With SummerSlam officially on the books and the Royal Rumble already being advertised for in January, fans have already begun to fire up their fantasy booking machines to determine the best possible way for Cody Rhodes to finish his story against the greatest champion since WWF became WWE, Roman Reigns.
Will Paul “Triple H” Levesque simply run things back, with Rhodes winning the Royal Rumble to punch his ticket to a main event contest against the “Tribal Chief?” Or does the champion-turned-booker have something more interesting in mind for the biggest show of the year, maybe some sort of a one-two punch centered around “The Rock” himself, Dwayne Johnson?
But what if, and this is controversial, Rhodes doesn't defeat Reigns? Not at WrestleMania 40, not ever, and instead continues to come up short like his father before him? Well, that is the idea WCW legend Kevin Sullivan discussed on his Tuesday With The Taskmaster show with Paul Bromwell and ultimately came to the conclusion that if the “American Nightmare” doesn't add the WWE Championship to his trophy case, his career may ultimately be better off for it.
“That's a great idea because his father never got the WWF belt. They always show that picture where he has the belt. That's something to think about, and I was against Cody beating Roman Reigns. I was very vocal about that because — I think I told you, Paul, a few weeks ago — that was right after Sami didn't beat Roman. I thought Sami's people would've turned on Cody because he'd just come in, he didn't get over,” Kevin Sullivan said via Wrestling Inc.
“He was Cody Rhodes, and he got over, and it's because he had been there for years, left, made a huge name for himself, came back. I thought if he had won here, it would almost look like he was a corporate champion. I like that he didn't go over, and it's going to be interesting to see where they go with WrestleMania 40 with Cody if The Rock comes in for Roman.”
Would it be incredible, in an admittedly ironic way, to see Rhodes leave AEW because he couldn't win the big one – even if that decision was self-imposed – only to then never win the big one in WWE either? Why yes, yes it would be, but considering Rhodes no has very little control over his storyline, it's not like he can do much about it but complain.
Cody Rhodes reflects on the end of The Go Big Show.
Speaking of Cody Rhodes' time in AEW, the “American Nightmare” commented on the end of his run in the promotion with Dale Earnhartd Jr.'s podcast the Dale Download, and how it affected one of his other ventures on TBS, The Go Big Show.
Though Rhodes admits he joined the show because of a desire to help get AEW more over with casual fans, in the end, his jump to WWE may have ruined TBS' planned third season.
“Go Big Show. At the time, we had started AEW, WarnerMedia, they were just looking for crossover. That was my role at AEW. I was the face of the brand. I was not the champion, but I was going to be ‘We know him a little from WWE, casual fans, he’s in a suit, he looks the part.’ I was going to be the face for these crossovers. That’s all they wanted out of it,” Cody Rhodes said via Fightful.
“It was doing really well ratings, can we bring some of those people over? I’m of the thought, I want as many people watching our show as possible. That means sending me to Macon, Georgia in the pandemic for a month where we were totally bubbled up. Yes, send me. I will watch some crazy acts with no audience. One of the most fun experiences I’ve ever been a part of. I feel terrible because when I left the show, they didn’t do the show again. They were ready to do the show again. If Snoop, Rosario, or Jennifer Nettles ever beat me up in a back alley somewhere, I understand. I might have screwed up season three.”
Is it a true crime to the world of television that fans didn't get a third season of The Go Big Show? Eh, probably not; that show was such a product of the COVID-19 Pandemic that the “fans” in attendance actually sat in cars and honked for approval. Still, could TBS have probably squeaked out a third season had Rhodes stuck around in AEW? Based on his own words, the answer to that question is likely yes.
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