The Cody Rhodes Era is Over in WWE After Sami Zayn Loss at Night of Champions

WWE desperately needed something fresh before SummerSlam and found it: The Cody Rhodes era ended at the hands of Sami Zayn at Night of Champions. 

Talk about a fresh-feeling jolt of electricity for the WWE fanbase, too. Few would have predicted that Rhodes would drop a title so soon before SummerSlam. Even fewer would have suggested that, after more than a decade, WWE would finally pull the proverbial trigger on a Zayn title run.

Alas, there it was on Saturday from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in one of the better moments of the last few years of pro wrestling: 

And in the immediate aftermath, the decision certainly makes more sense than one might think. To WWE's credit, much of Night of Champions was about the promotion seemingly admitting some of its wrongs and going in new directions. Jey Uso, thankfully, didn't beat Oba Femi. Rhodes dropped the title. 

Out with the archaic, in with the new. Uso was a merchandise machine, but the act in the ring was tired. Rhodes' last few title runs had been a blur of Raw-like feuds and moments with repeated outside celebrity meddling in his WrestleMania moments. 

Kudos go to Rhodes, really, for not overstaying his welcome with a doesn't work for me, brother approach to his character as the main champion. He's now dropped the title to Drew McIntyre and Zayn in unforgettable moments in recent times. 

Of course, the trick now is hoping that Rhodes doesn't get the title back off Zayn in a hurry. Not long after dropping the title to McIntyre, he semi-controversially took it back for his 'Mania program (that went on to be marred by guys with names like Jelly Roll). 

With any luck, this time will be different. This is toothpaste out of the tube now. There's an organic, fresh and deserved feel to an extended Zayn title run that is very Daniel Bryan-like. He's got a decade-plus of goodwill that extends far longer than his still-fresh and memorable run with the Bloodline. 

Speaking of Roman Reigns, it probably makes sense that Rhodes program-hops a bit and ends up back in the Bloodline's orbit. There's a lot of meat left on the proverbial bone there, and if we're not talking about an immediate SummerSlam resolution, it's something that could be stretched to next year's WrestleMania. A break from Rhodes completely might be best, but the top summer event probably needs him involved in some capacity. 

There's also the specter of CM Punk hanging over things. WWE has that in the back pocket for whenever it wants, really. Maybe now is that time, as Punk presumably nears his return ahead of the biggest event of the summer.

PS: What happened to Randy Orton?

Zayn, meanwhile, can logically get into an immediate feud with Gunther. The groundwork is already there. Gunther never got pinned, so he's got beef with the result. He got physical with Nick Aldis in a backstage segment during the Night of Champions post-show.

There's already a modern history of problems between the two. Keep in mind, Zayn was a distant third as a possible winner on Saturday, considering, as he's sure to remind everyone, Gunther is the guy who retired John Cena.

Looking even further ahead, maybe Zayn ends up being the perfect candidate for Femi to take down eventually. Reigns had hinted at a title feud with Femi at 'Mania, but even the most hardcore of online fans would have a hard time complaining if it was Femi who wound up ending Zayn's reign. 

No matter how exact these musings end up being in the long term, nobody can steal this booking win from Triple H. Literal years of near misses for Zayn and a rapidly deteriorating main-event scene led to a perfect strike. 

Now, there's a renewed reason for fans to tune in each week and see what happens. There's an underdog-like champion who actually feels like an underdog and has an established trust with fans. It's compelling stuff that won't devolve into the same-old-thing title run that Rhodes had, which felt new-gen-Cena-like for a while now. 

Sometimes, the word "era" gets thrown around too much. It's practically a joke from Triple H at this point. 

But this? It feels like WWE is admitting some issues and starting over in some regards. There needs to be a proper follow-up, sure, but it's hard to imagine a better exclamation point to signify that things are changing for the better.