8-time champion will be ready to replace Roman Reigns as the face of WWE if they book him like Steve Austin, says veteran (Exclusive)

It's WrestleMania season, and there is a lot of talk about Roman Reigns possibly conceding his throne to a deserving candidate from the WWE roster. Vince Russo was recently asked whether Cody Rhodes was ready to be the next face of WWE, and the former writer explained why the company needed to take a little inspiration from Stone Cold Steve Austin's rise.

While Russo had no issues with Cody Rhodes taking over from Roman Reigns as the top guy, he felt it all comes down to the booking.

Sami Zayn's newfound popularity has visibly jeopardized Rhodes' long-planned push, and there is a feeling that he might be getting hot-shotted towards that elusive world title.

As history suggests, the WWE Universe has rejected superstars who the promotion has seemingly "shoved down their throats," and Vince Russo fears The American Nightmare could also not be fully accepted by the fan base.

Here's what the wrestling veteran had to say during the latest episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing with Russo:

"Well, bro, you know me, Chris. It all comes down to the booking. I mean, that's what it really all comes down to, and you know how these fans are. You and I have discussed this. If there is any sense of shoving this guy down your throat, it's going to implode. That's why if it were me, to play it safe, I'd have the guy (Cody Rhodes) chase." [1:00 - 1:29]

Vince Russo played a crucial role in shaping storylines during the Attitude Era and, at one point, was tasked with ensuring Stone Cold Steve Austin was presented in the best possible way on TV. Vince revealed how the Texas Rattlesnake never had a straightforward path to the WWE Championship.

Russo explained that WWE would often book multiple talents to derail Steve Austin's momentum as they delayed the eventual payoff for the best reaction.

The 61-year-old stated that Triple H's team should invest more time in Cody Rhodes chasing after the world championship as it would make him a bigger star in the end.

"Like we used to with Austin all the time, bro. Austin would chase, and then somebody would derail Austin. Now we have to deal with that person; now he is back on track...derailed! I would make him chase for a while. That's how I would book it." [1:30 - 1:48]

Vince Russo's warning to WWE about Roman Reigns possibly losing the undisputed title to Cody Rhodes

Sami Zayn's recent introduction might have given Bloodline a fresh direction, but many believe Reigns losing both, or at least one of his titles, is long overdue.

Vince Russo briefly spoke about WWE's potential urgency to get the belts off of The Tribal Chief, who has astonishingly been a world champion for nearly three years now. Barring Sami Zayn, who is unlikely to pull off an upset over Reigns at Elimination Chamber, Cody Rhodes is the only superstar who has been built to dethrone Roman.

Considering what's at stake, Vince Russo said WWE needed to be very cautious about how they script the angle, as you can view below:

"But, they may feel, bro, an urgency because Reigns has had the belt for so long; they may feel an urgency to take it off of him and put it on Cody. Again, bro, they need to be very careful about the way they do this." [1:49 - 2:04]

Should Rhodes' world title moment not happen at WrestleMania 39 and be pushed further? Sound off in the comments section below.

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