WWE Extreme Rules 2011 Preview: Why Cody Rhodes Will Triumph over Rey Mysterio

Hello once again bleachers! Anyone who has been reading my articles, be it my SmackDown reviews or those regarding the draft, knows I am a huge fan of Cody Rhodes at the moment.

His character development has come a long way since he appeared on SmackDown in a protective mask. He has become increasingly mentally unstable, and his wrestling has appropriately taken a more aggressive form to compliment this. He is more belligerent than ever.

There is, however, one problem—Rey Mysterio’s underdog act. As we’ve seen in the weeks following Cody Rhodes’ win at WrestleMania, Mysterio has been getting the better of his ‘disfigured’ opponent—much to my chagrin.

As much as I don’t like the fact that Mysterio has been successful against Cody Rhodes following this momentous loss at WrestleMania, this may be a good sign.

With Cody now looking like he has a big challenge on his hands with Mysterio, this will make his expected win look even bigger than the one he achieved at the last pay-per-view. This will allow for better development of his character.

Despite coming a long way since he re-emerged as The Un-dashing One, Cody still has a long way to go if he wishes to become an established character—which I believe he could. The opposite argument is obviously that Mysterio will win and effectively put an end to the unhinged persona that has been created.

There are reasons this won’t happen though, and these are the reasons which pretty much guarantee Rhodes will win on Sunday at Extreme Rules.

As I assume you all saw on Monday, Mysterio was drafted to Raw. Thankfully, Rhodes has stayed on SmackDown which you can read about in more detail here. This is the first reason that this feud must end on Sunday and Cody must win.

Mysterio is likely to be going on to bigger and better things on Raw and is likely to be involved in the main event in one way or another. Therefore, a dent in his record from Rhodes is not likely to have a significant impact on his popularity or momentum.

The second reason I am certain Cody will win on Sunday is because his character is one of the best things to have come out of the minds of the WWE creative team since...since...erm, ages ago. To sell this character down the river before it’s really got started would probably be the biggest mistake since ridding the promotion of tag-teams.

He certainly has the potential to be the next Mankind/Kane and I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks this way. To do this, however, he needs to win at Extreme Rules. Many would argue that the fact he won at WrestleMania is more than enough to establish his character, but I disagree.

I feel he needs one more win over this irritating, overly successful underdog to legitimise his aggressive nature. If he shows he can overcome large odds in a Falls Count Anywhere match, then I feel this will prove many doubters wrong.

The stipulation I just mentioned is a big factor in my prediction and the third reason why Cody will be victorious. You only have to read the first half of this article to realize this match fits Rhodes down to a tee.

This is the best chance to show how demented his character can be—utilising the environment to satisfy his barbaric tendencies. After all, if we look at the storyline, Rhodes is intent on destroying Mysterio’s face. What better way to do this than with the environment? He can’t use foreign objects to complete his objective, which is why this match is even better for him. Cody can’t really lose if we take this point into consideration.

The fourth and final reason I believe Cody is a sure bet to win on Sunday is also based on Mysterio. There were reports earlier in the year of Mysterio throwing tantrums backstage due to one thing or another, and there were also reports of him threatening to leave. It’s no secret that Mysterio isn’t getting any younger and he needs to begin to pass the torch onto new talent.

With talks of retirement plaguing Mysterio, it is likely he will want to end his career on a high. Losing to Rhodes is the perfect way for him to rebuild himself (possibly for the final time) into a main event talent on Raw—it will not be detrimental to his efforts. It is fair to say that this point begins to merge with the first point I made when over analysed.

These are four solid reasons I believe Rhodes will triumph over Mysterio and I will be genuinely shocked if he doesn’t win. Cody is definitely good enough (within the world of kayfabe) to pull off the victory for the second pay-per-view in a row, and I am certain this will be the case.

But what do you think? Do you agree with my points, or do you believe Mysterio should win?

Please let me know what you think in the comments section below. I do my best to reply to all comments.

I hope you enjoyed this in depth look into the Rhodes/Mysterio match.

Thanks for reading.