Cody Rhodes Is Dangerously Close to Becoming Stale in WWE Just Like He Became in AEW
It's understandable if pro wrestling fans are feeling a sense of déjà vu with Cody Rhodes right now.
After all, this WWE rendition of Rhodes isn't all that different from the All Elite Wrestling version of Rhodes—the version that got super-stale before his departure.
The American Nightmare was red hot upon his return to WWE for a bevy of obvious reasons, chief among those the fact that he helped create the biggest realistic competition to WWE since the WCW days. He had the iconic torn-pec match, Royal Rumble return and the WrestleMania 39 showdown with Roman Reigns as high marks.
But there was always an underlining concern with the big return: Was Rhodes' AEW journey a warning sign?
Looking back on it now, maybe it was. Rhodes was super-over in AEW for all the obvious reasons, too. But in what seemed like a gracious, albeit possibly ill-advised move at the time, he put forth the stipulation he would never challenge for AEW's top title again.
Rhodes honored that stipulation but in doing so, he ripped himself from the main event scene of his "own" promotion. A lack of character change staled him with fans over time. And when it seemed obvious the more hardcore fanbase of AEW would eat up a heel turn to untold levels, he went back to WWE.
There, it feels like interest in Rhodes has started to wane again. He's played the exact same character as his AEW self and it hasn't helped. This is painting with a broad brush, of course, for there have still been small character and storytelling quirks plus excellent promos.
However, it all feels very similar for fans who have watched him since his return, never mind his AEW days.
Much of it just seems to boil down to character, too. What is Cody Rhodes?
He's a blond, red-white-and-blue-wearing superhero character who wanted to win the title his father never did, and he's got loads of pyro. But he's also a "nightmare." He's an underdog, but he is able to spar with the likes of Brock Lesnar. He's savvy enough to help start another wrestling promotion but not aware enough to see Lesnar wanting to "tag" with him before a betrayal when everyone else in the building could see it coming.
Look at guys like Seth Rollins. He's had many, many different iterations on his character while still being Seth Rollins. Even Lesnar, sans Paul Heyman, now has a farmboy-cowboy thing going on that works. Character development doesn't have to be so black and white as turning heel, but it sure feels like Rhodes intentionally keeps himself in this box.
Which brings us to another point—fans can't blame this all on the loss to Reigns, either. How different would a title around his waist make things? If Rhodes had become unified champion, he immediately does what? Has this same feud with Lesnar and otherwise goes on a stereotypical babyface champion run against a long list of expected challengers and little actual character change?
It was never the smart move and this is partially why. At least right now, the unified title means something and feels more akin to a belt in a promotion such as UFC. It's a big deal, a 1,000-plus day deal wrapped up in perhaps the best pro wrestling storyline of all time.
How can anybody fault WWE? Rhodes is Rhodes. If he hit free agency and made it clear he wanted to return, what were the decision-makers going to say? No, they don't want one of the biggest names out there while also doing serious damage to their most direct competition?
But "Rhodes is Rhodes" is also the problem, it seems. His insertion in a family-based storyline and actually ending it never felt right. But he also boxed himself in upon arrival by declaring he only had an interest in the title his father never won, which made it super-predictable when WWE storylined his way out of the newly created title currently around Rollins' waist.
Now, it's likewise painfully obvious Rhodes-Lesnar III is a match on the SummerSlam card on August 5.
Make no mistake, the 37-year-old isn't going to fall back into the midcard and be lost. He's still main-eventing shows and in a marquee feud with Lesnar, one of the all-time greats. It doesn't get much better than that.
In time, maybe Rhodes is the one to beat Reigns anyway. That seems inadvisable when it should probably be a Jey Uso or someone more grounded in the storyline, but don't put it past WWE.
But Rhodes appears to be in a comfort zone, which can frustrate the non-kid portion of the pro wrestling fanbase. It's a John Cena-esque place to be—fans adore him now, but at the time of his runs, the fatigue was real.
If this is the sort of role Rhodes wants, then that's great. It's an undeniable fact that he's bigger now than he ever was with WWE in the past, having traveled a Drew McIntyre-styled path and otherwise outside of the promotion before coming back.
But it's also undeniable there's a staleness factor building that is hard to ignore. A lack of change and growth worked in the 1980s and even the 1990s. Look how much a change helped Reigns.
Rhodes is again getting close to the staleness point that creates disinterest, and it will be hard to blame fans for falling into the same rut again if there continues to be an inflexibility of character and lack of meaningful development.
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