Triple H has subtly hinted that Cody Rhodes' full-time WWE career may be ending soon

WrestleMania 40 - Source: Getty
WrestleMania 40! [Image Source: Getty]

The highly anticipated documentary, WWE: Unreal, dropped earlier today, with Season One consisting of five episodes, each of them being over 50 minutes long. In episode one, titled "New Era," Triple H discussed how the biggest stories in WWE have the biggest characters involved and how Cody Rhodes is currently at the epicenter of the company.

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While discussing Rhodes' limited role on RAW's Netflix premiere ahead of the show, Triple H said that a major part of helping top stars retain or elevate their status is ''scarcity.'' Illustrating how maintaining someone's status as an attraction comes as a double-edged sword because they can't be overexposed at all, WWE's Chief Content Officer said:

"With Cody Rhodes, the bigger the star, the more you want to provide some scarcity of their star power to keep them as big as they are. So it’s special when Cody Rhodes is there, and fans see that and feel that, and they’re anticipating your return even more." [8:20 onwards on WWE Unreal on Netflix]
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The biggest case in point is perhaps the biggest star in WWE today: Roman Reigns. Despite some criticism pertaining to his schedule, no one can deny the fact that he is a bigger star than he has ever been and consistently gets some of the loudest pops every time he is on a show and some of the loudest chants regardless of his presence.

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The same can be said for guys like John Cena, although his case is obviously different, and to an extent, CM Punk and even Cody Rhodes, who do not wrestle much on RAW or SmackDown to not just protect the investment WWE makes in them, but return the investment the company and fans make in them tenfold when they actually do compete.

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However, these comments may have implied that Cody Rhodes may soon be transitioning to a part-time role in WWE. Rhodes, set to challenge John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam, is expected to win the title back this weekend. However, he already has a major Hollywood project lined up soon thereafter, with principal photography for the upcoming Street Fighter movie, also starring Roman Reigns, set to begin in August.

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There also persist rumors of a potential heel turn for The American Nightmare, whether soon or way down the line, and considering Rhodes' talent, versatility, and the fact that, unlike Cena's heel run, WWE would want to give Cody the time to embark on a proper heel run without a ticking clock on the table.

Despite spending over a year as Undisputed WWE Champion, the fact remains that he has only held the title once and still has a lot of fresh stories to tell with his character. Considering how layered, nuanced, and gradual WWE's storytelling now is, the MVP of the company just cannot step out of his full-time role yet. Despite the abundance of megastars in the company, there really is no one who is young and anywhere near ready to take over the reins from Cody Rhodes.

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Triple H's comments on WWE: Unreal may have just been meant to delineate his philosophy with regards to how he has been able to make an insane number of megastars who continue to grow in popularity. But he may have hinted that while Cody Rhodes is still likely not going anywhere in the foreseeable future, his full-time run as the face of the company might not go as long as Cena's or Hogan's, or even Reigns'.

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Considering Rhodes' age, TKO's Hollywood connections, Cody's priorities as a family man, and perhaps his alleged reluctance to turn heel, that may stand to reason, but one major benefit of WWE's current schedule is that even in a slightly reduced role, with the lack of house shows, his body may be able to go for an extended period, especially considering the advancements in fitness and health.


Triple H has now explicitly confirmed Cody Rhodes is WWE’s MVP

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Cody Rhodes transitioning to a part-time role would be an immense loss not just for WWE but for the entire wrestling industry as well. A lot of times, fans fail to truly appreciate and take for granted someone extraordinary like Cody, who continues to not just be at the center of WWE's biggest stories but is often tasked with carrying the build while guys like John Cena, Roman Reigns, The Rock, and Brock Lesnar appear part-time.

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While Triple H, through this process of The American Nightmare carrying the build to WWE's biggest main events, had illustrated his and TKO's faith in the former Undisputed WWE Champion and indicated Rhodes' role as the main event MVP of the company, his comments on WWE Unreal have explicitly confirmed this to be the case, and Cody Rhodes has continued to pay off as the face of the global juggernaut.

His transition to being a mainstream crossover star with a lighter schedule may be inevitable, but for wrestling fans, it would sure be a tough pill to swallow.

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Please credit WWE: Unreal on Netflix and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you take quotes from the first half of this article.

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Edited by Yash Mittal
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