WWE: 10 Reasons Cody Rhodes' New Gimmick Is Better Than His Last

A gimmick change can be the catalyst that turns a superstar's career around, and no one knows that better than Cody Rhodes.

Though he had some success as part of Randy Orton's Legacy stable, it wasn't until Rhodes became "Dashing"—and then transitioned to his "Disfigured" character—that we saw true main event potential in the second generation star.

Now, the son of "The American Dream" has dropped his mask and tweaked his gimmick yet again after his long-running feud with Orton on SmackDown.

Some have criticized the decision to change Rhodes' gimmick, while others think it was a smart move that will take Rhodes to new levels.

Consider me a part of that second group.

Here are 10 reasons why Cody Rhodes' new gimmick is better than his last one.

10. The New Gimmick Is More "Dashing"

Cody Rhodes' "Dashing" gimmick was a bit too flamboyant and over-the-top for my taste, but it was that persona that first made us see how charismatic and entertaining he could be.

There was something about the way that Rhodes played that egotistical pretty boy that changed him from just another mid-carder to someone who would be a big part of the WWE's future.

He was great at being cocky and obsessed with his looks; and though we've seen similar characters before, Rhodes was able to make it his own and establish himself from all the other cocky heels.

I'm not asking for Rhodes to fully revert back to his Dashing ways, but for anyone who enjoyed that gimmick, I think we could see him start showing that arrogance he had when he used to look at himself in the mirror while making his ring entrance.

I hated him when he had that gimmick. And if he acts at least somewhat like he's Dashing again, I think it could be a nice change from his "tormented" persona.

9. The Masked Gimmick Gave Him an Unfair Advantage

Obviously, wrestling is scripted, so the mask didn't give Cody Rhodes an actual "unfair advantage."

But storyline-wise, it did.

When the object of a match is to beat your opponent down enough to pin him for three seconds, it's a lot harder to do that if he's wearing a protective mask that softens any blows to the head.

This always bothered me, because, at least theoretically, it would hurt someone more to punch Rhodes in the face than it would hurt Rhodes himself.

Allowing Rhodes to wear that protective mask during matches is like letting a wrestler wear shoulder pads—it gives him considerably more protection than his opponent.

8. He Doesn't Need the Mask

Cody Rhodes' mask was a nice little addition to his character for a while, but he doesn't need it.

Whereas someone like Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara or Kane is largely lost without his mask, Rhodes can thrive with or without one.

He's good enough as a wrestler and a talker to generate heat without relying on that mask; whereas Mysterio loses all the mystique surrounding his character if he takes his mask off.

If Rhodes wants to get booed by the crowd, he can do so through his mannerisms in the ring or the way he cuts his promos. Not through a little piece of plastic.

7. The Bagging Problem

With his previous gimmick, Cody Rhodes would pass out paper bags to the "ugly" fans in the crowd.

But it backfired on him.

The fans were supposed to take this as a sign of disrespect and boo Rhodes as a result. Instead, they were eager to take the paper bags and cheered if Rhodes gave them one.

That's not how things should have went.

Though Rhodes' strategy was a good one in theory, it didn't generate him the heat he thought it would. In fact, it almost made him more baby face-like.

6. His Old Gimmick Made Him Look Weak

If a wrestler showed up to all of his matches wearing a football helmet, you'd think he looked like a wuss, right?

Exactly.

Under his "disfigured" gimmick, Cody Rhodes would always wear that protective mask, and I, for one, thought it kind of made him look like a pansy.

Rhodes was extra conscious about getting hit in the face, he had protection that no one else had and he basically "needed" the mask in order to compete in his matches.

That had to go.

I know that the WWE likes to book its heels like huge cowards, but to have a guy like Rhodes use such a blatant cowardly tactic on a consistent basis is a bit too much for me.

5. The Masked Gimmick Limited What Rhodes Could Do

The masked gimmick was fine for a while, but it stuck Cody Rhodes between a rock and a hard place.

It limited what he could say during his promos (and how he could talk during them), it limited what he could do in the ring and it limited the advancement of his character.

If Rhodes still had the mask on, he'd still be forced to cut those drawn-out promos, be conscious about getting hit in the face and be that "tormented" and "disfigured" wrestler.

With the mask off, however, he can expand his promo range, worry more about actual wrestling and develop his character to be more than just someone who's pissed because his face got messed up by Rey Mysterio.

As good as Rhodes' masked character was, he took it about as far as he could have. 

4. He Doesn't Have to Change His Character Too Much

While removing the mask will allow Cody Rhodes to develop his character a bit more, he really doesn't have to change it all that much.

I mean, it's not like he's going to start wearing a cape and acting like a superhero all of a sudden. He's still Cody Rhodes.

He's still going to be a great heel who cuts good promos, is great in the ring and is a bit of a psycho.

That's fine with me.

Just because Rhodes dropped his mask does not mean that he's going to completely lose sight of the aspects of his "tormented" character that helped him get to the level he's at today. In fact, I think the mask-less Rhodes will still be somewhat of a crazed heel, only he'll be one that doesn't rely so much on his mask.

3. No More Fake Voice

I can't possibly be the only one who thought that Cody Rhodes' voice while wearing that mask was absolutely ridiculous.

He cut really long and drawn-out promos, and he did so with one of the most nasally voices I've ever heard. It was almost like listening to Janice on the show, Friends.

Rhodes sounded weird, he sounded unnatural and, perhaps most importantly, he sounded fake.

He didn't come across as someone who was speaking like a normal human being. Rather, he came across as someone who was playing a character on TV.

That was one of the biggest problems I found with Rhodes' "tormented" persona. It was a character that wasn't relatable, and most of that stemmed from his incredibly theatrical voice.

2. He Relied Too Much on the Mask

Maybe it's just me, but I always felt like Cody Rhodes relied far too much on that mask.

It gave him extra protection during matches, it influenced his mental state and it changed the way he cut promos, just to name a few things.

Rather than adding to Rhodes' character, in many ways, it became his character.

He couldn't cut a promo or wrestle a match without us realizing that the mask was there and was having a huge impact on how his match/promo came across.

I still liked what Rhodes did on the mic and in the ring; but I was very aware that most of what he was doing centered around that piece of protective plastic.

1. The Masked Gimmick Wasn't Believable

All right, let me just throw this out there: Cody Rhodes' masked gimmick was simply not believable.

The basis of that character was that Rey Mysterio injured Rhodes and "disfigured" his face. Yet, it was quite clear that Rhodes looked the exact same before the injury as he did afterward.

Why? Because he wore a clear freaking mask.

Had Rhodes come back wearing a protective mask that actually hid his face, then maybe we would have been able to say, "Oh, I wonder how messed up his face looks."

But that possibility was thrown out the window when Rhodes returned with a clear mask, and it was blatantly obvious that his face didn't even have so much as a blemish. 

I suppose that could be what made his character a little crazier—he was essentially delusional, I guess—but I never really understood the "tormented" gimmick when the way Rhodes looked never actually changed.