At WrestleMania 40, Cody Rhodes created history by defeating Roman Reigns and winning the Undisputed WWE Championship in Philadelphia. Given the challenges he faced to finish the story and realize his father Dusty Rhodes’ goal, The American Nightmare’s success was particularly noteworthy.
Although the build-up to his championship victory and the bout itself was outstanding, some fans weren’t very fond of him in his first few weeks as the WWE champion. Many fans of professional wrestling argued that Cody’s greatest moment was taking home the prized title at The Show of Shows and that the rest of his reign would be uninteresting.
Notwithstanding the rumors that circulate inside the industry, Cody’s popularity has not diminished, and the Stamford-based promotion has ensured that his reign looks fantastic. It wasn’t an easy feat to execute amid everything fans were anticipating. The Triple H-led promotion chose to match him against AJ Styles out of all the opponents he could have faced, and the two titans of professional wrestling delivered an incredible performance.
After his surprising feud with The Phenomenal One, The Maverick Logan Paul stepped up at Cody’s kingdom. Following the triumphant Backlash French event, Nick Aldis declared Logan the next contender for Cody’s Undisputed WWE Championship, and the crowd found the battle to be quite captivating. The contract signing proved to be the most remembered aspect of their feud, even if their match was equally excellent.
As Rhodes continues to deliver at the highest level of the company, it seems that he would need some changes in his overall persona going forward. With not much left for Rhodes to hunt down at SmackDown, forming his own stable might open doors to several new storylines for the American Nightmare.
Cody Rhodes has added several layers to his current persona
The title run has been interesting in large part because of Rhodes himself. On multiple occasions, the fan-favorite hero has backed WWE’s ongoing efforts to offer more depth to his persona. The American Nightmare was a heel throughout his time in AEW, and he recently displayed heel behavior in a promo, casting doubt on his character. Because it was unexpected, viewers began to doubt if he would turn on the crowd making things more interesting.
Cody Rhodes gets asked if he thinks about turning heel down the road
“I think minimally about it. You never say never. John’s never happened and I think rightfully so.”
(Cheap Heat/Rosenberg Wrestling) pic.twitter.com/7cmtmRMniU
— Vick (@Vick_8122) April 30, 2024
Perhaps this is Cody’s chance to write a new chapter in his story. A chapter in which the whole WWE Universe opposes him rather than stands behind him. Rhodes has achieved great accomplishments and gone from being the Undesirable to the Undisputed Champion. This would not only delight the audience, but it would also highlight Cody’s skill as a heel.
Being in the heelish stable Bullet Club in his NJPW and ROH ventures, Rhodes exactly knows how to function in a villainous stable. By turning on the crowd and being a massive heel, The American Nightmare could take over the company with some of his highly skilled stablemates on his side.
Cody Rhodes can retaliate against AJ Styles’ O.C by forming his stable
Former members of the Bullet Club, Styles, and Rhodes share a long storied history. Their promos also signaled the NJPW faction as Rhodes acknowledged his previous faction during the Backlash kickoff event. After their recent bout at Backlash, fans wanted more from both of them. Styles certainly proved himself worthy and is on a mission to bring the best out of Rhodes.
Fans witnessed AJ acting like he was retiring throughout their exchange, much like Mark Henry did with John Cena. Subsequently, The Phenomenal One began to mercilessly assault The American Nightmare. Given this onslaught, it appears that WWE will most likely give us a rematch between these professional wrestlers. During his fake retirement promo, Styles reunited with the O.C.
https://x.com/WWENXT/status/1799093960704467449
As Styles is ready to take the numbers advantage against The American Nightmare, Rhodes would look to even things up by forming his stable. His ideal stablemates would be NXT Tag Team Champions Axiom and Nathan Frazer. The duo are already feuding with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows and would be the perfect choice for The WWE Champion.
Cody Rhodes needs to assemble an army to face the returning Final Boss
The Rock did his part in the Road to WrestleMania XL as he turned his back on the fans. In the process, fans saw the Hollywood Star becoming the Final Boss and the ultimate hurdle for Rhodes in finishing his long-awaited story. Rock did some of the best work of his WWE career during this time which was applauded by the WWE Universe leaving them in shock.
During his last appearance before going on hiatus, Rock congratulated Rhodes for finishing his story and winning the WWE Championship. He then proceeded to shake hands with the American Nightmare promising that they would meet down the road, and this time for the World title. Fans are excitedly seated to see the two icons face each other in an intense showdown for the WWE title shortly.
The only problem for The American Nightmare is that he would be surrounded by the Bloodline during his feud with the Final Boss. As Solo Sikoa is wreaking havoc on SmackDown with his new Bloodline, the orders aren’t coming from Roman Reigns. According to several speculations, these orders are processed by the Final Boss. The Rock is laying out a new battlefield after his cousin’s tragic loss at WrestleMania.
With Sikoa’s new and modified Bloodline, Rock would look to dismantle poor Rhodes and win the ultimate prize in the absence of his cousin. To counter such a powerful faction, Cody would certainly need one of his own. By aligning himself with some old-time friends and Bloodline rivals like Seth Rollins, Jey Uso, and Randy Orton, Rhodes might just need an army to protect himself against the Final Boss.
If he somehow defends himself against the Brahma Bull, he would need some help to fend off the returning Roman Reigns. Reigns would be looking for payback against Rhodes leaving him destroyed and getting back on top of the company. Only time will tell how Rhodes would plan out his strategy to form a new stable spicing things up in his title reign.
