00:00Does WWE have a big Cody Rhodes problem, or is there no problem at all?
00:11Let's get into this debate.
00:13Before any of you get to your keyboards with scathing comments, this isn't a criticism
00:18of Cody Rhodes at all.
00:19His reign as WWE Undisputed Champion so far has been too short to really give it a valid
00:25stamp of approval or it's this or it's that.
00:28Yeah, the jury's still out because it's still happening.
00:31We'd argue that everything that has been done so far has proven why WWE is on the right
00:35end of Roman Reigns' historic run.
00:38It needed to end, and something else has begun and is in motion.
00:42This video is more about the larger problem that WWE faces with Cody Rhodes as its champion
00:48right now, and it's sort of a good problem.
00:51Barring any major injuries that force him to vacate the title, it seems pretty safe
00:56to speculate that Cody Rhodes could be the top WWE champion for quite some time.
01:02Not necessarily a 1300 day plus long record-breaking title reign, but maybe a year, maybe more.
01:10This directly ties into one of the issues that WWE has faced creatively under Triple
01:15H and his era since 2022.
01:19Unlike his father-in-law, the Game prefers a more safe and predictable approach to long
01:25term storytelling.
01:27And this isn't as bad as it may sound, and why is that bad at all?
01:31We'll get into all of it and we'll break it all down.
01:35This is Sportskeeda Wrestling, I'm Kevin Kellum.
01:38Let us know what you think of Cody Rhodes as the top champion in wrestling in the comments
01:42below.
01:43The issue we're bringing up is actually more of a byproduct about commitment and focus
01:48on telling a story for the long haul with satisfying payoffs.
01:52The big downside of this?
01:54Considerably longer championship reigns and a lot fewer spur-of-the-moment surprising
01:59title changes that used to happen for years.
02:02When you condition the audience to one thing, they get used to that, and then it changes
02:06and you have to recondition them to a different groove, a different way of telling stories.
02:11The argument some make in favor of surprise title changes is that it happens quite a bit
02:16in sports like MMA and boxing, for example.
02:20There have been a lot of times when a dominant champion who was the favorite to win a fight
02:25lost to an underdog.
02:27Ronda Rousey was arguably the biggest example of that in the sports world in 2015.
02:33The idea behind that is it makes pro wrestling seem more legitimate and gives it more of
02:39a sports-like feel.
02:41The other side of the argument is that professional wrestling is completely different from MMA
02:46and the idea behind wins and losses is to drive stories ahead with the characters.
02:52Both are valid arguments in their own way, but Triple H's approach to storytelling is
02:57the reason why we've seen so many long championship reigns happen before and during this transitionary
03:04period that WWE has been in since 2022.
03:08Roman Reigns, Gunther, Seth Rollins, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Austin Theory, and The
03:12Usos are many examples of this.
03:16Except for Bianca Belair, Austin Theory, and Ripley, all other long title reigns were designed
03:21in such a way that they could really only have a big payoff on a huge stage like WrestleMania.
03:27And while the title changes at WrestleMania obviously worked, a majority of fans enjoyed
03:32them, context here is important.
03:37Someone claimed we're still in the honeymoon phase of WWE's new era and it's only a matter
03:42of time before a more vocal part of the fanbase gets fickle and begins getting tired with
03:48what they feel is a predictable or missing some show that has that spontaneous moment
03:54that happens during a year, but these are the same people that forget Money in the Bank
03:58is coming up.
03:59It's probably okay for the more casual fan who keeps tabs on WWE now and then and tunes
04:05in for maybe just WrestleMania season, but for a large dedicated fanbase that watches
04:10week to week, it's not unfair to expect some type of incentive and keep watching throughout
04:15the year.
04:16But isn't that the idea of long term payoffs?
04:19We're not arguing against having big WrestleMania payoffs because of all the champions we mentioned,
04:25they've lost their titles in spectacular fashion.
04:27There's still moments, but our perspective here is simply that there needs to be a bit
04:32of balance between those big predictable payoff moments that we've anticipated and we get
04:38and they pay off and wow, we didn't see that coming.
04:42Does the safe, predictable booking of championship reigns mean that fans are treated to fewer
04:46surprises and fewer shocking moments from April to January?
04:50Is that just the natural cycle of things that we're going to see now?
04:53We're going to give WWE the benefit of the doubt and assume that there's something they're
04:57learning as they develop an even better, more advanced, modern process to what they're doing
05:03now.
05:05And when you look at the nitty gritty, stepping away objectively from whether you're a casual
05:09or diehard fan, you can easily realize how difficult a job it is to create a fluid, creative
05:16product that WWE has as a three ring televised circus that doesn't stop.
05:21So credit is where it's due to everyone involved in crafting what WWE is doing now, especially
05:27during the tumultuous transitions that we've seen in recent years based on the opening
05:32segment of Raw after WrestleMania 40 where the tone was really set for this new Triple
05:37H era, it's very likely that Cody could be the one facing The Rock at WrestleMania 41
05:44in Las Vegas in 2025.
05:46Maybe not even Roman Reigns, but obviously so much could change before then as well.
05:50The Rock told Cody that their story was only beginning, which is a pretty good reason to
05:55assume that Cody isn't losing that WWE championship anytime soon.
06:00But how good can his championship reign go if he's only going to start picking up once
06:04megastars like Roman Reigns and The Rock return?
06:07Well, assuming Cody faces Roman Reigns at Summerslam or another big event or The Rock
06:12at WrestleMania, that would make it only two significant storylines in a yearlong championship
06:17reign, which isn't very good when you consider how you look at it.
06:20But that's also looking at it with just the biggest names possible.
06:24Are you the people that are also forgetting how good the match was with AJ Styles in France?
06:30Yeah, backlash, listen to the crowd.
06:37It also falls into the tricky category of the chase always being better than the catch
06:42and the actual championship reign.
06:45Don't let revisionists tell you otherwise, because even WWE's biggest draw in Stone Cold
06:50Steve Austin was almost always better chasing after a WWE title than when he was actually
06:56the world champion.
06:58It's an interesting problem, but a problem nonetheless.
07:01And it's not the worst one to have by any means.
07:04On the flip side of this argument, Triple H's safe and some would say predictable approach
07:10has led to many incredible storyline moments.
07:13The results speak very loudly, and WWE's hotter than it's ever been in a very long time.
07:19The numbers don't lie.
07:22With that being said, they can't rest on their loyals and gotta keep the edge very sharp.
07:28And Cody Rhodes' situation is the best way to show that they are maybe not doing that
07:33every single week.
07:35At least, that's what some people would say.
07:38I would counter the argument that Cody Rhodes is the antithesis of the previous champion
07:43you've seen.
07:44He is a valiant champion, a fighting champion, not a chicken shiz champion who needs a lot
07:49of people around him to keep the storyline going and isn't actually defending the title
07:54on a regular basis.
07:55You're getting a fighting champion, and maybe fans who've been conditioned to, Roman Reigns
08:00shows up, Roman Reigns' family helps him win a match, that formula.
08:04Maybe they have to see the old formula revived again.
08:08Yes, a fighting champion.
08:10Wow, what a concept.
08:12Maybe it's just too predictable.
08:15Could the Cody Rhodes championship reign not work because of that same approach?
08:20Of predictable, let's keep it going until the right payoff type ending, yeah.
08:25Or does it need something different, like the previously done storylines with the bloodline
08:29that are being reintroduced right now?
08:32You've watched this far, and the challenging thing, the most challenging thing I'll say,
08:38is this.
08:39The biggest problem with the things being labeled so falsely as stale or losing their
08:46fresh feeling in week-to-week wrestling television is not anyone's fault on camera or behind
08:53the camera in WWE.
08:55The biggest problem is you and me.
08:59The Modern Wrestling Fan has a multi-layered, endless, 24-7, on-demand access to every grandiose
09:07offering of wrestling streaming just a couple clicks away to their heart's content.
09:13But when you have all of that, are you ever truly content with it?
09:18Our attention spans are now shorter than that of a goldfish in a jar because we've been
09:23doom-scrolling hot wrestling takes, maybe even some just like this, and we need to sometimes
09:28go touch grass and remember that this era right now is about getting it back to clearly
09:34understood basic roles delivered by the biggest players to play those roles.
09:42Championship titles being flipped from one wrestler to another for the sake of a championship
09:46title, cries of swerves that go nowhere, and maybe even the wrestlers who lose them who
09:52were interesting before going down nowhere with that angle.
09:56Would you want to see the WWE Championship treated like a wacky for sake of wacky 24-7
10:03championship?
10:04No, I don't think many of you would.
10:06And that's why sustained title reigns matter.
10:09That's why Roman Reigns having the title as long as he did mattered.
10:12Now is that something that matters in the present?
10:15That's an interesting question we have to ask ourselves.
10:18It's an apples and orange scenario.
10:20What do you think WWE can avoid to make Cody Rhodes as their champion so interesting and
10:27exciting?
10:28Let us know in the comments below.
10:30And as always, thank you for watching.
10:32I don't want to edit it in any capacity.
10:34Don't even edit this part.
