WrestleMania 28: Cody Rhodes Will Use Big Stage to Springboard to Superstardom

If Cody Rhodes is going to leap into the WWE's upper echelon against anyone, it should be the Big Show.

As Rhodes has made perfectly clear over the past couple of weeks, the seven-foot monster has been a doormat for many a Wrestlemania star to get a big push on the biggest stage of wrestling. Show has made a career of being a good soldier in terms of helping put people over and now it's the son of the American Dream's turn to move forward.

Rhodes has gone from spoiled child to his own man and it has won fans over.

He harkens back to another era, from the way he carries himself to the retro Intercontinental Championship belt he has sported. It has won the respect of the fans, who can't help but be amused by his antics as he infuriates the Big Show night in, night out.

Now, he has a match against the former world champion at WrestleMania and it will be his coronation as one of the rising stars within the WWE. Rhodes has had the tendency to float under the radar compared to the company's bigger stars, but with all eyes on this event, the cocky antagonist will slay the giant and put on a show doing it.

Sure, his gimmick has been done a million times, but there always seems to be something fresh about it. His ability to reference history, reminding fans of all of the embarrassing things Big Show has done on the WrestleMania stage, is a segment that has been perfectly executed each time out.

If fans hadn't been paying attention to Rhodes before then, they are now, and once he steps in the ring, they'll see what a talented performer he truly is. He will have to carry this match and will do a great job of selling the entire thing.

This is Rhodes' spotlight and he's going to run with it, taking the victory and running with that fact over the next couple of months.

WrestleMania is the beginning of Rhodes' rise and years from now, we'll look back at another embarrassing moment for the Big Show as the birth of a superstar.