WWE: 10 Possible Paths to the Top for Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes is one of the WWE's top superstars.

Well, at least his skill set makes me think think that. But the booking? Eh, not so much.

Rhodes has been a victim of the creative team's terrible booking philosophy as of late, and though he's got the talent to be one of the biggest stars in the industry, he's been suck in the upper midcard for a while now.

Though things are looking bleak for him at the moment, I still think that Rhodes is destined to be a major player in the WWE. Soon.

The only question is how he'll get there.

Here are 10 possible paths to the top of the WWE for Cody Rhodes.

10. Turn Him Baby Face

Cody Rhodes started off his WWE career as a baby face way back in 2007, but he never seemed like a natural fit in that role.

He was too generic, too ordinary and too green at the time to really make his mark as a good guy.

Now, because of that, I don't want to see him as a face. But I think he's good enough in the ring and on the mic to transition into that role and do it effectively.

So, why even list this as a possibility if I don't really want to see it happen?

Well, just look at the top four full-time stars in the WWE: John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton and Sheamus.

What do those four have in common? They're all baby faces.

They show that it's a lot easier to rise to the top of the WWE and stay there if you're a face, and it's for that reason that I think Rhodes could (let me stress that "could" part) eventually need a face turn to become a top-five star.

9. Give Him His Own Talk Show

I know that this may not really seem like something big, but just me hear me out.

WWE "talk shows," while they may not seem like they have a place in wrestling, have actually led to some of the biggest moments in wrestling history.

Just look at Chris Jericho's "The Highlight Reel," Roddy Piper's "Piper Pit," Edge's "Cutting Edge" and Christian's "Peep Show" and you'll see that they all played instrumental roles in those guys having successful careers and being involved in intriguing storylines.

So, why not give Cody Rhodes his own talk show?

This, of course, doesn't ensure that he will rise to the top of the WWE, but as evidenced by guys like Jericho and Edge, it can definitely help.

The most recent example of talk show success is when Jericho's "Highlight Reel" with Shawn Michaels in 2008 led to the best feud of the year and a great series of matches between the two.

Maybe the same could happen for Rhodes.

8. Pair Him Up with John Laurinaitis (In Some Way)

John Laurinaitis now controls both Raw and Smackdown, and at least storyline-wise, he's a very powerful man.

He has the power to hand out title shots at his own discretion, and he can do just about anything he wants whenever he wants to do it.

Laurinaitis has already used his power to put a number of heels in favorable positions, and I could see him doing the same for Cody Rhodes.

While I don't want to see Rhodes become so attached to Laurinaitis that he also becomes overshadowed, I do think that some sort of working relationship between the two could benefit Rhodes in a big way.

More title shots, better booking and main event matches?

That sounds like a great way to have Rhodes climb the WWE ladder.

7. Make Him the New Legend Killer

Although Booker T competed at WrestleMania 28, his last feud may very well have been his rivalry with Cody Rhodes that ended earlier this year.

Of course, Rhodes is now feuding with another WWE legend and future Hall of Famer, The Big Show.

See where I'm going with this?

I'm not saying that Rhodes has to literally end the in-ring careers of legends, but it could be fun to see him as a 2012 version of "The Legend Killer."

Quite simply, Rhodes would do what Randy Orton once did and take out any legends who happen to get in his path.

It would be a ripoff, sure. But it could be a nice way to get Rhodes over as the up-and-coming heel who wants to beat the WWE's legends or established superstars in order to rise to the top.  

6. Have Him Lead a Stable

Cody Rhodes has been a member of a stable (Legacy), but he's never actually led one.

And to be honest, I think he'd make a phenomenal stable leader a) because he can wrestle and b) because he can work the mic.

An idea I've always had in mind is grouping four or five of the WWE's most talented young wrestlers (think right around age 30 or below) together and having them challenge the WWE's top dogs.

It's kind of like the Nexus, only with more talent.

You'd have Rhodes as the leader, along with guys like Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, The Miz and any other young midcard heels (or face who would make a good heel).

The idea behind the faction is to have, as most stables should, a World title threat, a midcard title threat and a tag team that takes over the tag division.

I'd love to see a stable like that in any form that makes sense, but more importantly, I'd love to see Rhodes as the leader.

5. A Switch to Raw

I'd rather not get into the whole "there's no point to the brand split" debate right now, so let me just say that I think the brand extension does still matter, even if it is just slightly.

That being said, I think Cody Rhodes could use a move to Raw.

He's been on SmackDown since moving to the blue brand in the 2010 WWE draft, and a change of scenery could be just what he needs to rise up the ranks further than he's been able to on SmackDown.

While Rhodes has progressed well on the blue brand, Raw is still considered the flagship show, and he could become the top full-time heel on Monday nights.

Brock Lesnar and Chris Jericho are there now, but Lesnar will be gone in less than a year while Jericho may be in and out of the WWE or completely gone by next year as well.

That gives Rhodes a great opportunity to become Raw's No. 1 heel and, eventually, the best antagonist in the WWE.

4. A Feud with John Cena

You wanna get to the top of the WWE? You go after its top stars.

This is something that's rather obvious, and actually, it's something that Cody Rhodes has already done on SmackDown.

He's feuded with Randy Orton and Big Show and has had a number of run-ins with Sheamus while on the blue brand, but it's now time to go after the WWE's biggest fish: John Cena.

For Rhodes, it doesn't get any bigger than a potential feud with the face of the company, and we haven't seen any extended interaction between the two since Rhodes was a part of Legacy in 2009.

I don't know about you, but this is one of the feuds I most want to see in 2012 because it's a classic case of the brash, young up-and-comer taking on the world's biggest baby face.

Cena will need a fresh feud once he's done with Brock Lesnar, and a rivalry with a mid-carder might be a nice change for him.

3. Have Him End CM Punk's Lengthy WWE Championship Reign

CM Punk has held the WWE Championship since Survivor Series in 2011, which means he's nearing the six-month mark of his title reign.

I still think that Punk will hold the title for several more months, but somebody has to eventually take it from him.

That someone? Cody Rhodes.

As is the case with John Cena, Rhodes and Punk have never feuded, and a potential rivalry between two of the WWE's most well-rounded superstars is something I'd really like to see in 2012.

While I like Punk as the champ, a title run that lasts a year or more could become stale, and in order to prevent that from happening, I'd have him drop the WWE Championship to Rhodes within the next four or five months.

A series of matches between the two could be awesome, and it would put Rhodes over in a big way if he were to end one of the longest World title reigns in recent WWE history.

2. Winning Money in the Bank and Successfully Cashing in

As we all know, every superstar who has ever cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase has done so successfully and thus, used it to win a World title.

We're nearing the 2012 Money in the Bank pay-per-view (it's on July 15th), and to be honest, I think there are only a few options for the potential winners of the match(es).

Guys like Dolph Ziggler and Wade Barrett come to mind, and of course, so does Cody Rhodes.

I really do think that the likeliest two winners right now are Rhodes and/or Barrett, though, and judging by the history of the Money in the Bank, I also think it's likely that the winners of the 2012 MITB matches will go on to become World champions.

Winning the World title through a quick Money in the Bank cash-in would mesh perfectly with Rhodes' cowardly heel character and could help catapult him to superstardom.

That is, however, banking on the WWE booking him well afterward, which we all know is far from a certainty. 

1. Cody Rhodes = 2013 Royal Rumble Winner

I can already see the headline: "Cody Rhodes wins the 2012 Royal Rumble."

The last two Royal Rumble winners, Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio, weren't bona fide main-eventers at the time of their big wins, and Rhodes finds himself in a similar situation right now.

Clearly, Rhodes is a star in the making, but he's teetering on the edge of the main event and needs something big to push him all the way to the World title scene.

That something big could be winning the Royal Rumble.

The WWE knows it needs to create new stars, and since it looks like we're going to get a WrestleMania 29 card that features a number of legends again, it's likely that—like with WrestleMania 28—the creative team can take a chance by putting someone who isn't a clear-cut top star in the main event.

I'd love for that guy to be Cody Rhodes.

He's one hell of a talent, and he deserves to get a huge push, a push that would mean so much more if it happened at WrestleMania time.

Drake Oz is the WWE Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions (to be answered in the B/R Mailbag) on Formspring.