April 22, 2022. Wrestlemania 38. Seth Rollins is standing in the ring, waiting for his opponent who Vince McMahon handpicked. Lights go off. The whole AT&T Stadium turns black. And the music starts. “Wrestling has more than one royal family”. The crowd goes bonkers.
Yes, we all know that’s how the prodigal son Cody Rhodes returned to WWE. At a time, when WWE was seriously lacking a top babyface. If you look at the storylines before Wrestlemania 38, the biggest babyface in the company was Bianca Belair.
Fast forward to this date, we are in a period where babyfaces are as credible as the heels. Seth Rollins, Jey Uso, LA Knight, Sami Zayn are the prime examples. Surely some credits are due to booking by Triple H’s new regime.
But the man who led this resurgence of babyfaces in the company is undoubtedly Cody Rhodes.
Son of the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes, Cody was always meant to be perched on mountain tops. And while it took him time and a roundabout road to reach WWE’s peak, he looks a complete natural under the limelight and is called the next John Cena. Why exactly is that? With a gaping hole in the card now filled by Cody Rhodes, here are five reasons why The American Nightmare works so well as a Babyface in WWE.
5. The Righteous American Gimmick
For generations, babyfaces have been portrayed as heroes relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains. From Hogan to Cena, WWE’s top babyfaces are seen as proud, ethical American superheroes who fight their way out of adversity. After many failed prospects like Ryback, Jack Swagger, Curtis Axel, and even the Pre-pandemic Roman Reigns, in Cody, WWE found the perfect man who represents a similar vein of work.
Cody stands for the qualities often seen as positive. He is confident, upright, hard-working, and successful. Furthermore, his value system is deemed to play a crucial role in his success.
Cody also holds a “never give up” mentality and can win despite the odds being stacked against him. All these make him a “Superhero” type figure and very marketable, especially to the kids. No wonder Cody is the top merchandise seller in the company.
While WWE will perhaps never explicitly reference his run in AEW, the existing body of work has made him an easily believable and righteous face for the kids to root for. And for those who were not exposed to his work, they would see the brightly colored tattoo on his neck to understand whatever needs communicating.
4. Connecting with Audience
From the WOAH OH!s to giving his weight belt to the audience, Cody has a great connection with the whole WWE universe. He also has very much improved on the microphone. He has an ability that seems always to be very emotional while talking about his rivalries in front of a live audience. This ability, while not uncommon in pursuit, is rare in seamless execution and Cody seems to be the company’s primary proponent of the same at this current time. Even when Cody’s feuds are not very emotionally invested, he can link a personal story to pull audiences.
This was proven big time in the last weeks when the whole fandom came together and made #WeWantCody trending worldwide when The Rock seemingly stole his place in the Wrestlemania 40 main event against Roman Reigns. The fans even started to boo The Rock so badly that Michael Cole from the commentary had to say ‘Are we back in 1996 again?’ (when Rock was playing his famous Corporate Rock character).
3. Hell in a Cell 2022
Yes, Cody returned as a bigger star compared to when he left WWE back in 2016. But what transcended him to stardom was the Hell in a Cell match with Seth Rollins in 2022. When Cody removed his gear and revealed his torn pectoral muscle scars, everyone watching from the area and the television felt his pain. The injury was so bad that a large part of his skin near the right shoulder and the chest was discolored.
In Logan Paul’s podcast “Impaulsive”, Cody said, “ I am going to the Hell in a Cell and I saw the poster, a giant photo of me. They (the fans) all wanna see this match with Seth and me. I come out in the area and I see my face on the chairs. What I thought was maybe I don’t have it. Maybe I don’t have what Cena has because he is my role model. You should never wrestle injured but I wasn’t gonna have it any other way. I had to have the match at least.”
“It (pectoral muscle) was completely torn. But Vince knew I wasn’t gonna take no. If he told me I had to take the no. But we had a great conversation and he became very clear that hey man if you’re struggling out there we gotta call it. I understand that and they let me finish.”
It is clear that Cody didn’t have to wrestle that night but he did it. The two wrestlers tangled to present the watching world with an absolute classic.
In the widely regarded Wrestling Observer Newsletter, journalist Dave Meltzer rated the match five stars. The last time any match from WWE got the same accolade was in 2011, ironically by John Cena vs CM Punk. And this match put Cody among the greats in the eyes of the fans.
2. The Entrance
Having a good entrance is one of the important parts of being a successful pro wrestler. And Cody has seemingly cracked this part. What makes it even better is that the lyrics of “Kingdom” by Downstait describe him so well. The song tells the story of an entertainer who is ready to go to any level for the crowd.
At every show Cody goes to, the whole area sings along with it. And the ‘WOAH OH!’ is undoubtedly the biggest pop of any show right now. If you are attending a WWE event, doing the sing-along with Cody’s theme is a must-do now.
1. Finish the Story
“Have a Dream, Hold onto it. Shoot for the Stars.” – these are the famous words from the late Dusty Rhodes. Cody as a true successor has held onto his father’s words. After returning to the company, his main goal is to get the top prize. The prize his father could never hold.
Even the injury couldn’t hold him. Cody returned in the Royal Rumble 2023 and won it to challenge for the title. The match was made. Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes at the biggest stage of them all. The fan support was fully behind Cody. But he fell short because of the Bloodline shenanigans.
Many people thought it was the end of the road. But Cody proved them wrong. After some blockbuster rivalries with Brock Lesnar, Judgement Day, Shinsuke Nakamura, and a tag team title run with Jey Uso, Cody is back on track after winning the Royal Rumble for the consecutive 2 years. And after a dramatic week full of speculations, Roman vs Cody II is back on track for the biggest Wrestlemania of all time.
With Wrestlemania 40 being almost 2 months away, surely the story will take many twists and turns. But this has to be the moment for Cody. The fan support is here. The stage is set. The mainstream attention is higher than ever. WWE has to let Cody take them into the next era. The American Nightmare Era.