The Risk of Roman Reigns Overshadowing Cody Rhodes and More WWE, AEW Quick Takes

WWE needed to hit a home run with SummerSlam 2024 in order to regain momentum heading into the fall, and with several championships changing hands and multiple stories moving forward, the event can't be considered anything other than a success.

Roman Reigns' return in particular provides SmackDown with a massive boost and lays the groundwork for The Bloodline's next chapter. Concurrently, it puts Cody Rhodes in a precarious position to potentially be overshadowed as WWE's No. 1 babyface.

How he and Reigns will coexist at the top of the blue brand in the months ahead will be the key story to follow, specifically how it pertains to how Rhodes is portrayed as undisputed WWE champion and whether he takes a backseat to the original Tribal Chief.

Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest both being exiled from The Judgment Day is an equally exciting hook heading into the post-SummerSlam Raw and the timing couldn't have been better. The group has been a major focal point of the program for the past two years and long overdue for a significant shakeup.

This installment of Quick Takes will examine the excellent execution of the latest Judgment Day drama, All Elite Wrestling's most compelling character right now, which SmackDown star should be in line for a heel turn, and more.

Cody Rhodes at Risk of Being Overshadowed as WWE's Top Babyface

Cody Rhodes has been clearly defined as WWE's top babyface since returning to the promotion two years ago. Although it took him longer than expected to finally be crowned world champion, his popularity never wavered and he has remained in a prominent spot atop the roster.

It's part of what made his rivalry with Roman Reigns so special. Their dynamic as WWE's biggest babyface and heel respectively was easy to invest in, but Reigns going babyface starting at SummerSlam will put Rhodes at a real risk of being overshadowed as undisputed WWE champion.

Of course, having two wildly popular babyfaces on the same show is a good problem for WWE to have, but it does beg the question of how it intends to navigate these tricky waters with the two of them in the months ahead.

Reigns will be beloved in his new role regardless of how his storyline with The Bloodline pans out, but WWE must tread lightly with Rhodes to ensure his title reign doesn't automatically play second fiddle.

As long as he has the prestigious prize in his possession, Rhodes must be positioned as an equal to Reigns. Creating credible heels will also be a challenge, but keeping the lead babyfaces on a level playing field is first and foremost.

Bayley Will Return to Form in Chase Mode

Bayley's recent WWE Women's Championship reign will go down as a disappointment, but through no fault of her own.

The 2024 women's Royal Rumble winner rode a wave of momentum into WrestleMania 40 and emerged as the new champ following a stellar match with Iyo Sky. However, it almost seemed as if WWE didn't have the slightest clue what to do with her from there.

She had a handful of solid title defenses against the likes of Naomi, Tiffany Stratton and Piper Niven, but nothing about her reign stood out as special in the slightest. The company failed her in that sense, but that doesn't mean she can't bounce back in a major way.

Bayley has typically done her best work while in chase mode as a babyface. Her NXT stint was a prime example of that as well as early on in her main roster run.

The most effective use of Bayley post-SummerSlam—beyond the inevitable rematch with Nia Jax for the belt—would be possible programs with Stratton and Naomi. Rekindling her rivalry with a heel Bianca Belair is also an intriguing option.

Bayley may benefit from being outside of the championship mix for a bit, and once she regains the gold down the road, better booking is a must.

Heel Adam Page Is AEW's Most Compelling Character Right Now

The build for this year's installment of AEW All In has far exceeded last year's, largely due to more in-depth storylines and matches being announced earlier in advance.

Despite not having a logical direction headed into in the event as of now, Adam Page has quickly become the most compelling character on AEW TV at the moment.

His extra aggression and intensity have helped flesh out his heel turn and motivations for wanting to go rogue in the first place. He's established that he has unfinished business with Swerve Strickland and will rest at nothing until he gets the revenge he feels he deserves.

Even his recent storyline setbacks (losing Blood and Guts, failing to win the men's Owen Hart Cup, being beaten by Darby Allin on Dynamite) have proved to be his greatest strengths. The idea should be for his shortcomings to culminate in him reaching his breaking point and wrecking havoc on the roster.

Page scoring that elusive victory over Strickland soon to become AEW world champion would be the ultimate endgame to his outstanding character arc.

Bianca Belair Is Ready for Heel Turn

Making Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill a permanent pairing post-WrestleMania 40 served as the perfect introduction for the latter on WWE's main roster.

Their rapid rise to the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship wasn't the least bit surprising considering there isn't much of a division to defend against, and losing the belts shortly thereafter to Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn prevented them from elevating the titles at all.

Now that the dominant duo find themselves spinning their wheels as they look to reclaim tag title gold, it's high time for a key development in their ongoing story, which will undoubtedly lead to a one-on-one bout between them down the road.

Cargill was a natural heel during her entire time in AEW, but it's shockingly been even longer since Belair last portrayed an antagonist. The EST of WWE betraying The Storm out of jealousy is the most logical route to take with them.

It will make more of an impact if it happens on the sooner side, including Montez Ford joining his wife on-screen and becoming a heel unit on SmackDown.

Both Belair and Ford are underutilized in their current roles and making an enemy out of Cargill would resolve that.

Judgment Day Shakeup Couldn't Have Come at a Better Time

The Judgment Day has dominated Raw for the past two-plus years, but the only way it was going to evolve was by shaking things up considerably. That just so happened to be Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley getting the boot at SummerSlam.

Both betrayals have been teased for months and played out in phenomenal fashion; first with Dominik Mysterio siding with Liv Morgan over Ripley, followed by Finn Bálor costing Priest the World Heavyweight Championship.

The Judgment Day can continue to exist with Bálor at the helm and Dominik, JD McDonagh and Carlito by his side, but the real money with the faction splitting up will be with Priest and Ripley breaking out as babyfaces.

They've already been endearing themselves to the audience as of late, and their losses at SummerSlam simply cement them in their new roles. They're also in prime position to be two of the biggest stars that the Raw brand builds around and reach new levels of stardom.

The Judgment Day's demise is Raw's Bloodline-equivalent angle that will make Monday nights must-see for the foreseeable future.

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.