Cody Rhodes' Story Isn't Compelling Enough to Dethrone Roman Reigns' Historic Run

In this new-feeling WWE flirting with a modern golden age classification, the Cody Rhodes story just isn't good enough to be the thing that finally ends Roman Reigns' historic run at the top of pro wrestling.

When looking at the scope of Reigns' 1,000-plus days as champion that could reach Hulk Hogan levels in the history books, it feels like it really takes a special, long-running story to put a wrap on the Bloodline saga. The scope of the run in modern times and logical story connections demands it.

And unfortunately for Rhodes, it's just not him.

In a somewhat cruel twist, this stunningly good Triple H era of WWE in part symbolized by Rhodes' return to the company from AEW actually does him some harm on this topic. Right now, it's just not good enough to be over. Being over with fans and putting up merchandise numbers isn't a good reason for Rhodes to be the guy who takes down Reigns.

Those things worked in the past. John Cena moved numbers and was big with kids, endlessly. That doesn't work for Rhodes when LA Knight does the same. So does CM Punk. Jey Uso, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, and Logan Paul, they're all huge right now, in part because Triple H's storytelling doesn't force the babyfaces to act like wax-figure dorks with no personality.

The key to ending Reigns' run isn't just throwing an over Superstar at him. Plucking one out of the pack like Rhodes and having the challenger win will elicit more of a thank goodness its over from fans when the conclusion to such a saga should demand fans are majorly invested in the outcome and will stick around after it is over.

And to accomplish this, the storytelling from the challenger's perspective needs to be long-running and personal. That whittles it down to a few distinct possibilities:

• Seth Rollins 

• CM Punk

• Jey Uso

• Solo Sikoa

The family ties are interesting. Jey is majorly over as a solo act right now and would provide a fitting end to Reigns. Sikoa getting the bump from doing it would help the Bloodline continue, especially if Paul Heyman is in his corner.

Punk on his own is worthy of the spot, though it really hits the long-running given his involvement in even formulating the Shield and his mentioning Reigns while outside WWE.

And then there's Rollins, the former Architect who remains the only guy to really fluster the Tribal Chief. All of the Shield connections there don't really need explained to even the most casual of fans.

That's, just it, really. If we're talking about looking back on the modern history that is the Bloodline a decade from now, it's infinitely more compelling to look back and see the Architect came back around to curbstomp it out than say, Rhodes came back and did it.

It also requires projecting what's best for all involved after the fact and for fans from a storyline perspective. Thinking about Punk as a heel champion and his upcoming dream list of feuds is pretty amazing. Speculating that ending Reigns' run can finally pull Rollins out of his yearslong babyface purgatory is fantastic.

Granted, this is pro wrestling and if there's time, those at the controls can weave a compelling tale. But the hurdle is a massive one to leap considering WWE exhausted much just getting Rhodes to Reigns for last year's 'Mania.

The story would have to carefully not retread things from last year while avoiding the forehead-smacking hiccups like having him enter so late in the Royal Rumble.

But is there enough juice there to make the leap? Rhodes' journey since losing to Reigns hasn't been a good sign. He had that weird, extended feud with Brock Lesnar where everyone but him seemed to know he was getting betrayed. What could have been a compelling run with the tag titles with Jey went nowhere. Now he's feudless going into the rumble.

After beating Reigns? Rhodes would simply do more of the same, working through a revolving door of challengers. A feud against Randy Orton would be amazing, sure, but the title would lose some luster and probably feel quite a bit like Rollins' run on Raw right now. No wonder, really, why Reigns beat him last year to keep the title scene feeling like a major event and must-see attraction every time it comes around.

So, if the justification is that Rhodes' story is compelling because he came back from AEW...Punk did that, too. If the justification is winning the title his father never did—while that's admirable and intriguing—he doesn't have to win it off Reigns to get that payoff.

Truly, there's just too much working against Rhodes, somewhat ironically, as WWE keeps improving and distancing itself from the competition he left. Given the unique emphasis on long-form storytelling WWE has placed on the Bloodline and Reigns to get to this point, veering away from that on a whim so Rhodes can have his story would be a shocking misstep now.

If there's good news for Rhodes, one old-school-feeling adage will continue to apply—the chase is better than the title run. The babyface he seems adamant playing will never not work in chase mode, so if he has to wait a little while longer to get that satisfying end to his own tale, the fans will be right there with him.

But right now, there's just not enough to proclaim Rhodes as the guy to dethrone Reigns, not with so much good happening around him and some frankly historic-feeling possibilities that better align with the long-running storytelling that got WWE to this point.