WWE may have buried Cody Rhodes; former champion explains why

WWE may have buried Cody Rhodes, according to a former champion. The American Nightmare is the current Undisputed WWE Champion and has been pushed as one of the top stars ever since he returned to the promotion in 2022.

Having headlined WrestleMania three times in a row, WWE has done its best to project Cody Rhodes as the company's biggest babyface. However, former Intercontinental Champion Lance Storm believes the promotion may have buried him with their recent actions.

Speaking on the Wrestling Observer Live, Storm criticized the fact that John Cena was still using the Last Real Champion moniker. He said this idea worked when he was a heel and wanted to ruin wrestling, but as a babyface, it doesn't fit his character.

"The idea made sense when he was a heel and wanted to ruin the business. But since they’re not even acknowledging that he was a heel that tried to ruin the wrestling business, what is the benefit of saying he’s the Last Real Champion? Is Cody not a real champion? I thought Cody was important," he said.

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Ever since winning his record 17th WWE World Championship at WrestleMania 41, Cena has been introduced as the Last Real Champion by WWE. As a heel, Cena promised to ruin wrestling by taking the title with him when he retires and thus being the Last Real Champion.

Rhodes defeated The Franchise Player at SummerSlam in a Street Fight to win the WWE Championship for a second time, as Cena turned babyface once again. However, with WWE still referring to him as the Last Real Champion, it raises questions about the credibility of Rhodes holding the title.

Cody Rhodes returned to SmackDown last week

Last week on SmackDown, Drew McIntyre defeated Randy Orton and then tried to hit him with a Claymore through the announce table.

But he was interrupted as Cody Rhodes returned to SmackDown after weeks of absence. Rhodes went after McIntyre and said that he would see him at Wrestlepalooza.

The match has been made official, and the two stars will collide in a title match at Wrestlepalooza on September 20.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit Wrestling Observer Live and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

About the author

Sherjeel Malik is a writer at Sportskeeda and covers pro wrestling. He was hooked on the product from the moment he saw The Hardy Boyz jumping off ladders during the Attitude Era. While he comes from an engineering background, Sherjeel’s love for pro wrestling and content writing led him to pursue a career in sports journalism. Before assuming his current role at Sportskeeda, Sherjeel worked at other reputable organizations for five years.

While writing articles, he ensures that he only relies on credible sources for information and covers relevant subjects that do not project an agenda against a particular person or association. WWE legend Paul Heyman once shared Sherjeel’s work on his social media handle.

Sherjeel’s earliest memory of pro wrestling is watching Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker square off for the WWE Title in the main event of a pay-per-view in 1998. His favorite wrestlers are Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. While he admires Orton for his character work as a heel, he looks up to Jeff because of his unique wrestling style and risk-taking ability.

If he could go back to the Attitude Era, Sherjeel would like to manage Ken Shamrock and be his mouthpiece. He feels Shamrock’s promo skills prevented him from becoming a main event-level act in WWE. Hence, he would like to help the UFC Hall of Famer get over with fans.

When not writing about pro wrestling, he likes to read classics and fiction books.

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Edited by Sherjeel Malik