The Fans Need a Break From WWE's Cody Rhodes

Over the years, many of the criticisms thrown at names like prime John Cena or Roman Reigns apply to a certain other name: 

Cody Rhodes. 

For whatever reason, Rhodes doesn't get the same heat, though. Maybe it's the name. Maybe it's the goodwill garnered by dramatically boosting the sport and options for wrestlers in the industry with AEW. Maybe he's just plucky and likable (sans the neck tattoo thing). 

Regardless of the reason, Rhodes needs a break. And the fans need a break from Rhodes. 

Zoom out. We're not that far removed from serious, justifiable outrage over WWE throwing Pat McAfee and a host of other garbage around the Rhodes-Randy Orton WrestleMania feud. It was a program that should've been for the ages, a true pro wrestling main event that looped in decades of history, story beats and character developments. 

But Rhodes and Orton just got that chance in recent weeks, leading up to the payoff at Crown Jewel. 

And it stunk. 

Maybe that's a tad harsh. But it didn't do much, either. One could argue, minus a three-second eye-roller of a thing with Tiffany Stratton, that it was the worst thing on the entire card. 

Worst, because fans expected more. But it wound up as just more of the same. Same old spots, same old pacing, same old wishy-washy face-heel stuff. 

The outrage over the meddling and crap around the 'Mania program was justified. But if this had been the payoff anyway, it would've just been another match on the two-night card at best, or a legacy-smudging event at worst. 

That's a major indictment on Orton at this stage of his career, no doubt. But it's a really nice summation of Rhodes as a whole frankly, one could argue, since his AEW days. 

There have been a lot of stagnant, skippable periods of Rhodes' WWE journey since his return. The slog to actually winning it all on the "journey" and then the Cena-lite title run were mired with little odd things, like winning tag titles with Jey Uso. Endless teases of heel turns that aren't actually heel turns, but just a really angry good guy who is conflicted. 

Oversaturation is the word. Now, Rhodes is on the Hollywood screen with the Street Fighter movie (probably a fun popcorn flick, but the 6.1 IMDB rating is pretty fitting for Rhodes), he has his podcast for whatever reason and all the other random stuff. All this, while not even holding a title. If one were to flick on any screen right now, odds are one would see Rhodes before any other pro wrestler. 

It's just too much. And it's been too much for a long time. The worst part? The air of stubbornness around Rhodes' unwillingness to go heel will remain, even upon his return after a hiatus. If he goes away for a while, only to come back with the same old character, the hype will fade almost instantly. 

The heel turn isn't hard to pull off, either. Fans could yearn for a "Homelander Cody" sort of thing. But "Corporate Cody" might be even better. A nepo-like businessman who is a stand-in for the shareholders and always bringing up his friends at TKO and the ratings and all that stuff would be meta in a great way. Not "cool heel" either that makes some fans cheer for him, either. 

In a way, Rhodes is a really good example of the modern pro wrestler. Gimmicks and changes used to matter much more. Rhodes is just the pro wrestler who wants to be really good and beat you because that's what they do, man. Tack on a splash of family references, sure, but there's not much of a character otherwise. Slapping a skull on the entrance graphics and a random mask above the USA-vibed attire and blonde hair does not a character make. Even Cena has jorts and jerseys and a theme. Rhodes borders on a randomizer found on a create-a-wrestler-feature at times. 

What stings is the greatness everyone knows Rhodes is capable of at any point. But that's not going to be magically achieved in one week. There's no having the cake and eating it too for him. There's no going heel but staying with all the kayfabe-breaking media circus. Maybe that's the issue for him. 

Said greatness won't pop up until the audience gets a break from Rhodes. Capitalizing on the good graces of the return wave after an absence with a refreshed approach is a must. 

But if history tells us anything, Rhodes is more than content to stay the same, especially while the fanbase gives him a pass for the things it dings other Superstars for weekly.