WWE: Future World Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes Profiled

Cody Rhodes came into WWE with a lot of people wondering if the pedigree of being Dusty Rhodes' son and the brother of Golddust was something he could live up to. Having family ties to WWE has its advantages, but it is not a guarantee for success.

Ted Dibiase's career has stalled, and his brother has yet to make any major impact. Jesse was the son of Terry Gordy, one of the Freebirds with Michael Hayes. Even his connection to Hayes could not stop him from being released.

Cody had big shoes to fill with both his father and brother having left lasting memories in WWE with their outlandish gimmicks and over-the-top personalities. Dusty was the everyman, the guy who you wanted to have a beer with, the kind of guy who would help you build a deck.

Dustin, on the other hand, played a character who played on people's emotions and made them confront their feelings about homosexuality and heterosexuality. Cody has made a name for himself since arriving on the scene in 2007.

His first interactions were with his future stablemate, Randy Orton. The two faced in Cody's first match on Raw. Orton and Rhodes went on to have a very beneficial partnership while members of Legacy. They ran around Raw and basically took whatever they wanted, including the World and Tag Team Championships.

Since then, Rhodes has gone through a few transitions, but he seems to have finally found his niche with the current direction he is going in. The persona, reminiscent of Dr. Doom, is a demented individual that believes he is scarred and cannot show his face, despite the mask being completely clear.

This new image he has crafted allows him to be more ruthless in his matches and this has helped elevate him to being one of Smackdown's most talked about wrestlers.

His introduction of the classic Intercontinental championship is a good sign that WWE has plans for him moving forward. I hope he holds the title for a bit longer, but I also think he is right on the verge of being ready to step into the World title picture.

In recent years, guys like CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Dolph Ziggler and Christian have all won the World title, and that proves that WWE is no longer only the home of the body-builder type. Cody has vastly improved to the point that I feel confident saying he is among the top five current WWE in-ring technicians, right up there with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.

I am positive that Cody is destined to hold the WWE or the World Heavyweight title sometime soon. He appears to be on a collision course with Randy Orton, which could result in his advancement to the World title picture. One thing is for sure, no one can say he has not worked his butt off to get better and better each and every week.

What do you think? How long will it take before Rhodes is World Champion?