Cody Rhodes made history by finishing his story at WrestleMania 40, where he defeated Roman Reigns to win the Undisputed WWE Championship in Philadelphia. The American Nightmare’s victory was extremely special due to the odds he had to fight to finally go beyond the line and fulfill the dream of his father, Dusty Rhodes.
While the leadup to his title win and the actual match were exceptional, his early weeks as the WWE champion weren’t received that well by a section of the fans. Many pro wrestling enthusiasts claimed that Cody‘s achievement of winning the prestigious title at The Show of Shows was his biggest moment, and the reign will end up being nothing but boring.
Despite such theories going around in the industry, the Stamford-based promotion didn’t let Cody’s popularity go away and has made sure that his title reign looks great. Amid everything fans were expecting, it wasn’t an easy thing to accomplish, so let’s take a look at five smart tactics WWE has employed to ensure Rhodes’ title run doesn’t run stale.
Cody Rhodes’ feud with AJ Styles
The American Nightmare’s victory at WrestleMania XL was celebrated by fans from all across the world. But the audience was also uncertain about what’s next for the fan-favorite star. From all the possible opponents he could have faced, the Triple H-led promotion decided to put him in a feud with AJ Styles, and the professional wrestling legends didn’t disappoint.
The Phenomenal One and Cody had a full-fledged feud after The Showcase of the Immortals, as AJ earned the opportunity by winning a tournament. With the victory, Styles got his match against the Undisputed WWE Champion at the Backlash PLE in France, and they tore the house apart in arguably the best one-on-one encounter on the entire show.
The INTENSITY matches the ATMOSPHERE at #WWEBacklash! pic.twitter.com/XoBYHE2Sik
— WWE (@WWE) May 4, 2024
The promos, in-ring interaction, and their actual match—everything was perfect, and that’s why it added a lot of prestige to Cody’s reign. Not many would have expected AJ Styles to be Rhodes’ first challenger at WrestleMania, but it was great. Even on the May 31 episode of SmackDown, these two were part of a highly-entertaining segment.
During their interaction, fans saw AJ doing a fake retirement, just like Mark Henry did with John Cena. And, after that, The Phenomenal One started attacking The American Nightmare viciously. With this attack, it seems that WWE is probably going to give us a rematch between these in-ring stars. As the hype around their rivalry is already pretty high, it’s safe to say having AJ and Cody’s feud was a spectacular move by the company.
The Logan Paul contract signing
While the feud against AJ was a bit surprising, having Cody Rhodes go up against Logan Paul was just shocking. After the successful event in France, Nick Aldis revealed Logan as the next guy to go for Cody’s Undisputed WWE Championship, and it was a matchup that was really entertaining for the audience.
With The Maverick being the US Champion, initially fans believed that the match was going to be a title-unification bout, but Paul had a surprise for everyone. During the contract signing for their match at King & Queen of the Ring PLE, the Impaulsive host revealed that he never agreed to give Rhodes a shot at his title, as he’s not worthy of an opportunity.
LOGAN PAUL GOT HIS LAWYER TO MAKE SURE HE DONT HAVE TO PUT HIS CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE LINE LMAOOOOOOO#Smackdown pic.twitter.com/jnr83al2rX
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) May 18, 2024
It was a swerve nobody saw coming, and it ended up taking social media by storm. Not putting the title on line turned out to be a wise decision by Logan, as he lost to The American Nightmare in the main event of the event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. While their match was also great, the contract signing segment ended up being the most memorable part of their feud and helped WWE keep Cody’s title reign entertaining for the audience.
Keeping Cody Rhodes away from The Bloodline
Having Cody Rhodes fight against AJ Styles and Logan Paul was a good decision, also because it helped WWE keep The American Nightmare away from The Bloodline. Ever since winning the 2023 Royal Rumble, Cody has been connected with the heel faction’s story in one way or another, but that is no longer the case.
With Rhodes’ historic victory over Roman Reigns, the Stamford-based promotion has probably decided to move in a new direction, and it is probably the best decision. As they were up against each other for a long time, having them continue the feud might have done more harm than good, and that’s why this move was a wise one by the company.
Now that The Bloodline is being led by Solo Sikoa and The Tribal Chief no longer present on TV, the group seems to be going towards an internal rivalry. On the other hand, The American Nightmare is being given fresh storylines to add more worth to his relatively young reign with the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Resemblance with John Cena’s prime years in WWE
Until now, Cody Rhodes’ Undisputed title run has been a dominant one, and a lot of people believe that it is similar to how John Cena was booked during his peak years. The Cenation Leader was the face of WWE for well over a decade, and it seems that the company has decided to give the same treatment to The American Nightmare’s ongoing reign with the title.
As Cody was protected a lot in losses, even before his WrestleMania 40 victory, it was evident that the promotion didn’t want him to lose momentum. And, to keep things the same, Rhodes’ run is also being booked in a similar fashion. In all the matches the fan-favorite star has fought after the mega event in Philadelphia, he has looked pretty strong.
Even if his opponent uses some advantage to heel tactics to try to take him down, The American Nightmare has been able to tackle things well, and all these factors show resemblance with Cena’s prime years in WWE. If that’s how the company is looking to book Cody, it’s safe to say that he’s bound to have a long run, and the John-like booking would make sure it doesn’t run stale.
WWE’s continuous efforts to add further layers to Cody Rhodes’ story
While all the above-mentioned tactics are dependent on what the company and creatives have been trying to do with Cody’s storylines, Rhodes himself has been a major contributor to keeping the run entertaining. WWE’s continuous efforts to add further layers to Cody Rhodes’ story have been supported well by the fan-favorite star on several occasions.
The American Nightmare was a heel during his run in AEW, and he recently did a heelish thing during a promo, and it created a lot of uncertainty about his persona. As it was unexpected, fans started wondering if he’s going to turn on the audience, and it made things pretty interesting to watch for the pro wrestling enthusiasts.
A VERTEBREAKER IN MY BELOVED FED WHAT #WWEKingAndQueen pic.twitter.com/NxSNTcEpwQ
— s̑̈ (@skyblonded) May 25, 2024
Alongside this, Cody has also added some vintage moves to his arsenal, and it has helped him grab a lot of attention. In addition to these things, his entrance and ring gear have always made fans fall in love with his character, and it has continued even after his title win at The Show of Shows. All in all, it’s evident that WWE has made big efforts to make sure that Rhodes’ run doesn’t run stale, and they’ve been successful in this objective.