WWE Superstar Study: Analyzing the State of Cody Rhodes' Character

The vast majority of wrestling fans can see it: Cody Rhodes is a big-time superstar in the making. 

He has all the physical tools to one day reach the top of the WWE, and it’s generally a matter of when, not if, he’ll get there. 

Of course, a lot of this depends on the creative team, which hasn’t exactly been kind to Rhodes recently. Why, I have no idea. 

But let’s examine what’s been going on with Rhodes and his booking in this week’s Superstar Study. 

Where He Has Been

In August 2011, Rhodes won the Intercontinental Championship by defeating Ezekiel Jackson and would go on to have a short-lived rivalry with his former protégé and Legacy stablemate, Ted DiBiase, defeating him in an Intercontinental title match at Night of Champions. 

At the same time, Rhodes began a feud with former mentor Randy Orton, with the two trading TV wins (Rhodes going up 2-1) until Orton removed Rhodes’ mask, attacked him with the bell and legitimately busted Rhodes open following Rhodes’ second win. 

Rhodes returned the following week, and while his feud with Orton was still ongoing, he successfully defended his Intercontinental title on multiple occasions, including at Hell in a Cell when he reintroduced the retro, all-white title design. 

The Orton-Rhodes feud continued, as Orton defeated Rhodes at Vengeance and again on SmackDown, ending their feud and breaking Rhodes’ mask in the process. This would result in Rhodes returning on Raw 10 days later without his mask, ending his run as the emotionally disturbed, masked character. 

Rhodes would go on to participate in a five-on-five match at Survivor Series, where he and Wade Barrett would win the bout as the last two men standing for the heel side. Afterward, Rhodes transitioned into a feud with now-WWE announcer Booker T. 

Their rivalry started when Rhodes attacked Booker T a number of times, but quickly ended after Rhodes successfully defended his Intercontinental title against Booker at WWE TLC and on the first SmackDown of 2012. 

Rhodes would then go on to last more than 40 minutes in the 2012 Royal Rumble, but fail to win it, and would also participate in SmackDown’s Elimination Chamber Match in February. He failed to win that match as well, but eliminated Big Show from it, igniting a feud between the two. 

The Rhodes/Show feud initially centered around Rhodes showing embarrassing clips of Show’s WrestleMania losses and costing Show his TV matches, eventually resulting in a match between the two at WrestleMania 28. 

Where He Is Now 

At Mania, Big Show got his revenge on Rhodes when he defeated him to end his eight-month Intercontinental Championship reign and then flipped the script by costing Rhodes his matches and showing embarrassing clips of him. 

Rhodes would go on a short losing streak (a result of Big Show’s distractions), but he received his Intercontinental Championship rematch at Extreme Rules. 

In a Tables Match, Rhodes was declared the winner and new Intercontinental Champion after Show inadvertently slipped and broke a table. 

The unique finish to the match was obviously done to make Show look strong, but it did get the belt back on Rhodes, who probably never should have lost it in the first place. 

Where I Think He’s Headed 

Aside from Big Show’s short title reign, Rhodes has held the Intercontinental Championship for the better part of a year now, and I’d expect that to continue. 

Show never seemed to fit right as IC Champion, and now that Rhodes has his title back, I think that he will find a way to retain it on either an episode of SmackDown or at the upcoming Over the Limit pay-per-view (probably in fluke fashion), thus ending his feud with Big Show. 

From there, what does he do? 

The brand split doesn’t mean much these days, but I still think that Rhodes is going to end up feuding with someone from SmackDown over the Intercontinental Championship. 

There aren’t very many options for Rhodes, but Sin Cara is scheduled to return to the blue brand on their tour of Mexico later this month, so I think it would make a lot of sense for him to immediately be thrust into an Intercontinental title feud with Rhodes upon his return. 

Rhodes and Sin Cara have crossed paths numerous times in the past, but never had a full-length feud, so I think it’s very likely that we see a rivalry between these two shortly after Sin Cara comes back. 

If not, Rhodes is likely going to find some other random mid-card baby face to feud with, as it looks like Alberto Del Rio and perhaps even Christian will be keeping Sheamus busy for the foreseeable future. 

I know that Rhodes is one of the most talented superstars in the WWE, but he seems to be stuck in a tough spot between the upper mid-card and the main event without any real place to go. 

Once his feud with Big Show is over with, it’s going to be hard to find him a perfect rival given how horribly most of the WWE’s mid-card faces are booked. 

Where I Think He Should Be Headed 

I’ve devised a plan for Rhodes that I think would turn him into a major force in the WWE. 

Now that Rhodes has regained the Intercontinental Championship, the WWE has to use that as an advantage rather than a prop. I’d start by giving Rhodes another ridiculously lengthy reign and letting him hold onto that title beyond the summer. 

But—and here’s the important part—I’d catapult him into the main event while he’s still holding the belt. 

With rumors swirling that Money in the Bank will be moving to SummerSlam, I’d start by having Rhodes win that match and the briefcase while he’s still Intercontinental Champion. 

What’s next? He cashes in (whether it be on CM Punk for the WWE Championship, Sheamus for the World Heavyweight title or someone else entirely) and becomes World Champion. 

This would put Rhodes over in a huge way because not only would he be a simultaneous holder of the Money in the Bank briefcase and the Intercontinental title, but he’d also hold the IC and World titles at the same time as well. 

Rhodes could then either lose the IC title through a fluke loss or relinquish it, but that doesn’t really matter. The bottom line is that he’d be a dual World champion. 

I think it’s clear that the WWE has big things in store for Rhodes, but this would prove that that’s the case once and for all. 

Final Thoughts 

Rhodes is going to be a World champion at some point, and that time should come soon. 

He continues to deliver in matches and in promos, yet he hasn’t been able to make that permanent jump to the main event. 

I think it’ll happen, but that depends on what the creative team comes up with for Rhodes over the course of 2012. 

Hopefully, it’s something good, because if any rising WWE star deserves to be at the top of the company, it’s Cody Rhodes.

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