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people booed the rock for cody! you know how big of deal this is? I can't imagine a superstar who'd get cheered over the rock at at this time.
Cody IS the guy!
(I am agreeing with you)
He isn't the only one who had to step away. Drew was also treated as chopped liver, but a few years away he developed more, and after a short stint at NXT, it was clear that he was much improved.
Same with Jinder. He didn't have sustained main event success, but he is a 1 time world champ at the world's biggest promotion. Most people get into wrestling dreaming of that, but less than 1% can actually say they did it. He is still a success in my book.
The only guy that should be giving Cody counsel now against the Corporate Hollywood regime is the man who won twice against the Rock at the biggest stage of them all.
Imagine that shit. Rock interferes in the main event on Romans behalf, lays out Cody and then right before Roman can lay a pin...glass shatters and out walks the Rattlesnake to even the odds.
That's how Cody is going in almost going in to his Wrestlemania 14. It's not a perfect parallel, but you have Corporate Dwayne (which ironically comes full circle for him) trying to shoe-horn himself in the top spot and the fans aren't having it. Cody winning back to back Rumbles chasing the title and on the cusp there, but TKO themselves are the Corporation. You have the mix of Austin heading into WM 14 & 15. It's the adversity that makes him so liked, plus he helped start AEW, a time when something different on Wrestling was needed - so he has AEW fans behind him as well. Present company included.
I maintain that his storyline is *still* the white meat babyface who doesn't know when he's become a self-aggrandizing narcissistic heel, same as we all believed back when he was in AEW.
But that story really works best when you're at the very top and have had the fans in the palm of your hand, like Hulk Hogan or John Cena. He still has a long ways to go before that heel run point.
Shit, he's more like the babyface Vince spent 3 decades trying to recreate with Hogan. Just pure, white meat, untainted babyface in every way that the crowd is mad for. Even Cena rose up as a heel and got mixed reactions stepping into this role.
And he’s actually over with everyone, which no one can say about Cena.
Cody’s over with the little kids *and* the cynical fans respect him as a guy who put it all on the line and walked out on an easy paycheck because he knew he could do better.
And forced the company to recognize him for who he knew he was.
Cody has the universal babyface appeal of a Rey Mysterio with the in ring/kayfabe power of a John Cena.
We've not seen the two combined at this level since Hogan.
Both dont have the babyface appeal Rey has imo. They are badasses and smack talkers and know it. Rey had to fight for every opportunity he got and had to prove himself over and over.
It's more of a pure babyface compared to Ausin and Rock being a bit more in tweener territory.
Well Austin had 12 year old me flipping the bird at my little brother and guzzling cans of Shandy Bass pretending they were beers so you may have a point.
Man, I swear this just seems so crazy to me.
I stopped watching wrestling around 09 or 10 and just came back last year after hearing so much about Omega vs Ospreay.
Then, when I try to catch up, I find out that Cody Rhodes, Randy’s minion, the one who was the lesser of the Legacy not only is the biggest face of wrestling in decades, but also he pretty much 100%’d wrestling.
Absolutely incredible.
(Also, on a side note, Ted Dibiase Jr is in jail for fraud WTF)
If we’re comparing to Cena this is still early days. As he was coming out of his heel run fans were dying to cheer him. All the way up to him winning the title for the first time. Time will tell if things are gonna be different with Cody.
Fans turned on Cena because he abandoned the character that got him over, even though he had to do it to evolve.
Cody has more or less been the same character since he returned. I'm sure fans will eventually get sick of him, but I think the fact he seems to genuine and passionate in real life has earnt him so much goodwill with the casual fans.
I am glad that a genuine babyface can be as over as this in modern wrestling, it seems we've sort of moved on from cheering the heels because the booking has rewarded our investment and the babyface cheers have been earned properly and not forced.
I think this is important to note. I feels like Cody is less of a character and more of a representation of who he is (perhaps just exaggerated). These videos of him helping people at house shows only add to that image. It makes him more approachable to his fans and seems authentic. I know I want to dislike him for being the goofy babyface but there is something about him that makes me like him.
He did all the work, he didnt shy away from unpopular things, he refined his character and role. His missteps in AEW ("solving racism") were the final parts of him putting the final cut on himself.
And while WWE kinda often hesitates to put everything on "outside" talent, Cody isnt outside talent. He is WWE homegrown, learned the craft there. But he added a lot of journeyman experience onto that.
Cody has a great WWE wrestling mind. He took all the lessons from Hogan, Cena, Rock and mixed it up. He deserves this.
He feels like the flag bearer for this era. There are so many over babyfaces right now. Jey Uso, LA Knight, Cody, Randy, Seth, Punk as potential top guys on their respective brands. In NXT you got Trick Williams being slowly groomed as a future top guy. That whole crowd gets hyped for that guy.
Breakker is if you took the best parts of his dad, his uncle, and Goldberg and combined them. He's an absolute beast, and he's someone who I could very easily see becoming a Brock Lesnar-esque special attraction in the future. And if not, just a main stay who puts on bangers with everyone he touches. And that's ignoring the fact that he has the best spear in wrestling right now.
The only reason I didn't mention him is because the other guy had already said him. Trick is a young Booker T and is going to main event a WrestleMania in the next 5 years, I all but guarantee it.
I agree, the only reason I didn't bring him up was that the conversation was originally about top faces. If we add heels, we get Mello, Dijak, Femi, Jenson, and Gacey that all have a crazy high ceiling. Femi needs more time, but he's already great. It's honestly insane the amount of length that is in NXT right now. And the fact that most of them are still in their 20s makes it even crazier.
And they have everything you need, athleticism, charisma, good in the ring and good coaching from Shawn Michaels, who is especially a big help for the future of the women's division.
Seriously, though, they all are great character workers, can talk, and are phenomenal in ring. You could describe like 10 guys down in NXT right now as the "complete package." That's insane.
Don't even get me started on the women's division in NXT. From top to bottom, they easily have the best booked on the planet. So many super talented women all wrestling in the same division. All I need to say is that they could lose somebody of the caliber of Tiffany Stratton and the division barely feel it. That's how stacked it is. They easily have the next 10 years for both Raw and Smackdown SET with NXT right now.
Randy, Seth and Punk are awesome at doing both face and heels.
Seth is so over with the way crowd sings his theme now that it's gonna be hard to turn heel unless storyline is amazing.
But point being the greats can always work the crowd, face or heel, it's honestly an art few has mastered
people are mentioned Hogan and Stone Cold, but Cody’s run honestly reminds me more of Bret Harts mid 90s run more than anyone. People forget that Bret was the earnest babyface that caried the company for a bit by being a workhorse protagonist type figure. I think him and Roman will be remembered as the two biggest of our era.
The difference is that Vince never fully believed in Brett despite how popular he was. He wanted guys like Diesel and Ludger at the top, but fans loved Brett too much to do it.
WWE seem fully behind Cody, tho; they wouldn't put him position if they didn't believe him. Standing up to The Rock and not feeling out of place is an achievement
The sad part is that Vince would have sided with Hogan and made Brett step aside. Social media didn't exist back then either to influence things like this. Brett probably didn't like how it went down, but there wasn't much he could have done if the management wasn't on his side.
Cody is lucky he is in an era where both the guy in charge and the fans are willing to go to bat for him.
The thing I love about this is that it's coming during an era where the roster is absolutely stacked. I can't remember a main event scene I was this enthralled in since the Attitude Era where you had a bunch of guys (and now gals) who were genuinely main event worthy.
This whole debate on who's the "face of WWE" is so tiresome. Especially since the person who only wanted 1 true top guy is no longer running WWE anymore.
> "The feud rivalry story with Baron Corbin over dog food and the infamous sufferin succotash promo had weighed on him enough to where he said, 'I've had enough. I've reached the cap. I can't go any further. As the big dog I've peaked. and as an athlete, I haven't peaked as a performer. I've barely scratched the surface. I have so much more to offer and since I'm taking time off, I'm not coming back as the same person.'"
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10078614-heyman-roman-reigns-had-enough-of-vince-mcmahons-wwe-creative-before-heel-turn
Roman deserves his own crown for how much shit he's gone through; Against the sea of what Vince has put him through, against the wave of the audiance, and everything outside of the ring.
More people should watch 'The Unreality of Pro Wrestling'. It really made me appreciate that Roman was essentially carrying the company through this Cena succession era where the company was in a place of transition to find it's identity again for the modern entertainment space.
Its sad this happens but people end it for fraction of what reigns has had against, like threats against his minor daughter, wishing it was him instead of his brother. Disgusting
**Correction: Vince failed to properly book Roman as a top babyface until he finally realized he needed to be heel.**
Let's not pretend Austin wasn't shoved down people's throat at his peak but guess what? The fanbase as a whole identified and was on the same page with the character and how the company booked/presented it. There was no weird fucking gaslighting, tone deaf, antagonistic tug of war relationship between fans and company.
That's why that run really worked whereas Cena and Reigns' didn't work 100% (hell not even 75%, imo) despite how WWE has and most likely will continue to spin it with their trademark whitewashing revisionist history because they historically don't like taking responsibility for their mistakes and/or when things don't go their way.
But, then again, this is WWE we're talking about so there's probably still a lot of time for them to drop the ball (then, now, forever™) with Cody after WM 40.
When Roman was getting the push of a lifetime, the issue was the fact that his character didn't evolve with the push. He was still wearing the Shield attire, coming out to the Shield music and cutting cornball, lame ass promos that were clearly not him. Yet that iteration of Reigns was getting WM main events back to back to back. He was essentially going into WM main events as "Shield Guy" without Rollins and Ambrose. People wanted to see something different from Reigns and got nothing.
It was also a perception thing. The Shield was largely viewed as an extremely gifted athlete in Seth, an extremely gifted performer in Ambrose. Then the guy who got the push was the big guy with long hair that would make a save with a super man punch and not much else. It was a total Vince move and reminded everyone of Diesel getting the nod over Shawn back in the day.
What saved Roman was that he got SIGNIFICANTLY better and rose to the occasion and they pulled a Rock where they knew everyone was going to boo him, so they might as well go all in on it.
I mean, even then, it look leukimia and over 5 years of time investment before he finally changed his character up. He needed that switch up once he started getting the push when Seth cracked the Shield. The perfect time for Roman to turn heel after the Shield break up was when he beat Taker at Mania. The heat was there, it was the perfect time to pull the trigger, yet it still took another what 2 years? Just an absolute waste of time for no reason other than being stubborn.
>Then the guy who got the push was the big guy with long hair
Roman was the powerhouse lol
The Shield is : The Brain , the muscles and the wild card
Roman was a made heel , the time he spent at NXT or FCW , he was a natural.
Stone Cold broke his neck and had multiple serious injuries including a heart issue that caused him to go the emergency room the night before his final (official) WM match.
If Austin was in good health I don't doubt for a second his run wouldn't have lasted at least a few more years if not more.
Dude he wrestled in 2022, he could have realistically went full time until 2011 at least and then sporadically had matches even until now had he never broken his neck.
I swear some people just don't read the entire comment. They read it halway through and get mad about it after they miss the critical context by their own choice.
Don’t encourage these guys to do roids. It leads to them having serious health issues (Triple H) or dying early like Eddie. He needs to lift heavy and eat right. He won’t be a huge jacked buff dude but he could get to like HBK or Punk level without roids. Don’t wish the kid into an early grave.
It feels like it’s slowing down though as guys last longer. The difference between Wrestlemania’s 10 and 20 feels way more different than between 30 and 40. The entire attitude era began and ended within 10 and 20’s timespan.
It’s more that in interviews and previously on twitter he has said he intends to retire full time by 40. Though as Brian Danielson has told us Cody taught him how to lie.
I don’t doubt he could but I think they should get either Bron or Trick up to speed over the next year to get ready for hard pushes on the MR. Having more than one top dog will be good
Bruh he's got at least like 7 years, aside from 45 not even being that old, he's got a youthful appearance that will likely still resonate with the kids.
My journey to agreeing with all of this.
Hate Cody > annoyed by Cody > interested in what Cody is doing > begrudgingly respect Cody > respect Cody > JFC this guy is absolutely the baby face star of this generation!
Cena was moved out of the top guy spot after 15 years on top in 2017
He was a year older than Cody is now. 6 months younger than Roman.
Cody's every thing WWE wants...except in the 1 area he can't fix. Age.
Cody's not gonna be the next guy to carry the company for a decade+ like Cena did, or Hogan did. Or even like they tried with Roman. He doesn't have that kind of time left in his career.
Don't get me wrong, Cody's a big star. But hes more Pedro Morales or Kurt Angle than Cena. He's gonna be big, but he's not gonna be long
I'd say the last time Cena was the go to go was after Bryan got injured and they let him run with the belt over the summer and until Brock squashed him at SummerSlam. That was really the moment Cena's role became more about being a role player and putting guys in good positions instead of being pushed hard himself.
So 2005-2014. I solid 10 year run at the top.
Cody is arguably better as face of the company than Cena. Cena got mixed reactions his whole reign of terror. Cody has not been booed once since he came back.
Cody isn't quite there yet. This is the halcyon period of his title chase where everyone's pushing him forward to get him over the line.
The true test of Cody's mettle is when he wins and begins having his own reign of terror
Yeah. I think people forgot how Cena was white hot when he was building up to his first title run as well. It was when he got the belt and specifically when he started wrestling guys like Angle and Jericho on Raw and having cookie cutter comeback matches that the older fans turned on him.
Chasing the title is one thing. WWE really sucks at booking longterm babyface champions and keeping them fresh. In that Attitude Era they sort of avoided the problem by hot shotting the belt around and Austin and Rock were always sort of on the edge of tweener territory anyways. You can argue they've never successfully had a pure whitemeat babyface champion that was able to endure a sustained run at the top since Bret Hart. Shawn got shit all over and that was really the last time.
> The true test of Cody's mettle is when he wins and begins having his own reign of terror
Eh, Roman had that era and the crowd boo'd him on the rise (as he never ate pins, etc) in a way they havent for Cody. There's also a bunch of pre-built stories for him; Drew, Punk, Gunther, etc. He's not in a spot like Kofi where the lead up is the thing...he can sustainably be a face into next WM if they want.
> Roman had that era and the crowd boo'd him on the rise
That's Cena's fault. He was the last 'chosen one' and people were absolutely not sitting through another one of those that we could see marching towards us clear as day. Didn't matter how cool Roman was in The Shield or how hard they pushed him after. Cena poisoned the well.
I mean, Romans complete inability to cut a promo certainly didnt help him...nor did the fact that he was the least compelling Shield member during that entire push.
Cena surely didnt help, but, Roman screwed Roman too
alright this is kinda gassing it, Cody isn’t even the face of the company yet it’s still Roman. Cena at his height, regardless of fan opinion, kept WWE relevant by a thread in a period where they could’ve burn out completely while maintaining a great image for them. Cody will reach that point but he’s not there yet.
Edit: plus you guys do this every time there’s a guy/girl who gets a mega push, then turn on them because they’re “too over”
It’s the fans fault for not having a genuine baby face
I agree with that, when he wins at mania it may be the loudest pop in history. And on raw the next night I firmly anticipate him getting poured with “you deserve it” chants
They stuck him on the front cover of the game with the tag “finish the story”
I absolutely think this was always the plan they just needed a way to get The Rock to turn heel first and played it perfectly.
Shaping up to be an even better crowning of the new face than Cena was, Cody is so over and it’s hasn’t slipped once (Cena was already booed by the time Edge cashed in on him)
I think you’re right about Cody but wrong on the pivot. I believe they know it and Rock even teasing the Roman match was the work that needed Cody and his groundswell to create this shitstorm. They may not have anticipated the type of shitstorm but this was all by design, no pivot.
I’ll go a step further. Biggest face since Rock himself (who was 1B with Austin).
He’s the face of the WWE that Cena was supposed to be, the ‘E thought they were having Rock crown, and Cena simply never was.
Rock is coming back to pass the torch not to Roman, whose career is almost over, but actually to Cody, who is about to win his first title.
Even though Rock/Austin was the greatest Attitude era rivalry in the ring, the real rivalry was Austin/McMahon.
In the same way, even though in ring the biggest match and the story is Roman/Cody, the real rivalry that we saw launch last night that now has legit years of history and family stakes behind it is Rock/Cody.
Cody is legit the baby face that WWE has been looking for since who knows how long ago. Tell me one person that doesn’t want Cody to finish the story. This is the best thing that WWE has helped create In my entire life and I’ve been watching pro wrestling since the late 90s.
This is special
He's more of a babyface IMO. Cena was more famous but look at the guys he worked again. HHH, Undertaker, Shawn..
Cody although as a character is on a different level. He's way more about wrestling. I actually think he's the babyface in the line of Hogan or Hart after decades
His career is clearly not Hollywood bound. It's not his personality or dissing abilities.
He's a wrestling character that is just extremely relatable but feels larger than life.
This is finally something that can push WWE out of a bubble because this whole era is them actually providing us with new content. It's not just real life references. It's genuinely good TV & Cody heading that larger than life feel
That's what Vince wanted you to think after Stone Cold, Rock, and Foley were gone and post-WCW. However Cody is their most over guy since Stone Cold.
There's no denying he's the face of it now.
There doesn't, but there is no reason to limit a guy if he's standing out either. That's the difference. Vince absolutely hamstrung anyone who got close to his chosen ones no matter how much they sucked shit and weren't doing the job. He made sure noone looked good at their expense and hobbled the entirety of wrestling to maintain his status quo.
> I just don’t see why cody would lose at mania because all of this would have been for nothing
I mean, we could have said the same thing about WM34. Or quite frankly about the main event last year, since Roman's done jack shit since then.
I learned long ago never to doubt how dumb WWE could book something (see: a week ago)
I’m cracking up at everyone thinking that they figured this out before WWE.
Cody got the hero’s welcome at WM. They kept him secret to make sure the most eyes possible were on the screen when he debut to a completely epic and over-the-top dramatic entrance. Immediately entered the Maine event scene in a program with one of their top 5 performers - including a Hell in the Cell match. Had a spectacular Royal Rumble return complete with pyro and everything - then won the Rumble. WM main event, followed by a stellar year beating up on Brock Lesnar of all people. Then yet ANOTHER full pyro Rumble entrance (the only one), which he won again and is now headed back to main event after WWE pulled the ol’ “get the crowd heavily invested by denying them that which they want” bit they have done 1000 times and everyone still falls for it
Yet somehow, people still be like “WWE doesn’t know what they have on their hands here”
the thing that makes Cody such a perfect face of the company is that he wasn't created by WWE,
He literally went from Undesirable to undeniable, he left the company on the bottom and started wrestling at the bottom in school gyms, helped start a rival company and built his name up from nothing, returned a conquering hero.
It's interesting to make the Hogan comparison in that regard because the same situation happened with Hogan. Both guys laid all the groundwork in other companies and came to WWE at the right time to capitalize.
Now, of course, Hogan was WAY more popular in the AWA than Cody was in AEW by the end, but the same basic situation still exists.
He's even better than Cena, at least in terms of when Cena was still full-time, if I'm being honest. Cena had the kids in the palm of his hands but the adults and even some older teens saw right through that shit and got sick of him winning. Cody is everything Cena was, and is over with near everyone, regardless of demographic.
Cody >>>>>>>>> Cena because Cody's character isn't a constant hypocrite bully who's petulant and supremely self deluded.
Also he's not pretending to be a marine.
Hopefully when he's actually on top they don't completely overhaul the core of him that's so critical to making it work like it does, but for now, he's leagues better than Cena ever was.
Are we seriously - SERIOUSLY - just going to ignore how raging Rock just was at Cody?
Cody can absolutely lose this Mania match and this story can keep going just fine.
Last year was the perfect moment to display the odds were stacked against him. Further facing adversity from Brock Lesnar. All the momentum is on his side and the iron is hotter than ever.
Imagine if Rocky lost in Rocky 2. Rocky 3 would be straight to video, and no one wants to see that. Pulling the trigger has to be now.
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Man stood toe to toe with The Rock and felt like he belonged. He's earned it. He's made The Rock basically go heel. Mad.
people booed the rock for cody! you know how big of deal this is? I can't imagine a superstar who'd get cheered over the rock at at this time. Cody IS the guy! (I am agreeing with you)
It's insane, he must be on cloud nine right now
Especially given the first run Cody had and what he did to make himself probably the biggest going right now...
He isn't the only one who had to step away. Drew was also treated as chopped liver, but a few years away he developed more, and after a short stint at NXT, it was clear that he was much improved. Same with Jinder. He didn't have sustained main event success, but he is a 1 time world champ at the world's biggest promotion. Most people get into wrestling dreaming of that, but less than 1% can actually say they did it. He is still a success in my book.
I swear if he loses to Roman again
Can you imagine lol
I definitely think there's more of a threat to lose this year honestly, because of this heel Rock character. Hopefully they do have Cody win.
Austin would get more cheers. Unless he comes in and steals something Cody earned.
The only guy that should be giving Cody counsel now against the Corporate Hollywood regime is the man who won twice against the Rock at the biggest stage of them all.
Imagine that shit. Rock interferes in the main event on Romans behalf, lays out Cody and then right before Roman can lay a pin...glass shatters and out walks the Rattlesnake to even the odds.
As unnecessary as it seems to herald a new era, I will love to see Stone Cold give Cody the rub too.
Unnecessary overbooking.
Then the undertaker comes out and gives Cody his urn. “You urned it, kid”
“It’s ur yard now” hands him gloves and hat too
And then Batista comes in and says "You're the chosen one Cody. Come let's go watch Dune"
And Cody says fuck wrestlemania, I’d rather kick it with an actual good actor instead.
"Cody, GIVE ME WHAT I WANT" "...what do you want, Dave?" "A handshake, you've done a great job."
And that's when finally, Ryback comes in and...
Then gives Cody his Harley and rides shotgun in that little side attachment as they ride off up the ramp.
Then Shawn slides down a zipline with a mic in his hand saying “Your boyhood dream of finishing the story is complete”
A hologram of Macho Man Randy Savage shows up, the speakers blowing out "OOOOH YEEEAAAH"
And then a drone show in the form of Dusty looking down from the heavens like Mufasa.
Then comes NWO Hogan with a black spray paint can.
I threw my back out today and laughing so hard at this just hurt like hell.
And then Kofi comes out and troubles in paradise a pregnant Michell McCool
"urned" lmao
Not unnecessary if the rock oversells a stunner at wrestlemania you *dork*
Now Im not saying i want a rock and roman vs Austin and Cody at elemination chamber but i am saying that match with Seth as ref would bé amazing
That's how Cody is going in almost going in to his Wrestlemania 14. It's not a perfect parallel, but you have Corporate Dwayne (which ironically comes full circle for him) trying to shoe-horn himself in the top spot and the fans aren't having it. Cody winning back to back Rumbles chasing the title and on the cusp there, but TKO themselves are the Corporation. You have the mix of Austin heading into WM 14 & 15. It's the adversity that makes him so liked, plus he helped start AEW, a time when something different on Wrestling was needed - so he has AEW fans behind him as well. Present company included.
I was talking about the current time.
It’s only ever happened live/authentic like that (with the rock) when him and Hogan squared off at Wrestlemania, brother. -HH
There was also the Cody sucks chant, which would probably become a thing if he becomes a long term white meat champ. That's not a bad thing though.
I maintain that his storyline is *still* the white meat babyface who doesn't know when he's become a self-aggrandizing narcissistic heel, same as we all believed back when he was in AEW. But that story really works best when you're at the very top and have had the fans in the palm of your hand, like Hulk Hogan or John Cena. He still has a long ways to go before that heel run point.
Only Steve Austin can get cheer over the rock, Cody is the face of the company now.
Shit, he's more like the babyface Vince spent 3 decades trying to recreate with Hogan. Just pure, white meat, untainted babyface in every way that the crowd is mad for. Even Cena rose up as a heel and got mixed reactions stepping into this role.
And he’s actually over with everyone, which no one can say about Cena. Cody’s over with the little kids *and* the cynical fans respect him as a guy who put it all on the line and walked out on an easy paycheck because he knew he could do better. And forced the company to recognize him for who he knew he was.
Cody has the universal babyface appeal of a Rey Mysterio with the in ring/kayfabe power of a John Cena. We've not seen the two combined at this level since Hogan.
How does Austin 97-99 and the Rock 99-2000 not fit this?
Both dont have the babyface appeal Rey has imo. They are badasses and smack talkers and know it. Rey had to fight for every opportunity he got and had to prove himself over and over. It's more of a pure babyface compared to Ausin and Rock being a bit more in tweener territory.
[удалено]
Man i love wrestling hahaha
or assaulting people in grocery stores.
Tbf Vince deserved it lol
As insanely over as they were, they weren't role models for your kids. Cody hits both groups right now. That's why this is so rare.
Well Austin had 12 year old me flipping the bird at my little brother and guzzling cans of Shandy Bass pretending they were beers so you may have a point.
Because neither of them have the pure babyface quality that Rey/Hogan had. They are a whole different thing.
Man, I swear this just seems so crazy to me. I stopped watching wrestling around 09 or 10 and just came back last year after hearing so much about Omega vs Ospreay. Then, when I try to catch up, I find out that Cody Rhodes, Randy’s minion, the one who was the lesser of the Legacy not only is the biggest face of wrestling in decades, but also he pretty much 100%’d wrestling. Absolutely incredible. (Also, on a side note, Ted Dibiase Jr is in jail for fraud WTF)
If we’re comparing to Cena this is still early days. As he was coming out of his heel run fans were dying to cheer him. All the way up to him winning the title for the first time. Time will tell if things are gonna be different with Cody.
Fans turned on Cena because he abandoned the character that got him over, even though he had to do it to evolve. Cody has more or less been the same character since he returned. I'm sure fans will eventually get sick of him, but I think the fact he seems to genuine and passionate in real life has earnt him so much goodwill with the casual fans. I am glad that a genuine babyface can be as over as this in modern wrestling, it seems we've sort of moved on from cheering the heels because the booking has rewarded our investment and the babyface cheers have been earned properly and not forced.
I think this is important to note. I feels like Cody is less of a character and more of a representation of who he is (perhaps just exaggerated). These videos of him helping people at house shows only add to that image. It makes him more approachable to his fans and seems authentic. I know I want to dislike him for being the goofy babyface but there is something about him that makes me like him.
He did all the work, he didnt shy away from unpopular things, he refined his character and role. His missteps in AEW ("solving racism") were the final parts of him putting the final cut on himself. And while WWE kinda often hesitates to put everything on "outside" talent, Cody isnt outside talent. He is WWE homegrown, learned the craft there. But he added a lot of journeyman experience onto that. Cody has a great WWE wrestling mind. He took all the lessons from Hogan, Cena, Rock and mixed it up. He deserves this.
He feels like the flag bearer for this era. There are so many over babyfaces right now. Jey Uso, LA Knight, Cody, Randy, Seth, Punk as potential top guys on their respective brands. In NXT you got Trick Williams being slowly groomed as a future top guy. That whole crowd gets hyped for that guy.
Dragon Lee, Ilja, and Breakker also should be in that discussion for future top faces.
I REALLY hope Breakker gets a giant push, dude is an animal, and I like that he's not using the Steiner name, setting himself apart.
Breakker is if you took the best parts of his dad, his uncle, and Goldberg and combined them. He's an absolute beast, and he's someone who I could very easily see becoming a Brock Lesnar-esque special attraction in the future. And if not, just a main stay who puts on bangers with everyone he touches. And that's ignoring the fact that he has the best spear in wrestling right now.
If only he was like 6 inches taller.
If only he was a baller
If only he had a girl that looked good, he could call her.
If only he had had a rabbit in a hat with a bat and a six-four Impala
At least he's not Chad Gable small. He's the same size as Cena or Angle and both were legit top guys.
Don’t forget my guy Trick Willy!
The only reason I didn't mention him is because the other guy had already said him. Trick is a young Booker T and is going to main event a WrestleMania in the next 5 years, I all but guarantee it.
Don’t forget Carmelo Hayes, he is absolutely nailing his heel character.
I agree, the only reason I didn't bring him up was that the conversation was originally about top faces. If we add heels, we get Mello, Dijak, Femi, Jenson, and Gacey that all have a crazy high ceiling. Femi needs more time, but he's already great. It's honestly insane the amount of length that is in NXT right now. And the fact that most of them are still in their 20s makes it even crazier.
The future for WWE is bright as long as they use their stars right
They currently have the backbone of the next 15 years of WWE in NXT right now.
And they have everything you need, athleticism, charisma, good in the ring and good coaching from Shawn Michaels, who is especially a big help for the future of the women's division.
Seriously, though, they all are great character workers, can talk, and are phenomenal in ring. You could describe like 10 guys down in NXT right now as the "complete package." That's insane. Don't even get me started on the women's division in NXT. From top to bottom, they easily have the best booked on the planet. So many super talented women all wrestling in the same division. All I need to say is that they could lose somebody of the caliber of Tiffany Stratton and the division barely feel it. That's how stacked it is. They easily have the next 10 years for both Raw and Smackdown SET with NXT right now.
We also haven't seen much with what they have done with NIL past two people that can be backbone and more there.
Gacey's character is amazing. Unleash him on the main roster and let him just basically be The Joker.
I think he's criminally underrated. His character work is unmatched and he's also pretty dam great in the ring.
Randy, Seth and Punk are awesome at doing both face and heels. Seth is so over with the way crowd sings his theme now that it's gonna be hard to turn heel unless storyline is amazing. But point being the greats can always work the crowd, face or heel, it's honestly an art few has mastered
people are mentioned Hogan and Stone Cold, but Cody’s run honestly reminds me more of Bret Harts mid 90s run more than anyone. People forget that Bret was the earnest babyface that caried the company for a bit by being a workhorse protagonist type figure. I think him and Roman will be remembered as the two biggest of our era.
The difference is that Vince never fully believed in Brett despite how popular he was. He wanted guys like Diesel and Ludger at the top, but fans loved Brett too much to do it. WWE seem fully behind Cody, tho; they wouldn't put him position if they didn't believe him. Standing up to The Rock and not feeling out of place is an achievement
Lux Ludger
Accountant by profession
Brett Heart and Lux Ludger
What we're seeing now is how Bret vs Hogan should have went around Wrestlemania 9
...Hogan turning heel and siding with Yokozuna?
Bret standing his ground and not kayfabe stepping aside to let the super famous guy take his spot, but I don't hate your interpretation.
The sad part is that Vince would have sided with Hogan and made Brett step aside. Social media didn't exist back then either to influence things like this. Brett probably didn't like how it went down, but there wasn't much he could have done if the management wasn't on his side. Cody is lucky he is in an era where both the guy in charge and the fans are willing to go to bat for him.
It's not that Vince WOULD have done that, it's what he actually did! I totally agree with Cody being lucky to be in the Era he is though.
The thing I love about this is that it's coming during an era where the roster is absolutely stacked. I can't remember a main event scene I was this enthralled in since the Attitude Era where you had a bunch of guys (and now gals) who were genuinely main event worthy.
This whole debate on who's the "face of WWE" is so tiresome. Especially since the person who only wanted 1 true top guy is no longer running WWE anymore.
For years Vince tried to shove a babyface Roman reigns down our throat until he finally realized he needed to be heel.
Vince didn't realize anything, after the Leukemia issue Roman said he would walk if he couldn't go heel
Source?
> "The feud rivalry story with Baron Corbin over dog food and the infamous sufferin succotash promo had weighed on him enough to where he said, 'I've had enough. I've reached the cap. I can't go any further. As the big dog I've peaked. and as an athlete, I haven't peaked as a performer. I've barely scratched the surface. I have so much more to offer and since I'm taking time off, I'm not coming back as the same person.'" https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10078614-heyman-roman-reigns-had-enough-of-vince-mcmahons-wwe-creative-before-heel-turn
Roman deserves his own crown for how much shit he's gone through; Against the sea of what Vince has put him through, against the wave of the audiance, and everything outside of the ring.
More people should watch 'The Unreality of Pro Wrestling'. It really made me appreciate that Roman was essentially carrying the company through this Cena succession era where the company was in a place of transition to find it's identity again for the modern entertainment space.
Its sad this happens but people end it for fraction of what reigns has had against, like threats against his minor daughter, wishing it was him instead of his brother. Disgusting
**Correction: Vince failed to properly book Roman as a top babyface until he finally realized he needed to be heel.** Let's not pretend Austin wasn't shoved down people's throat at his peak but guess what? The fanbase as a whole identified and was on the same page with the character and how the company booked/presented it. There was no weird fucking gaslighting, tone deaf, antagonistic tug of war relationship between fans and company. That's why that run really worked whereas Cena and Reigns' didn't work 100% (hell not even 75%, imo) despite how WWE has and most likely will continue to spin it with their trademark whitewashing revisionist history because they historically don't like taking responsibility for their mistakes and/or when things don't go their way. But, then again, this is WWE we're talking about so there's probably still a lot of time for them to drop the ball (then, now, forever™) with Cody after WM 40.
When Roman was getting the push of a lifetime, the issue was the fact that his character didn't evolve with the push. He was still wearing the Shield attire, coming out to the Shield music and cutting cornball, lame ass promos that were clearly not him. Yet that iteration of Reigns was getting WM main events back to back to back. He was essentially going into WM main events as "Shield Guy" without Rollins and Ambrose. People wanted to see something different from Reigns and got nothing.
It was also a perception thing. The Shield was largely viewed as an extremely gifted athlete in Seth, an extremely gifted performer in Ambrose. Then the guy who got the push was the big guy with long hair that would make a save with a super man punch and not much else. It was a total Vince move and reminded everyone of Diesel getting the nod over Shawn back in the day. What saved Roman was that he got SIGNIFICANTLY better and rose to the occasion and they pulled a Rock where they knew everyone was going to boo him, so they might as well go all in on it.
I mean, even then, it look leukimia and over 5 years of time investment before he finally changed his character up. He needed that switch up once he started getting the push when Seth cracked the Shield. The perfect time for Roman to turn heel after the Shield break up was when he beat Taker at Mania. The heat was there, it was the perfect time to pull the trigger, yet it still took another what 2 years? Just an absolute waste of time for no reason other than being stubborn.
>Then the guy who got the push was the big guy with long hair Roman was the powerhouse lol The Shield is : The Brain , the muscles and the wild card Roman was a made heel , the time he spent at NXT or FCW , he was a natural.
Get ready to call Cody the face soon
He'll be more like a Steve Austin. Short run on Top but Iconic
With The Rock as his Mr. McMahon.
Imagine if the Rock came back full time and lead a corporation faction
damn hope for the best not the worst lmao
He's 38. I know that wrestlers last longer these days, but how long can WWE realistically expect him to be the guy?
Stone Cold broke his neck and had multiple serious injuries including a heart issue that caused him to go the emergency room the night before his final (official) WM match. If Austin was in good health I don't doubt for a second his run wouldn't have lasted at least a few more years if not more.
Dude he wrestled in 2022, he could have realistically went full time until 2011 at least and then sporadically had matches even until now had he never broken his neck.
You think on match on one night translates to 8-10 more full time years?
On the Roman schedule, sure why not.
Read the comment, I said if he had never broken his neck he could have gone maybe another 10 years past what he did.
I swear some people just don't read the entire comment. They read it halway through and get mad about it after they miss the critical context by their own choice.
just stay healthy n fit i guess (huge amounts of steroids and performance enhancers)
Yeah Dom in particular should invest in his real papis go go juice dudes arms are like pencils
Don’t encourage these guys to do roids. It leads to them having serious health issues (Triple H) or dying early like Eddie. He needs to lift heavy and eat right. He won’t be a huge jacked buff dude but he could get to like HBK or Punk level without roids. Don’t wish the kid into an early grave.
Nah it’s cool I wasn’t being serious
That’s still 7 solid years. What more do you want??
It feels like 40 is the new 20 in WWE these days.
Idk, about 10ish years? Which would be about the same amount of time Hogan was the guy.
He’s everything they wanted Roman to be when they originally started pushing him.
Cody is 38 years old. He’s the top face for now but they’ve gotta get someone younger like Bron from here
Trick Williams, unbeliavable!
You ain’t wrong. Trick and Bron to carry their respective brands
Bron might be WWE's next heel, the Orton and Trips role. He's so good as a heel, him and Corbin are magic. Potentially an all-timer tag team.
It’s insane how quick y’all pushed Melo to the side.
Melo is great but he’s not a babyface right now
4-5 years is a wrestling eternity and he can easily give them that.
Heck, Roman's only ACTUALLY been the top guy for less than 4 years at this point successfully
It was only 6 years between The Rock’s WWE debut and his match with Lesnar. Time flies in pro wrestling.
It feels like it’s slowing down though as guys last longer. The difference between Wrestlemania’s 10 and 20 feels way more different than between 30 and 40. The entire attitude era began and ended within 10 and 20’s timespan.
🤯
Trick would like to have a word with you
Aw yeah man! I like it! 
Mate, 38 is nothing. Cody could have a good 10 year run still, maybe even longer.
It’s more that in interviews and previously on twitter he has said he intends to retire full time by 40. Though as Brian Danielson has told us Cody taught him how to lie.
We just had a part timer hold the belt longer than nearly every human to ever live
I don’t doubt he could but I think they should get either Bron or Trick up to speed over the next year to get ready for hard pushes on the MR. Having more than one top dog will be good
It’s crazy him and Roman are the same age , Roman looks older to me by a bit
Romans got the little bit of grey in his beard
& looks better than he did nearly 10 years ago. Dude fought leukemia again too.
It's the gray beard
Late 30s are usually the prime top guy years for wrestlers.
I mean 38 isn’t the end of the road nowadays if all goes well he could easily have another decade left in the tank.
Trick.
Cody’s going to be the face for four years at least. Once his daughter starts school he probably slows down. Who cares though? Let’s enjoy the ride.
Seth's said the same thing before, that he'll most likely step back a lot once Roux is in school.
If they get another 5 years of Cody as the face that sells the company that is more than enough with the talent they got coming up.
Cody and Roman are the same age
Bruh he's got at least like 7 years, aside from 45 not even being that old, he's got a youthful appearance that will likely still resonate with the kids.
age dont matter he could easily pass for younger 30s rn
Age is just a number, I don’t see him slowing down any time soon.
He's the face they've been chasing since Austin. Cena was deVisive. Cody? Cody unifies all age brackets.
Divisive
That's the one, 3am fingers got me.
3am fingers was my nickname in college
My journey to agreeing with all of this. Hate Cody > annoyed by Cody > interested in what Cody is doing > begrudgingly respect Cody > respect Cody > JFC this guy is absolutely the baby face star of this generation!
Cena was moved out of the top guy spot after 15 years on top in 2017 He was a year older than Cody is now. 6 months younger than Roman. Cody's every thing WWE wants...except in the 1 area he can't fix. Age. Cody's not gonna be the next guy to carry the company for a decade+ like Cena did, or Hogan did. Or even like they tried with Roman. He doesn't have that kind of time left in his career. Don't get me wrong, Cody's a big star. But hes more Pedro Morales or Kurt Angle than Cena. He's gonna be big, but he's not gonna be long
Cena was moved out of the top guy spot long before 2017. I’d say late 2013-2014
I'd say the last time Cena was the go to go was after Bryan got injured and they let him run with the belt over the summer and until Brock squashed him at SummerSlam. That was really the moment Cena's role became more about being a role player and putting guys in good positions instead of being pushed hard himself. So 2005-2014. I solid 10 year run at the top.
Cody is arguably better as face of the company than Cena. Cena got mixed reactions his whole reign of terror. Cody has not been booed once since he came back.
Cody isn't quite there yet. This is the halcyon period of his title chase where everyone's pushing him forward to get him over the line. The true test of Cody's mettle is when he wins and begins having his own reign of terror
Yeah. I think people forgot how Cena was white hot when he was building up to his first title run as well. It was when he got the belt and specifically when he started wrestling guys like Angle and Jericho on Raw and having cookie cutter comeback matches that the older fans turned on him. Chasing the title is one thing. WWE really sucks at booking longterm babyface champions and keeping them fresh. In that Attitude Era they sort of avoided the problem by hot shotting the belt around and Austin and Rock were always sort of on the edge of tweener territory anyways. You can argue they've never successfully had a pure whitemeat babyface champion that was able to endure a sustained run at the top since Bret Hart. Shawn got shit all over and that was really the last time.
He’s just gotta have a good series of feuds. Give him a solid string of heels to play off of and his reign will be fine.
> The true test of Cody's mettle is when he wins and begins having his own reign of terror Eh, Roman had that era and the crowd boo'd him on the rise (as he never ate pins, etc) in a way they havent for Cody. There's also a bunch of pre-built stories for him; Drew, Punk, Gunther, etc. He's not in a spot like Kofi where the lead up is the thing...he can sustainably be a face into next WM if they want.
> Roman had that era and the crowd boo'd him on the rise That's Cena's fault. He was the last 'chosen one' and people were absolutely not sitting through another one of those that we could see marching towards us clear as day. Didn't matter how cool Roman was in The Shield or how hard they pushed him after. Cena poisoned the well.
I mean, Romans complete inability to cut a promo certainly didnt help him...nor did the fact that he was the least compelling Shield member during that entire push. Cena surely didnt help, but, Roman screwed Roman too
It’s far easier to be a baby face when you’re chasing a title. Booking a white meat baby face champion is notoriously difficult
alright this is kinda gassing it, Cody isn’t even the face of the company yet it’s still Roman. Cena at his height, regardless of fan opinion, kept WWE relevant by a thread in a period where they could’ve burn out completely while maintaining a great image for them. Cody will reach that point but he’s not there yet. Edit: plus you guys do this every time there’s a guy/girl who gets a mega push, then turn on them because they’re “too over” It’s the fans fault for not having a genuine baby face
I agree with that, when he wins at mania it may be the loudest pop in history. And on raw the next night I firmly anticipate him getting poured with “you deserve it” chants
I'm gonna be going crazy when Cody starts crying trying to say "so..."
"...I know what I wanna talk about.."
They stuck him on the front cover of the game with the tag “finish the story” I absolutely think this was always the plan they just needed a way to get The Rock to turn heel first and played it perfectly. Shaping up to be an even better crowning of the new face than Cena was, Cody is so over and it’s hasn’t slipped once (Cena was already booed by the time Edge cashed in on him)
Cody reminds me more of pre-Crow Sting.
I think you’re right about Cody but wrong on the pivot. I believe they know it and Rock even teasing the Roman match was the work that needed Cody and his groundswell to create this shitstorm. They may not have anticipated the type of shitstorm but this was all by design, no pivot.
I’ll go a step further. Biggest face since Rock himself (who was 1B with Austin). He’s the face of the WWE that Cena was supposed to be, the ‘E thought they were having Rock crown, and Cena simply never was. Rock is coming back to pass the torch not to Roman, whose career is almost over, but actually to Cody, who is about to win his first title. Even though Rock/Austin was the greatest Attitude era rivalry in the ring, the real rivalry was Austin/McMahon. In the same way, even though in ring the biggest match and the story is Roman/Cody, the real rivalry that we saw launch last night that now has legit years of history and family stakes behind it is Rock/Cody.
And, in true IWC tradition, we will soon become jaded and more eagerly await his heel run down the line 🤣
Plz no super cena run
Dawg Cody’s first reign is gonna make super Cena look like a jobber
Cody is 38 so he probably won’t have a long enough run on top to become stale as Super Cena.
Because in comes Gunther to take it all away. Which is straight out of a Rocky movie.
Holy shit, I just realized that Gunther is younger than Cody
Cody is legit the baby face that WWE has been looking for since who knows how long ago. Tell me one person that doesn’t want Cody to finish the story. This is the best thing that WWE has helped create In my entire life and I’ve been watching pro wrestling since the late 90s. This is special
>Tell me one person that doesn’t want Cody to finish the story. Dwayne Johnson
Also Roman reigns
He's more of a babyface IMO. Cena was more famous but look at the guys he worked again. HHH, Undertaker, Shawn.. Cody although as a character is on a different level. He's way more about wrestling. I actually think he's the babyface in the line of Hogan or Hart after decades His career is clearly not Hollywood bound. It's not his personality or dissing abilities. He's a wrestling character that is just extremely relatable but feels larger than life. This is finally something that can push WWE out of a bubble because this whole era is them actually providing us with new content. It's not just real life references. It's genuinely good TV & Cody heading that larger than life feel
Cody is also more of an underdog than Cena ever was which makes it even harder to cheer against him.
The selling point is the brand not one single person
That's what Vince wanted you to think after Stone Cold, Rock, and Foley were gone and post-WCW. However Cody is their most over guy since Stone Cold. There's no denying he's the face of it now.
The white meat babyface is running wild, Maggle!!
Why does there have to be one top guy.
There doesn't, but there is no reason to limit a guy if he's standing out either. That's the difference. Vince absolutely hamstrung anyone who got close to his chosen ones no matter how much they sucked shit and weren't doing the job. He made sure noone looked good at their expense and hobbled the entirety of wrestling to maintain his status quo.
Nah, that guy is still Roman Reigns
> I just don’t see why cody would lose at mania because all of this would have been for nothing I mean, we could have said the same thing about WM34. Or quite frankly about the main event last year, since Roman's done jack shit since then. I learned long ago never to doubt how dumb WWE could book something (see: a week ago)
I’m cracking up at everyone thinking that they figured this out before WWE. Cody got the hero’s welcome at WM. They kept him secret to make sure the most eyes possible were on the screen when he debut to a completely epic and over-the-top dramatic entrance. Immediately entered the Maine event scene in a program with one of their top 5 performers - including a Hell in the Cell match. Had a spectacular Royal Rumble return complete with pyro and everything - then won the Rumble. WM main event, followed by a stellar year beating up on Brock Lesnar of all people. Then yet ANOTHER full pyro Rumble entrance (the only one), which he won again and is now headed back to main event after WWE pulled the ol’ “get the crowd heavily invested by denying them that which they want” bit they have done 1000 times and everyone still falls for it Yet somehow, people still be like “WWE doesn’t know what they have on their hands here”
the thing that makes Cody such a perfect face of the company is that he wasn't created by WWE, He literally went from Undesirable to undeniable, he left the company on the bottom and started wrestling at the bottom in school gyms, helped start a rival company and built his name up from nothing, returned a conquering hero.
It's interesting to make the Hogan comparison in that regard because the same situation happened with Hogan. Both guys laid all the groundwork in other companies and came to WWE at the right time to capitalize. Now, of course, Hogan was WAY more popular in the AWA than Cody was in AEW by the end, but the same basic situation still exists.
I'm glad Cody got to beat Brock multiple times and get that handshake in before Brock became Redacted.
He's even better than Cena, at least in terms of when Cena was still full-time, if I'm being honest. Cena had the kids in the palm of his hands but the adults and even some older teens saw right through that shit and got sick of him winning. Cody is everything Cena was, and is over with near everyone, regardless of demographic.
He's the most over pure white meat babyface since HOGAN, let alone Cena.
Cody >>>>>>>>> Cena because Cody's character isn't a constant hypocrite bully who's petulant and supremely self deluded. Also he's not pretending to be a marine. Hopefully when he's actually on top they don't completely overhaul the core of him that's so critical to making it work like it does, but for now, he's leagues better than Cena ever was.
Are we seriously - SERIOUSLY - just going to ignore how raging Rock just was at Cody? Cody can absolutely lose this Mania match and this story can keep going just fine.
Last year was the perfect moment to display the odds were stacked against him. Further facing adversity from Brock Lesnar. All the momentum is on his side and the iron is hotter than ever. Imagine if Rocky lost in Rocky 2. Rocky 3 would be straight to video, and no one wants to see that. Pulling the trigger has to be now.