WWE Night of Champions 2011: Why Rhodes Must Retain Intercontinental Title

"You were forever known as the Martyred One.  The one whose inner light was never allowed to shine."

Forgive me for borrowing a line from Salvatore and twisting it to my own means.   Cody Rhodes, however, is a talent that is unique in the WWE.  The son of wrestling great "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes has all of his father's charisma and ability in the ring.  Beginning with the formation of the heel stable "Legacy" with Ted DiBiase Jr. and Randy Orton, he's had a decent career, but nothing to make him a legend in his own right. In January, he had a match with Rey Mysterio Jr. where he took an exposed knee shot to the face which legitimately broke his nose and thus began his transition from "Dashing" to "Disfigured."  From a "beautiful hunk of humanity" to this generation's "Phantom of the Opera."

There is no denying that he has made the most of the gimmick and has worked himself into a position as one of the top Heels on SmackDown through his own perseverance and force of personality.  From his ability to work a promo in such a way that maximizes the impact of his gimmick to his ability to work a good to great match with men larger then him, he has all the ability that we as fans desire to see rise to the top.

There is a lot of belief in his talent level to one day be a perennial main event star within the WWE and you can see the groundwork currently being laid out. Ultimately, it will be sooner rather then later. However, for him to go forward on that path, he must not lose the title at "Night of Champions" this Sunday.   Why?  

Prestige of the Intercontinental Title

Since winning the Intercontinental Title from Ezekiel Jackson and his successful defense against the same, Rhodes has promised to restore "the prestige" that the title used to carry.  Ultimately, a requirement of that is that the title must not be passed around more then a hot potato, and that the current holder of the belt must have the ability to sell its significance as a genuine treasure and symbol of greatness, rather then a simple prop used as decoration. 

How does one accomplish that?  Successful defenses of the title in feuds where the title is the main focus and through promos that demonstrate what holding the belt means.

Does Rhodes have the ability to restore the prestige? Well, yes. 

As mentioned before, there is little doubting his ability to work the stick and cut a compelling piece of TV when needed, and his gimmick is well suited to coveting the title as a symbol of greatness rather then a simple piece of leather with some metal attached.

A solid feud with DiBiase will go a long way to helping bring back the honor of holding the belt, but a feud implies multiple matches, which won't go long if Teddy "Bear" DiBiase wins on Sunday simply because such a quick win with no build up does nothing for the prestige of the belt.   For all of the WWE's talk of the history of the belt, there is no follow up by passing it around to the new flavor of the week.

Further Groundwork Needs to Be Done

Think about the last few weeks and what Rhodes has done.

In the past few weeks, he's split a two match series with Orton and had tit for tat exchanges with the legendary Edge, all the while garnering a good amount of TV time.  For some of the under card wrestlers in the WWE, that's a career.  For Rhodes, it is just the beginning. 

Think about the exposure and rub the Disfigured One has been receiving over the last little bit.  He got a main event on SmackDown, was an important part of the opening this week and defeated the previously invulnerable Orton on last Monday's Raw. 

Let me say that again. He defeated Randy "Wonder" Orton last Monday.

Granted, it was via the usual heelish means, but given that Orton has been unable to be pinned for the last few months, this could be a little bigger than most folks think. Are they finally laying the groundwork for his main event push? In the end, who really knows. But this is a good start.  Losing the belt at "Night of Champions," however, would render this entire series of events meaningless.

Lack of Credible Heels on SmackDown

You have to appreciate the irony.  A few months ago, SmackDown had an overabundance of heels on the roster.  Now, it is the reverse. 

On the current roster, you have two heels who garner respect in that role in the form of Mark Henry and Christian, a few that are treading water (Barrett, etc) and a slew of faces (Orton, Sheamus, Sin Cara Uno, Daniel Bryan, Ezekiel Jackson, etc).  

To make a long story short, there are a lack of credible heels for the faces to feud with.   Of the two most likely candidates to step up into the higher echelon role, Rhodes is in a better position then Barrett thanks to the title and, in my opinion, better ability on the microphone.   This is no disrespect for Barrett, who I have all the faith in the world in, but Rhodes is simply better at this point in time.

Of the two credible main event heels, only Henry is really in a position to consistently headline SmackDown in any capacity.  Christian is sorely in needed to an overhaul to this gimmick (I'll go over this in depth in another article).  To strip Rhodes now would hurt the show in a large number of ways, especially since any wrestling show, in my own opinion, needs three "A" list heels to function properly at any given time.

The Feud Is Just Starting

If done correctly, former tag team partners feuding can get a lot of mileage.  Shawn Michaels' split with Marty Jannety is a good case in point, where the Heart Break Kid began to come into his own, though it was at the expense of Janetty's respectability and career.  Edge and Jericho are another case in point, where a title match at WrestleMania was based around the entire idea, with the added bonus of the championship title.

Ultimately, the feud is just getting going, and it is very possible to elevate both men in the end.  But whether DiBiase "HBK's" or "Jannety's" himself it nearly up to him.  But Rhodes losing at "Night of Champions" may deprive us of a possible "A" feud simply because the build up has been rushed at this point.  DiBiase, as the baby face of this feud, needs to chase the title for a little bit to make the subconscious, emotional connection the story needs.  To do that, it needs time and exposure to develop.  Two losses at "Night of Champions" and "Hell In A Cell" could be followed up with a gimmick match win at "Vengeance" to round off the feud.  After that, you have established a new sympathetic baby face and Rhodes moves on to bigger things with no loss of credibility.

If I were booking this feud, I'd play up their history in Legacy and both being the heirs to the legacy of their respective fathers.  DiBiase is in sore need of a rebuild to establish his credibility.  A rushed victory over the "mighty" Cody Rhodes hurts everything and helps nothing. 

Thanks for reading!   What do you think?  Should Rhodes hold the title or should DiBiase win tomorrow night at "Night of Champions?"