Real Talk, There’s No Reason Cody Should Be Over. Someone Explain It.

[TheGreatShowtime]

Cody is following the John Cena blueprint. Appeal to kids, present a character that’s white meat with a pinch of edge, do the Make a Wish circuit and let the machine do it’s job in bridging you over to Hollywood.

I doubt Cody cares about being booed by a bunch of neckbeards, because that’s what neckbeards do. As long as the kids and woman are on his side, he’s as good a gold.

Cody will never be a Hollywood star with his lisp and white trash neck tattoo

 

[Larry]

Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley both. Brock but he probably shouldn't count.

I think theres a difference with both

Drew was released. WWE’s decision. He got over, came back.. went through NXT, worked his way up to the main roster and went to work. WWE was heavily involved in rebuilding him to the paying audience


Bobby, Iirc left to pursue MMA. He was over in a big way his first stint but he simply had other interest. Once he returned, he was in about the same position he left under. Definitely didn’t see instant fanfare, it took MVP and the hurt business to really put him over the edge. Again, WWE was still pretty involved in rebuilding him to the paying/general audience.


But with Cody, it’s a little different. He walked out on the company after asking to be released. Became a megastar outside of it, and then walked back into the company as the immediate biggest face on the roster. WWE had nothing to do with any of it. the fanfare he gained outside of WWE immediately translated. They followed him right back into the company. Again, WWE had no hand in rebuilding him in the audiences eyes. He built himself


I don’t think we’ve seen something like that on that level before. Guys have left, raised their status and returned in better position that before. We’ve been seeing that forever. Not really on the level cody did it though. nikka left as Stardust and returned in Cena position 5 years later. That’s kinda nuts

 

[Bleedin Gums Murphy]

No matter who his daddy was, Cody was always an in-house wwe product, so he’s always had wwe (mainstream) sensibilities/appeal. He left, got street-cred with the “Cool” fans, and now he’s back where he belongs where kids can adore him ($$$), and grownups can enjoy him without shame.

 

[MushroomX]

I basically chalk it up to the Dale Earnhardt Sr. / Jr. effect.

Dad was a legend in the sport while the Son was decent, but at least has shown growth in terms of being their own man and not relying on the shadow. Yet because they are a Legacy in the business, the die hards will cheer for them because it reminds them of the old man.

 

[Sghost597]

Cody was pretty over in the Rumble. Probably the 1st time in a long time the Company favorite didn't get booed out of the arena.

 

[NYChase718]

Kissin babies and huggin fat chicks

 

[King Sun]

i been thinking about this all month. I believe he represents the mediocre cacs so they love him. He doesn’t do anything special or unique, he talks about dusty all the time and that’s it. Lmaooo. May as well call him Cody Aprille Jr.

You answered your own question. He's an non offensive MAGA thats why hes over.

 

[g-ice]

i don't have a problem with his current run, his AEW promos were terrible and self indulgent, at least we know WWE aint allowing that kind of free reshot.

People not mentioning the elephant in the room. His wife and entourage coming out which was the most pointless shyt ever when he was in AEW. That shyt makes a difference imo

 

[Zebruh]

He did the work away from WWE. Pretty much it.

 

[MenacingMonk]

*fixed

There was no AEW rub lol

But yeahhh him joining Elite/BC did wonders for him and it took Hangman Page from a bum ass nobody into a wrestling star.

Hard to say where he’d be without them because his TNA run was ass and would have probably killed his career without them.

Hangman didn’t get over until he was in AEW. He was basically a lackey until he ventured off on his own.

 

[Hey_zeus]

He out worked everyone

 

[motionlessZombie]

I'll speak for myself...

I hated Cody when he left, he was corny and his look sucked. I loved Dashing Cody Rhodes as a character, I loved undashing, but he was IC title ceiling to me period. When he left I was done and glad he left..

In short though...he did the work. The same way that drew McIntyre, and Bobby lashley were more over when they got back...there is a respect fans have for people who have done the work and come back or like AJ styles, show up in WWE for the first time. Fans respect the seasoned people who have done the work. And, WWE presents him AS A BIG DEAL. Combine those things and you have a main eventer.

You saved me a lot of typing. I was going to say the same thing. But let me add that fans have already turned on him since and before he returned at the Rumble and won. I said this was going to happen. You have the hottest angle in a long time in WWE history with Roman and Sami and they just shoehorned Cody in the WM main event with no build up whatsoever. HHH is doing the same thing Vince would do with Cena and eventually Theory if he had never stepped down. That I'm doing it for Dusty shtick is only gonna go so far. Then what? He should've won the 2024 Rumble, win the IC or US title as a test run to see how the fans react and stay invested in him. Feud with Gunther, the reincarnated Hurt Business or Rollins, then go from there. More power to Cody and his fans. And also you can blame Vince for having Roman be champion for so long in hopes that the Rock would show up for WM the past 2 years. Don't rely on him. He ain't coming back. Time to move on from him.

 

[BrehWyatt]

He's a more likeable Miz.

It helps that Dusty is his dad, but he seems to be able to deliver very heartfelt and relatable promos and given that he left WWE basically to prove he was much more important and marketable than the WWE ever thought he'd be and succeeded .... I was at the Rumble and it was refreshing and frankly stunning to see how invested the crowd was into Cody winning it when it was BY FAR the most obvious result of the night.

At the end of the day, beneath the suit, neck tattoo and all that is a man who was not supposed to be the big deal that he is despite always believing he could be.

I'd imagine that resonates with the millions and millions of people who are wrestling fans, and in general we tend to revolt against hand-picked/shoehorned "top guys" in favor of the people we know have the talent but for whatever reason the company won't give them the platform we feel they deserved.

Cody went out, did the work and earned the spot he was never meant to have. And fittingly enough, he's going to WrestleMania to face someone who always had that spot saved for him once he decided to enter this world.

It still should be Jey, but this story can write itself.

 

[Silkk]

Hangman didn’t get over until he was in AEW. He was basically a lackey until he ventured off on his own.

Lol Hangman literally got over the moment he joined Bullet Club.

 

[King Kai]

I mean it's pretty obvious from WWE's perspective why you would try a Main Event Cody run.

- Roman running out of people to feud with
- Tons of potential feuds for Cody after Roman like Orton or AJ etc

I think Cody is pretty mediocre even with the better presentation but I'm interested in seeing how this goes.