As the 2024 calendar year has rapidly started to wind down, fans of professional wrestling have begun to evaluate the title reign of Cody Rhodes, who has been the WWE Champion since April.

On one hand, he's overcome every obstacle in his way, becoming the first-ever WWE Crown Jewel Champion and besting every championship challenger who has come his way, but in the end, has he really made the same impact as his predecessor, Roman Reigns?

Most would argue no, and his former manager Arn Anderson knows why, as he broke down what's missing from Rhodes' reign in an appearance on Busted Open Radio.

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“I had Cody teeter-tottering when he was with AEW, at the point of just adjusting his attitude a little bit, understanding that if you’re gonna go out there and tell the wrestling world and all the boys in every locker room your goal is to be the champion, you’re gonna do whatever you have to do be the champion, well then you need to go out and do some things you’re not used to doing. I had him at least listening to me. Cody, if somebody thumps you in the nose, you slap them in the face. If they slap you in the face, you knock them on their a**. If you’re not willing to one-up whoever that opponent is and do whatever’s necessary, if a guy gets behind you and sticks his thumb in your mouth, bite his thumb off,” Anderson explained via Fightful.

“I could see no one had ever talked to him that way, certainly his dad didn’t teach him to be that way, his brother didn’t teach him to be that way, and I think his desire to be a kid’s champion and be a role model prevented him from even considering things like that. But in this world, this day, if a guy tries to go in your eye, you have to one-up the aggression. I had him right at that point, but he decided to make the choice and switch companies. I still feel like the only way he’s gonna be able to stay at the top, if he truly wants to have one of those colossal, unbelievable runs in this business, he’s gonna have to be more aggressive, more willing to do some things that might some people’s feelings or even scare somebody, like ‘Oh my god, I never saw that side of him.' That side of him is what’s going to sustain him as a champion; I feel like it.”

Wait, getting more aggressive, are we talking a… Cody Rhodes heel turn? Gosh, that only makes Doube A, what, the 100th person to make that assertion since he became the WWE Champion, since he returned to WWE, and since he was duking it out in AEW without his last name due to a contractual dispute with The Fed? Then again, considering Rhodes did beat Kevin Owens at Saturday Night's Main Event by hitting him with a CrossRhodes onto a steel chair, maybe that turns to the dark side is a little closer than some fans might expect.