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Despite his triumphant return and the incredible buzz around him and finishing his story by winning WWE's Undisputed Universal Champion, there are significant issues that WWE needs to address to truly capitalize on his star power. From creative booking dilemmas to character development challenges, Cody's journey in WWE has been anything but smooth but after WrestleMania 40 things have changed. Join us as we explore the factors contributing to the problem, analyze the potential solutions, and predict what the future holds for the American Nightmare. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more such videos.
You can also visit our site: https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe
#codyrhodes #tripleh #wwe #wrestling #sportskeedawrestling
Play now to find out - https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/brainbuster-wwe-player-guessing-game
Despite his triumphant return and the incredible buzz around him and finishing his story by winning WWE's Undisputed Universal Champion, there are significant issues that WWE needs to address to truly capitalize on his star power. From creative booking dilemmas to character development challenges, Cody's journey in WWE has been anything but smooth but after WrestleMania 40 things have changed. Join us as we explore the factors contributing to the problem, analyze the potential solutions, and predict what the future holds for the American Nightmare. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more such videos.
You can also visit our site: https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe
#codyrhodes #tripleh #wwe #wrestling #sportskeedawrestling
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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.