While Cody Rhodes' WWE Championship victory over Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL was euphoric, it has a big issue. It all comes back to the Bloodline, the faction led by Reigns during his dominant run as champion. Not only is Reigns' looming presence felt, but the return of the Final Boss, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, is also impending.
To reiterate, Rhodes is a good champion. The WWE had desperately needed a top face like Rhodes since John Cena went Hollywood. He has the million-dollar smile and the connection to fans that not many have.
But still, presentation is only half the battle. While Rhodes has maintained being over with the crowd — the “woah” chants during his entrance only get louder — and has put on entertaining matches, his reign has been lacking.
And no, it is not because he does not have Reigns' aura (though Reigns' recent return proves who the No.1 player is). It is his lack of challengers. Frankly, Rhodes' superhuman-like persona can only be defeated by The Rock, who played Black Adam in the DCEU, and Reigns. All other challengers pale in comparison, which makes any of his other challengers feel weightless.
Of course, Rhodes is still in the infancy of his reign. He is only a little over 100 days into his reigns. This is especially hard to remember after Reigns held the Undisputed WWE Championship for over 1,300 days. His early challengers have risen to the occasion with their matches, but the low stakes hurt Rhodes' reign overall.
The Tribal Chief takes a vacation
As expected, Roman Reigns took an extended leave from WWE TV once he lost to Rhodes at WrestleMania. Given his health history and his part-time schedule, this was not surprising.
In his place, Solo Sikoa, the former enforcer of the Bloodline, declared himself the new Tribal Chief. While this gimmick had a rough start, Sikoa eventually turned it around, which led to a date with Rhodes at the 2024 SummerSlam event.
I do not think anyone thought Sikoa could actually beat Rhodes, right? He was a glorified guaranteed win dressed up as a legitimate threat. Short of The Rock or Reigns assisting, the outcome was always going to be Rhodes retaining.
Before that, Rhodes had banger matches with AJ Styles and Logan Paul. Those were great matches, but neither were viable challengers to take the title off Rhodes.
Again, Rhodes being this early in his reign hurts. He is inevitably going to beat his initial challengers to legitimize his run. However, there still have to be stakes. These did not exist until SummerSlam when Reigns returned.
Roman Reigns wants his crown
After helping Rhodes retain the WWE Championship against Sikoa, Reigns shared a moment with him. They seemingly exchanged words, with Reigns promising to come after the title he lost, presumably once he is finished with Bloodline business.
It is a matter of when (not if) Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes III will occur. Rhodes would get a boost if he beats Reigns clean. However, if their match takes place over the coming months, Sikoa and his new Bloodline or even the Final Boss himself will probably cost Reigns the match.
All that does is further Reigns and The Rock's eventual feud. They need to headline WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas. Will it be at the expense of Rhodes, though?
Either way, Rhodes is simply a piece of the machine to further the Bloodline, not vice versa. SmackDown lacks fresh challengers as well outside of LA Knight, who just won the United States Championship.
And it is a shame. Rhodes and Kevin Owens will put on a great match at Bash in Berlin, where the latter will likely turn heel. This will add a new wrinkle to the story, but what happens next?
The Final Boss returns
Sometime soon, whether at Bash in Berlin, Survivor Series, or the Royal Rumble, The Rock will come back to challenge Cody Rhodes.
This should not be a WrestleMania match, though. As stated, Reigns and The Rock should headline the second night of WrestleMania 41. Given The Rock's age, I doubt he will be pulling double duty as Reigns, Rhodes, and Seth “Freakin” Rollins did.
The clock is ticking on The Rock's in-ring career. He looked great at WrestleMania XL, but WWE has to prioritize his dream matches. In my opinion, the order should be Reigns, Rhodes, and Rollins. Doing it any other way would be a huge mistake.
So, The Rock should challenge Rhodes at the Royal Rumble in January 2025. I realize that this would make The Rock vs. Rhodes happen first, but doing this allows the match to occur and for Reigns to cost his cousin. This would be a big twist, as WWE fans are expecting it to be the other way around.
Cody Rhodes is too entrenched with the Bloodline for his own good
Cody Rhodes deserved to be crowned as WWE Champion at WrestleMania XL. Since returning to the WWE in 2022, he has remained their biggest star.
For better or worse, Rhodes wanted to beat the Head of the Table, Roman Reigns, for the WWE Championship. As a result, all roads (no pun intended) lead back to Reigns, The Rock, and the Bloodline.
This makes it extremely difficult to take Rhodes seriously when entrenched in one-off title defenses. It was one thing when the WWE kept Rhodes and Reigns separate, essentially sending the former on side quests involving Brock Lesnar and Jey Uso.
But now that he is champion, it feels inevitable that the WWE's Thanos-like figures of Roman Reigns and/or The Rock will dethrone Cody Rhodes sooner rather than later.
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