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One of the most exciting feuds on WWE TV right now is the one between Damien Sandow and his former best friend, Cody Rhodes. I have mentioned in one of my previous articles as to how close Sandow is to becoming the next big superstar in the WWE.
This feud really is very entertaining, given Sandow’s hilarious comedy in it. But, let’s not forget the guy he’s feuding with, who in equal part, has been responsible for the great stuff on TV, Cody Rhodes. If Sandow can play the cowardly, smarmy heel so well today, then a large part is due to the fact that he stole the MITB briefcase away from Cody, who was mere inches away from grabbing it and in many fans’ eyes, was on the cusp of a long-deserved shot at stardom.
Cody has been with the WWE for 6 years now and has been involved in a few major angles, but never received a main-event push. From his time of teaming with Hardcore Holly to being a part of ‘The Legacy’, to winning the Intercontinental title and to his current feud with Sandow, he has been able to stay relevant despite the lack of highlights in his career. Over the years, he has managed to earn the respect of the WWE universe who have seen how good he is in the ring and how hard he works.
And oh by the way, that moustache…..it is money.
It is always important for a superstar to be different, to have something that stands out to be noticed. And with his gimmick of ‘Moustachioed Magnificence’, I think he has hit upon something that the ‘Dashing Cody Rhodes’ gimmick wasn’t fully able to.
Also worth noting is that he is the only one sporting a moustache in it’s real form (Tensai has face-paint and so doesn’t count) which makes him unique as a character and that adds to the personality needed for a wrestler to cross over into becoming a superstar.
This time, the WWE has a great opportunity to elevate Cody to the main-event where story-wise, he has a lot of momentum and as a babyface, his work has the potential to be top-notch with the able support of Damien Sandow as the heel everyone loves to hate. But, I really believe that Cody has a better chance to shine as a main-eventer when he is chasing the title for a bit and there is no rush to put the strap on him anytime soon.
Cody really needs to embrace his new role as one of the top faces on the blue brand and get the fans to believe in him. The lucky thing for Cody is that when the WWE senses momentum in a superstar, it recognises it and usually helps to ride the wave of popularity for that superstar, a la Daniel Bryan.
In a perfect scenario, Christian could gain an underdog victory over the ruthless champion in Alberto Del Rio and Sandow cashes in on the hapless champion and that’s a great stage for Rhodes to go after the champion in a feud that could last a long time. In the meantime, as a performer, he could bring about a few changes to his style to help better relate to the varied sections in the audience.
He needs to dump those everyday tights for something more flashy and also try and tone down his cockiness which works if you are a heel. As an ex-collegiate wrestler, he is best suited for a mat-based wrestling style and there does seem to be a dearth of those who can do it well in WWE.
With all that being said, Cody Rhodes is poised for a shot at main-event super-stardom like never before. It is up to him whether he wants to grab it or let it slip by.
