In Defense Of Cody Rhodes

Yesterday WWE confirmed that they had come to terms on the release of Cody Rhodes, which Cody had requested and acknowledged publicly. Following the release, Cody put out a statement via social media that explained his actions. The best way to sum up Cody’s honest and well-thought statement is that he had been working with poor creative in the recent past, and his requests to change up his character were not listened to.

As Jim Ross has said many times, all wrestlers should see themselves as a top talent. In Cody’s case, he truly did deserve better than the lower-card role had been filling as of late, which one could justify for a number of reasons:

– Seniority – Seniority is one of those concepts that generally seems unfair to those who don’t have it. In Cody’s case, he’d been on the main roster of WWE since 2007, almost 10 years. Most of the current WWE roster was not there in 2007.

– Utility Player – Cody has been a utility player for WWE, filling whatever role was needed. He had notable tag teams with Hardcore Holly, Damien Sandow, Ted DiBiase, Drew McIntyre, and his brother Goldust. He was also part of factions, most notably The Legacy. Cody had singles runs, including an acclaimed one as the heel “Dashing” Cody Rhodes. He also pulled off the character role, working as Stardust. He has worked as a heel and a babyface.

– Championships – Cody has won WWE’s International Championship twice and both versions of the Tag Team Championships — the titles were unified in 2009 — three times. For what it’s worth, Cody won Slammy Awards in 2010 and 2013. In turn, Cody’s accolades and title runs have been spread out well over the years.

– Athleticism – Prior to his getting into wrestling full-time, Cody was an amateur wrestler. In the 189-pound class, he won amateur titles in 2003 and 2004. Upon until Vince McMahon nationalized (or globalized) professional wrestling, more wrestlers had an amateur background than not. In turn, that background is a sign of tradition done well.

– Lineage – Speaking of tradition, Cody is obviously not the first prominent Rhodes in the business. In addition, many people continue to regard his father as one of the all-time greatest talkers within wrestling. This isn’t like Erik Watts, David Sammartino or Garrett Bischoff, where someone has a job only because of their last name. Cody was actually over, but it increases marketability when people can legitimately be presented as a second or third generation talent.

– Interviews – Cody didn’t get a lot of mic time for promos in recent years — Stardust did, however — but he was known to be entertaining in interviews and promotional appearances. He had absolute improv chops; proof of that is pasted below from an AfterBuzz TV interview in-character, which manages to reference Big Josh. Outside of the Stardust character, a recent appearance alongside Xavier Woods on the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast was essential listening, as Cody and Xavier recapped their rivalry as amateur wrestlers in high school.

– Age – Even though Cody technically has seniority over much of the current WWE roster, he is also younger than a lot of the roster. He is only 30 years old as of this article’s writing. He has not regularly been out of action from nagging injuries, and does not seem to be older than his age. He is in-shape and still able to perform at a top level, as evidenced by this year’s Wrestlemania performance.

If I were a betting man, I would bet on Cody Rhodes being back in the WWE ranks within the next two years. While his parting remarks via social media were not the most flattering of the company’s current behind-the-scenes situation, he did seem to be leaving the company on relatively-positive terms. His wife is still employed there, as is his half-brother Dustin, and his father’s legacy is regularly alluded within WWE Network programming. And if/when he comes back within those estimated two years, Cody is still well under 35 years old.

But if that isn’t going to be the case, then proper thanks and appreciation are due for one Cody Rhodes. He worked hard, was entertaining no matter the creative he was presented with, and managed to forge his own path in spite of being the son and brother of well-established talent.