Over the course of a week, Cody Rhodes went from the highest of the highs to the lowest of the lows, going from boldly declaring that he wants Roman Reigns after winning the 2024 Royal Rumble to handing off his spot to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on the subsequent episode of SmackDown with only a few comments to Seth Rollins and a cryptic tweet to settle the minds of very angry fans.

What gives? Why did WWE effectively kneecap the hottest act in their entire promotion right after accomplishing a borderline unprecedented feat all so they could promote a dream match that has rapidly turned into an “American Nightmare?” Well, Dave Meltzer attempted to break down what he's been hearing on Wrestling Observer Radio, and even the most prominent journalist in professional wrestling hasn't been able to get a definitive answer as to what in the Sam Heck is going on in Titan Towers.

“When he [The Rock] made the deal on January 3 to come in, that was part of the deal. Why Cody Rhodes won the Royal Rumble is a question that I cannot answer because nobody will answer it for me. The belief was that it was Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, and nobody knew, but the deal had been made prior to that. It played out the way they wanted it to play out. The plan as of Friday night was Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes. And we'll see how it plays out because now they're trying to turn it into a story and see how the story goes… I can't tell you that they didn't tell anybody [about plans changing]. But certainly, they didn't tell many people or almost anyone,” Dave Meltzer explained via NO DQ.

“I don't know what they were expecting [fans booing The Rock]. But they were expecting Cody Rhodes to turn into Daniel Bryan… They were expecting to make Cody Rhodes into a martyr and make him a bigger babyface out of that. Were they expecting people to boo Dwayne? I don't know. I've asked that one, and I haven't gotten a straight answer.”

A Daniel Bryan-esque martyr, you say? Now, how would WWE do that?

… oh yeah, by pushing the “We Want Cody” line on social media hard, by handing out signs at the St Louis RAW taping in support of the “American Nightmare,” and by keeping his current plans very close to the vest, with the typically talkative Superstar acting like a shell of himself since his fateful SmackDown promo. Hopefully, WWE has something good planned for their top babyface, as right now, public support for this manufactured angle is already starting to turn.

DDP believes Cody Rhodes is the perfect new face for WWE.

While WWE clearly isn't sold on Cody Rhodes becoming the new face of their promotion, as despite his efforts on television, his support among the fans, his willingness to work the house show circuit, and his commitment to charitable causes, he continues to be bounced around from one angle to another, with no clear a coronation like Drew McIntyre in 2020 or Roman Reigns about a half dozen times over the past decade.

One man who believes WWE is making this decision much harder than it needs to be is Diamond Dallas Page, the former WCW Champion who has known Rhodes since he was knee-high to his pink WrestleMania 6 Cadillac.

Discussing the “American Nightmare” in an appearance on Sportskeeda's Wrestle Binge, Page put over Dusty's kid, noting that if WWE wants a babyface at the top of the card, there isn't a better option available.

“I don't think, because we all know there's been a little adversity, there's a little dark cloud right now. I don't know what happened there, I wasn't there. I don't know. But I'll tell you what I do know. When you have anything like that happen, who are you looking at now to represent the company? I don't think there's a better person that can represent the company,” DDP explained via Fightful.

“Family values, work ethic is insane, all of his belts say ‘do the work.' That's what that they say on them. If doesn't say ‘American Nightmare', somewhere he's written on it ‘Do The Work.' It's all about that. He wrestled with a torn pec and went 20 minutes with one of the greatest wrestlers ever, Seth Rollins, and made it through and came back from that injury. To get this spot, I can't think of a better person in their company that I'd want to see. Taking nothing away from Roman Reigns because he has proved to be a demigod, and he really has. I watched him from The Shield on. He actually did DDP Yoga when he was playing for Georgia Tech, so that's the first time I ever met Roman because I was working with the team. But this guy, he's a demigod. He's in the same vein of Hogan now and of course Austin and The Rock, all of it. But I just can't see a better person, especially at this time, to represent the WWE.”

Alright, is DDP a bit biased? Yes, his relationship with Rhodes is anything but a secret, and he even asked the 37-year-old a question at the Royal Rumble press conference to show his support. Still, it's hard to argue with Page's comments, as WWE would be hard-pressed to design a babyface in a lab better equipped to lead the company into the future than the “Grandson of a Plummer.”