(from a Roman Reigns stan)
With the Bloodline Saga having moved to its next phase, it’s time to start chronicling what has changed since WrestleMania. To do that here, Tanya of the Suplexes and Shea Butter Podcast has once again lent us her talents. You can find her at @TheWitchMilitia on Twitter. Check out some of her previous work here and here.
On Sunday, April 7, 2024, Cody Rhodes finally finished his story when he defeated Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Championship in a Bloodline Rules match. Leading up to the match, there was a contentious discourse between the fanbases of Cody and Roman on who should walk out of the grandest stage of them all with the gold. Cody fans argued that Roman had held the title long enough and, as a part timer, was not giving the division the proper time it deserved to showcase other talents. Also, his matches had become predictable, since most already knew the end result would be Solo Sikoa interfering on the Original Tribal Chief’s behalf.
For Roman’s fans, there was a strong desire to have him retain and hold the title long enough to usurp Hulk Hogan’s longest run with the title. Some also felt that Jey Uso should be the one to dethrone Roman. Even more just wanted him to hold on to the title simply because he is their favorite. For a lot of Roman fans, they are more fans of him than they are fans of wrestling overall and are not as interested in the WWE when he is not involved.
Following Cody’s win, the main question became “What will he do now that he has finished his story?” The following RAW, The Rock teased a matchup with Cody for the championship, but, of course, if that match were to take place, it would be at the next year’s WrestleMania. So what does he do in the meantime?
His first challenger was AJ Styles. And the angle started off hot, with AJ feigning retirement ala Mark Henry only to attack Cody and challenge at the next premium live event (it’s what they are called now, get over it). The issue seemed to be that, despite starting off hot, nothing else of note took place during their feud, which included two matches, although not in back to back PLEs.
Logan Paul was the next person to challenge Cody and . . . it was fine. Just fine. I feel like the initial draw to Logan was the surprise at how well he adjusted to the ring despite his limited experience. But that is not enough to hold interest. And he was a barely defending United States champion at the time and his title was not on the line. It just seemed like a filler feud. Nothing really stood out, despite yet another great match at the PLE.
Then Solo became Cody’s challenger. And the biggest thing to look forward to there was Roman showing up at Summerslam to stop Solo from winning, as the match was Bloodline Rules again. After Solo, Kevin Owens was given a title shot against Cody. It was teased that maybe KO would go back to his ruthless prize fighter ways to win the championship but ultimately he did not.
The discourse online about Cody’s reign started early, with some saying even before he won that it would not go well. Some people see no issue. But a loud section of fans, Roman stans and otherwise, have declared his reign boring and without momentum. I don’t necessarily think boring is the correct word. It is predictable in a safe way. There has never been one single second during any match during his reign where I felt he would lose. Even with Roman’s long reign, there were several moments where everyone felt the title might change hands before it actually did.
The main issue I have with Cody’s reign, surprisingly, is not Cody himself. I think he is doing fine as champion. He carries himself well. His promos are a bit milquetoast but they were, in my opinion, before he was champion as well. There have not been any really memorable moments outside of the ring. The selection of opponents for him on Smackdown is just not deep enough.
I think Triple H did Cody no favors by keeping him on SmackDown with essentially the same roster that a heel champion had. There are much more interesting choices for challengers for Cody on RAW, such as Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Sheamus, and even Big Bronson Reed or Braun Strowman. Cody is the champ; it’s not really his job to make his opponents look good, they are supposed to make HIM look good. And, as much as I am rooting for Solo, him being Cody’s biggest threat is just not doing him any justice.
I also think there is not much to the American Nightmare gimmick outside of what we have already seen. There is no built in story like there was for the Tribal Chief. There is no drama. There is nothing to really tap into other than rousing the memory of Dusty Rhodes and I fear that is being left for whoever Cody’s WrestleMania 41 opponent may be. Going from a drama filled dysfunctional family saga to the always smiling, perfect American flag clad superhero leaves much to be desired.
So, until we get to WrestleMania, it feels like Cody will be spinning his wheels as a side character in the Bloodline story, even though he is the champion, and that leads to his fans and Bloodline fans feeling frustrated. I do wish both fanbases would calm down with the hyperbole. Cody is still as popular as he ever was. He is still selling out shows and merchandise as champion. The crowd still adores him. And the “issues” with his reign are easy enough to fix. Just move one of the aforementioned men over to SmackDown to breathe some life into the division.
No matter what we say online, Cody is now the face of the men’s division. He is doing a great job as a white meat babyface champion. He is steering the ship and the company has not missed a beat. His spot is solidified. No amount of shitposting will change that. So either sit back and let his new story run its course. Or change the channel. Because he is not going anywhere for a long time.
Stroke of Genius 