about Cody Rhodes right about now.<\/p>\n<p>You know they want him to do something\u2014anything\u2014to stop Cody\u2019s momentum, and why\u2026because the voices told him to, that\u2019s why\u2026because his pupil shouldn\u2019t get the accolades that he would enjoy.<\/p>\n<p>And they can use <strong>Ted DiBiase Jr.<\/strong> here somehow, perhaps gaining Cody\u2019s trust only to betray him in a tag match on Raw or something, and then to be revealed as henchman to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/08\/22\/whats-next-for-randy-orton-in-wwe\/\" target=\"_self\">Randy Orton<\/a><\/strong>\u2026at which time Randy would be the main focus.<\/p>\n<h3>Mama Rhodes\u2019 Baby Boy Needs to Beat The Rock (But Only After a Devastating Loss)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sXFGFWsFsLg?si=P3z60LBGMGh-b8wC\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And finally, we need to see Cody going against <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/09\/14\/next-champions-wwe-title-smackdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><strong>The Rock<\/strong><\/a>. The last time Cody had loads of heat was when he was in the program with The Rock leading up to <em>WrestleMania<\/em> this past year, and that\u2019s not only because it was The Rock.<\/p>\n<p>That was primarily because Cody was and is a top babyface in his quest to attain his title and finish his story. The Rock tried to get in his way, and a very passionate feud ensued\u2026one that didn\u2019t even need Roman if you think about it. Those segments were spectacular, and yes, Rock played his part as a heel expert.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s face it: He was easy to hate at that time. It got to a point if you saw him on Instagram, you were kinda still upset at him from what you\u2019d maybe seen the night before. So, it worked.<\/p>\n<p>And when this match does occur, Cody needs to lose. He needs to lose, and he needs to fight to get the title back from The Rock at a later point. Suppose Cody can have the first two feuds I proposed leading up to the next <em>WrestleMania<\/em>, the match, the final match with The Rock being the final match at that event, where he relinquishes his Undisputed WWE title.<\/p>\n<p>In that case,\u00a0we can all agree that that would be one heck of a run for Cody Rhodes as champion.<\/p>\n<p>But what was that I said last time about dreaming? Can\u2019t hurt, right? Hope all of these happen, to be honest. But for them to happen one and all need to start thinking about Cody\u2019s rich history.<\/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>Cody Rhodes and his Undisputed WWE Championship run hasn\u2019t exactly lived up to the hype that preceded his beating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL and subsequently \u2018finishing his story. &#8216; Unfortunately, as the months since &#8216;Mania have waned, there has been much left to be desired. And with a title and header like that, I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5149,"featured_media":127110,"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":[98,77,550],"class_list":["post-127106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-cody-rhodes","tag-roman-reigns","tag-the-rock"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127106","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\/5149"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}