WWE: Why Cody Rhodes' Character Is Too Unbelievable

When Cody Rhodes' new character debuted I was a fan.  He looked like he was awkward and ashamed of being forced in front of TV cameras, and it affected his sanity.

He seemed to have real issues, albeit superficial ones, but they made sense to his character.  He was just searching for a way to have it make sense.

Now he just seems to be an annoying heel who puts paper bags over people's heads.  

The idea is sound in theory.  A heel who is so disgusted with what he believes is his disfigured face that he takes it out on everyone else.  Still, it hasn't played out well and seems to have removed some of the special qualities that Rhodes first showed.

It doesn't help that his voice has become monotone and annoying.  It's painful to listen to him talk.

The main problem is that handing out paper bags and telling the crowd that they are hideous is fine, but it seems like he doesn't explain why he needs their heads covered.  Is it because they remind him of his now imperfect face?  Is it because every time he looks in their eyes he sees his reflection?

Why does he need ugliness blotted out if he himself is ugly?

Most people who go through a traumatizing experience, no matter how superficial, struggle to come to terms with it.  They need a way to lessen the pain.  Instead, Rhodes seems to be just a heel yelling at people to cover up even when he doesn't.

Worse yet, he has now started taking his mask off and using it to win matches.  For a man who doesn't wish to be disfigured and is completely uncomfortable with his own appearance, that is a problem.

It just seems like the character which had so much potential has fallen flat.  There is no reason for what he does and his actions seem contradictory.

That isn't to say that the WWE couldn't change his character into something else, or tweak it so that there are reasons to why he does things.

One possibility would be to have him state that he doesn't need the mask anymore and neither does the audience, and that he realizes that becoming "hideous" freed him from his own vanity and fear of being an elite wrestler.  Every match he could set out to destroy and disfigure his opponent in an attempt to show them the beauty of ugliness.

Or the WWE could go the opposite route.  They could have Rhodes undergo plastic surgery and have him realize that not only is he perfect again, but that medical science makes it so even the audience could be passably decent.

Instead of him handing out paper bags, he could come out with a marker and start outlining parts of fans faces that he thinks could use improvement or surgery.

Rhodes is talented enough to play either character or any other option that the WWE might hand him.  All he needs is a chance to play a character that has three dimensions.