Cody Rhodes Must Be Careful to Avoid Plummeting Into Old-School Roman Reigns Range

It might not seem like it just yet, but WWE sits in dangerous territory with the current Cody Rhodes saga.

Fittingly enough, past mistakes made with his WrestleMania 39 opponent, Roman Reigns, should serve as a major warning sign, complete with big flashing red lights.

Right now, Rhodes sits in the honeymoon phase. He's back from injury, one he so memorably fought through in a brutal match while half his body was purple and bruised from the torn pectoral muscle. That came on the heels of his epic return after a stint away from WWE, wrestling globally and helping found All Elite Wrestling.

But there isn't much time before the honeymoon phase wears off, and so far, everything about his return from injury has been as by the books predictable as it gets. He returned at the Rumble and won. His first big promo on Raw after the win hit the expected points, talking about the journey since the injury and his family.

Predictable in pro wrestling can work very, very well. But in this instance, predictable from Rhodes is going to make fans feel like he is the hand-picked company guy. That could remove agency from fans and create a backlash.

Look at Reigns himself. He's on one of the most memorable title runs ever while doing amazing character work. But that only came to fruition after he listened to the fans and went heel. Before that? He main-evented multiple Manias to so-so fan reactions because the general vibe was he was the hand-picked top guy shoved down the collective throats of fans at every turn no matter what they said.

It won't take long for Rhodes to flirt with similar territory. And yes, much of this is because of the unicorn that is the story of Sami Zayn and the Bloodline.

The tale is, after all, one of the best pro wrestling stories of all time. One only has to see how captivated fans were and the massive pops to sequences after the main event of the Royal Rumble to understand how special this moment is for WWE and fans.

WWE itself told us quite a bit at the Royal Rumble on this topic by expressing an understanding of the situation—Rhodes' rumble win went on first, letting the storyline with Reigns, The Usos and Zayn end the show.

This isn't necessarily advocating for Zayn to be the one who challenges Reigns at Mania and dethrones him, sweet as it would be. It's not even necessarily advocating for Reigns to defend one belt each night, main-eventing Night 1 against Zayn then Rhodes on Night 2.

But it is begging WWE to handle things well enough to avoid the backlash. Rhodes is in an unfortunately unlucky position right now to have his tale cross over or intersect with one of the best storylines of all time.

Rhodes' story, though, is one that is quite special, too. He left WWE, worked around the globe to amazing results, and then helped create the biggest direct competition to WWE since WCW.

WWE has to present it this way, though, and there isn't a lot of time to get it right. It can't just be Rhodes returns (30th entry in the rumble, no less), cuts promos about winning his father's title and is the one to dethrone one of the most prestigious runs of all time. All the while, Zayn gets put in, say, a tag title match at best (good story, but rough by comparison). It could end up feeling inauthentic, especially at a time WWE has felt refreshing and more fan-request-oriented under the direction of a Triple H-led creative.

Botch the storytelling with a by-the-books path and things might start to feel similar not only to the babyface struggles of Reigns for years, but Rhodes' own exit in AEW. In the latter, fans were mild on a Rhodes character who seemed to need a heel role to wildly win fans over, only to remain babyface until the end.

One has to wonder if the Rhodes coronation is better off waiting until an event like SummerSlam or next year's Mania. A slow burn on this comeback story and eventual babyface triumph doesn't need to be rushed. A potential Zayn upset at Mania would help create one of the most-hated modern heels possible for the guy who takes the titles off him (Gunther, perhaps?). Rhodes with the belts wouldn't feel all that different from, say, a WWE where Drew McIntyre is the top champion.

That's where a lot of the potential Rhodes backlash will emerge—the what-ifs missed. Not rewarding the hottest storyline fans are most invested in, going away from a possible Daniel Bryan "Yes Movement" moment. Not showcasing to a more casual non-wrestling Mania audience what peak pro wrestling is all about.

Rhodes is undoubtedly talented enough and with an amazing built-in story to avoid this pitfall. But what has got the ball rolling so far hasn't totally signaled he and/or WWE will. There's a tightrope to walk here, or else his sudden ascension to the top of WWE could lose steam and quickly start going in the wrong direction.