The Cody Rhodes Story Thread (IT'S OVER)

[yokohamacpfc]

Three ways to go with it:

1) Cody and Brock are in cahoots, by doing Roman's bidding for him Brock is making Roman paranoid that he and the wise man are back together causing another crack in the Bloodline. 50/1.

2) Cody beats Brock proving he's good enough for a rematch. 40/1

3) Brock squashes Cody and uses the "I dominated the guy you barely beat at WM" to set up Lesnar v Reigns #6 (I think). 3/1 fav.

[Lizuka #BLM]

If - if - the idea is to try to get a Mania-sized crowd in Ford Field by having Cody have to go through the ringer of beating Brock and winning Money in the Bank to force a title shot that he then wins I do think you could maybe salvage it a bit, but even then, the dude's absolutely never going to have the momentum that he did. And frankly I don't see a snowball's chance in hell Roman's losing before next Mania at minimum, especially since SummerSlam's only 25 days before his three year anniversary as champion.

So far more likely dude's just being rapidly thrown into utter irrelevancy where he'll spend the remainder of his contract.

[Hurbster]

Bit of an overreaction to Cody losing, I think.

[The Thread Barbi]

Cody really thought calling Triple H his favourite wrestler after smashing his throne in AEW was going to be forgotten???

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Apr 4, 2023 1:43:42 GMT -5 Hurbster said:

Bit of an overreaction to Cody losing, I think.

I mean he didn't just the loss at Mania anymore going off of how RAW went, it's also why the thread title updated 

Dude's had a very abysmal 48 hours that I don't think he's ever gonna fully recover from.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Should also note Cody was the one who really took charge in getting Owens and Zayn to work together to help take down the Bloodline and... Zayn and Owens really didn't mention the Bloodline at all tonight, they also didn't help Cody at all as Brock killed him for ten minutes so... thanks for nothing I guess lol

Granted, Brock would have absolutely destroyed them both too so I'm kinda glad they stayed away from this trash heap and I hope the Usos stay away from them too lol

[Alice Syndrome]

Apr 4, 2023 1:49:26 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

Apr 4, 2023 1:43:42 GMT -5 Hurbster said:

Bit of an overreaction to Cody losing, I think.

I mean he didn't just the loss at Mania anymore going off of how RAW went, it's also why the thread title updated 

Dude's had a very abysmal 48 hours that I don't think he's ever gonna fully recover from.

Yeah, this makes the spite burial of Dolph Ziggler after Survivor Series look like nothing.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Apr 4, 2023 1:55:31 GMT -5 Alice Syndrome said:

Apr 4, 2023 1:49:26 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

I mean he didn't just the loss at Mania anymore going off of how RAW went, it's also why the thread title updated 

Dude's had a very abysmal 48 hours that I don't think he's ever gonna fully recover from.

Yeah, this makes the spite burial of Dolph Ziggler after Survivor Series look like nothing.

I didn't think they could add on to how bad the Mania Ending was, dare I say actually make it worse... but Vince McMahon seems to be back and power and if anyone can find the way it's sure him lol

[Lizuka #BLM]

In Cody's shoes you do definitely have to be wondering, what else could he have even done? Dude went away because they didn't believe in him to be a headliner, completely reinvented himself into such a definitive draw that he had a whole company built around him and his friends, came back with a huge money offer, tore the house down in multiple big matches, aggravated an already serious injury so that a PPV wasn't left without a main event at the last minute, rushed to make it back in time for the Rumble, sold the story afterward perfectly when many others in his position would've been turned on for not being Sami... and none of it f***ing mattered. He's still just another victim of a title run that should've ended a long, long time ago and still not the headliner. What else could they have possibly wanted from him?

[A Little Doo Doo]

Bring back the days of babyfaces waiting in the parking lot at the start of the show for heels to show up so they can beat the f*** out of them for cheating them out of their championship.

[Mid-Carder]

Apr 4, 2023 2:00:54 GMT -5 Lizuka #BLM said:

In Cody's shoes you do definitely have to be wondering, what else could he have even done? Dude went away because they didn't believe in him to be a headliner, completely reinvented himself into such a definitive draw that he had a whole company built around him and his friends, came back with a huge money offer, tore the house down in multiple big matches, aggravated an already serious injury so that a PPV wasn't left without a main event at the last minute, rushed to make it back in time for the Rumble, sold the story afterward perfectly when many others in his position would've been turned on for not being Sami... and none of it f***ing mattered. He's still just another victim of a title run that should've ended a long, long time ago and still not the headliner. What else could they have possibly wanted from him?

He should have taken everything they gave him and been grateful for it. The absolute nerve of him wanting more for himself.

[Big DSR Energy]

Apr 4, 2023 3:32:11 GMT -5 A Little Doo Doo said:

Bring back the days of babyfaces waiting in the parking lot at the start of the show for heels to show up so they can beat the f*** out of them for cheating them out of their championship.

Cody, Sami, and KO should have gotten Solo alone, pinned him down, and smashed his thumb with a hammer.

[Final Countdown Jones]

So now people are supposed to believe that Cody can not only beat Roman Reigns, something nobody has been able to do, but now we also have to believe he can beat Brock before even getting to Roman? Come on. Like, it's not impossible, but WWE has proven that they don't gotta and they won't. This maps so trivially onto a Cody reign where his moment gets cut off, Brock storms in and f***s things up, and a Roman with his confidence shaken claims he's going to sit back and pick the bones of whoever wins by invoking his rematch clause later. There's ways to tell a story that aren't this kick-the-can-forward shit.

[EoE: Workin On My Night Cheese]

Apr 4, 2023 4:03:55 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

So now people are supposed to believe that Cody can not only beat Roman Reigns, something nobody has been able to do, but now we also have to believe he can beat Brock before even getting to Roman? Come on. Like, it's not impossible, but WWE has proven that they don't gotta and they won't. This maps so trivially onto a Cody reign where his moment gets cut off, Brock storms in and f***s things up, and a Roman with his confidence shaken claims he's going to sit back and pick the bones of whoever wins by invoking his rematch clause later. There's ways to tell a story that aren't this kick-the-can-forward shit.

It's just... F***, man.

I get wanting to do long-term stories. We say that all the time because it gives people reasons to pay attention and watch over a long period of time. But when you can't be trusted to tell them, it is imperative that you jump on things that get hot when the stories you're doing get them there. This is that baggage I keep talking about that weighs it down forever and a day.

For what it's worth, Rhodes v Lesnar sounds like it'd be a great match. Lots of Lesnar's best work in this post-UFC run has been against smaller guys. But there's just so much muck to swim through now that it's becoming impossible to try and watch the show ignoring that.

[Lizuka #BLM]

Apr 4, 2023 3:32:11 GMT -5 A Little Doo Doo said:

Bring back the days of babyfaces waiting in the parking lot at the start of the show for heels to show up so they can beat the f*** out of them for cheating them out of their championship.

In general it feels like at some point WWE decided having faces who aren’t at all times completely respectful and just happy to be here is just completely unacceptable, especially in the main event scene. Every now and then you’ll get an Edge or like Riddle during the Seth feud who gets pissed off and just wants blood and is willing to cross lines to get it but most of the time WWE faces are just these boring milquetoast losers who just go,”You beat me and you might’ve cheated but that’s okay, sir, you probably woulda won anyway, I’ll leave you be…”

Like imagine if after the Deadly Game Mankind just completely gave up and decided he was going after X-Pac for the European title like Drew did, he’d look absolutely goddamn pathetic.

[Cvslfc123]

Apr 4, 2023 3:32:11 GMT -5 A Little Doo Doo said:

Bring back the days of babyfaces waiting in the parking lot at the start of the show for heels to show up so they can beat the f*** out of them for cheating them out of their championship.

Agreed, like when The Rock went on a one man mission to destroy DX and the McMahons after Judgement Day 2000. You'd never see anything like that now.

[Lizuka #BLM]

Apr 4, 2023 4:41:58 GMT -5 Cvslfc123 said:

Apr 4, 2023 3:32:11 GMT -5 A Little Doo Doo said:

Bring back the days of babyfaces waiting in the parking lot at the start of the show for heels to show up so they can beat the f*** out of them for cheating them out of their championship.

Agreed, like when The Rock went on a one man mission to destroy DX and the McMahons after Judgement Day 2000. You'd never see anything like that now.

Even if you do, like Drew wreckinng the Bloodline, the villains just introduce a new evil plan to still win anyway and then the face goes, “Oooh you outsmarted me, good one!”

[Final Countdown Jones]

Apr 4, 2023 4:24:17 GMT -5 EoE: Workin On My Night Cheese said:

Apr 4, 2023 4:03:55 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

So now people are supposed to believe that Cody can not only beat Roman Reigns, something nobody has been able to do, but now we also have to believe he can beat Brock before even getting to Roman? Come on. Like, it's not impossible, but WWE has proven that they don't gotta and they won't. This maps so trivially onto a Cody reign where his moment gets cut off, Brock storms in and f***s things up, and a Roman with his confidence shaken claims he's going to sit back and pick the bones of whoever wins by invoking his rematch clause later. There's ways to tell a story that aren't this kick-the-can-forward shit.

It's just... F***, man.

I get wanting to do long-term stories. We say that all the time because it gives people reasons to pay attention and watch over a long period of time. But when you can't be trusted to tell them, it is imperative that you jump on things that get hot when the stories you're doing get them there. This is that baggage I keep talking about that weighs it down forever and a day.

For what it's worth, Rhodes v Lesnar sounds like it'd be a great match. Lots of Lesnar's best work in this post-UFC run has been against smaller guys. But there's just so much muck to swim through now that it's becoming impossible to try and watch the show ignoring that.

Okay so I'm gonna get very writer-ey here and I'm sorry for that, but;

It's important to start from the fact that "long-term storytelling" is something that literally only gets said in wrestling. It's not a phrase you commonly see in any other medium or when writers discuss what they have going on, because it's kind of presumed that if you're writing a 12 book series or eight seasons of TV that you're doing that stuff. It's just 'storytelling'. Wrestling is the only place where we need to distinguish, because so many stories can be ephemeral and it's very common for wrestlers and characters to not have really defined, intentional arcs so much as they just go from one feud to another and there's often no set in stone idea of when someone is going to turn or why that informs what they're doing. Wrestling can be sloppy and it is often written in the very short term.

Where WWE's problems go isn't that they can't be trusted or that they have to go when the iron is hot, it's that they don't tell long-term stories, they just tell long stories. Roman's title run doesn't feel like the collective weight of each victory and opponent is necessarily moving somewhere. The Sami storyline took some months and that was well received, but is there a sense that it's going to play into the eventual end for Roman? Or are they going to be split from one another on-screen, Sami and KO go do tag team stuff, and it never meaningfully plays a role in whoever between Cody and Brock face Roman at Summerslam or whenever? WWE tends to tell its stories one at a time, and continuity is a very rare thing that just doesn't come up because the people in charge of creative are actually not that creative and not all that good at telling stories.

WWE wouldn't have this baggage if people actually thought it was going to pay off. The issue inherent here is that nobody thinks it will because WWE refuses to tell stories that way. WWE does not tell long-term stories, they tell long stories, by penciling in shit a year in advance with a bunch of fart noises and shrugs when it comes to what they'll do in the year in between to get things there. WWE's long stories often don't have a proper, satisfying payoff because they fail to actually write them to and struggle to have good, well built endings that bring together those respective pieces into something that gives the audience that cathartic sense that the journey was worth it and built up properly to the destination.

[Lizuka #BLM]

Apr 4, 2023 4:52:00 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

Apr 4, 2023 4:24:17 GMT -5 EoE: Workin On My Night Cheese said:

It's just... F***, man.

I get wanting to do long-term stories. We say that all the time because it gives people reasons to pay attention and watch over a long period of time. But when you can't be trusted to tell them, it is imperative that you jump on things that get hot when the stories you're doing get them there. This is that baggage I keep talking about that weighs it down forever and a day.

For what it's worth, Rhodes v Lesnar sounds like it'd be a great match. Lots of Lesnar's best work in this post-UFC run has been against smaller guys. But there's just so much muck to swim through now that it's becoming impossible to try and watch the show ignoring that.

Okay so I'm gonna get very writer-ey here and I'm sorry for that, but;

It's important to start from the fact that "long-term storytelling" is something that literally only gets said in wrestling. It's not a phrase you commonly see in any other medium or when writers discuss what they have going on, because it's kind of presumed that if you're writing a 12 page book series or eight seasons of TV that you're doing that stuff. It's just 'storytelling'. Wrestling is the only place where we need to distinguish, because so many stories can be ephemeral and it's very common for wrestlers and characters to not have really defined, intentional arcs so much as they just go from one feud to another and there's often no set in stone idea of when someone is going to turn or why that informs what they're doing. Wrestling can be sloppy and it is often written in the very short term.

Where WWE's problems go isn't that they can't be trusted or that they have to go when the iron is hot, it's that they don't tell long-term stories, they just tell long stories. Roman's title run doesn't feel like the collective weight of each victory and opponent is necessarily moving somewhere. The Sami storyline took some months and that was well received, but is there a sense that it's going to play into the eventual end for Roman? Or are they going to be split from one another on-screen, Sami and KO go do tag team stuff, and it never meaningfully plays a role in whoever between Cody and Brock face Roman at Summerslam or whenever? WWE tends to tell its stories one at a time, and continuity is a very rare thing that just doesn't come up because the people in charge of creative are actually not that creative and not all that good at telling stories.

WWE wouldn't have this baggage if people actually thought it was going to pay off. The issue inherent here is that nobody thinks it will because WWE refuses to tell stories that way. WWE does not tell long-term stories, they tell long stories, by penciling in shit a year in advance with a bunch of fart noises and shrugs when it comes to what they'll do in the year in between to get things there. WWE's long stories often don't have a proper, satisfying payoff because they fail to actually write them to and struggle to have good, well built endings that bring together those respective pieces into something that gives the audience that cathartic sense that the journey was worth it and built up properly to the destination.

Like, I personally can bash on the Hangman / Elite story all day - think it took way too damn long to get to its point with basically nothing stopping them from just getting it over with at Double or Nothing except Kenny having the belt for six months apparently wasn't long enough, it did everything it could to set in stone the Dark Order being completely useless clinger-ons which they still are to this day, Kenny's matches kept having the same finish over and over, the Bucks being tag champions was kind of this giant central part of most of it but ultimately their reign just kind of ended in the middle of it without any actual connective tissue to where it ultimately went - but, like...

There was an intentional build to the broad strokes of it. Hangman was having serious confidence issues, he and Kenny won the tag titles, Hangman lost them the belts in large part due to his continued doubt in himself, Kenny abandoned him afterward, the two fought for a title shot, Kenny won, Hangman was number one contender for a long time and got screwed over by Brian Cage which knocked him back down for awhile, he got back up and got things together to go after Kenny but it still wasn't enough, he was injured by them afterward, he came back, he faced things head on rather than allowing his emotions to overwhelm him yet again, he won so decisively that ultimately the Bucks could only concede defeat and let him finish Kenny off. All of the major beats of the storyline had a purpose and ultimately logically followed through on each other point to point.

The story of this has been Roman is insecure in his ability to get the job done anymore and abuses his family into helping him, then they do, then he questions their loyalty, then they help him, then he questions their loyalty, then they help him, then he questions their loyalty, then they help him, then he questions their loyalty, then they help him, then he questions Heyman's loyalty, then Heyman helps him beat Brock, then he questions Heyman's loyalty, then Heyman helps him beat Brock, then he questions Heyman's loyalty, then Heyman helps him beat Brock, then he becomes friends with Sami Zayn for awhile, then he questions Sami's loyalty, then Sami helps him beat KO, then he questions Sami's loyalty, then Sami helps him beat KO, then he questions Sami's loyalty, then Sami helps him beat KO, then he questions Sami's loyalty, then Sami helps him beat KO, then Sami decides enough of that and saves KO from beating murdered, then Roman kills him, then Roman beats up Sami, then he questions the Usos' loyalty, then they help him, then he questions the Usos' loyalty, then they help him, then he runs Cody down and says his dad never loved him, then Sami and KO take the Usos out, then the Usos help him win anyway.

There is no narrative. It's the same tired, "Can Roman trust the Bloodline? Oh wait yes he can," over and over and over and over and over with no f***ing end in sight. It's not building to anything. There is no story here, it's a card where both sides tell you to flip it over.

[EoE: Workin On My Night Cheese]

Apr 4, 2023 5:03:25 GMT -5 Lizuka #BLM said:

There is no narrative. It's the same tired, "Can Roman trust the Bloodline? Oh wait yes he can," over and over and over and over and over with no f***ing end in sight. It's not building to anything. There is no story here, it's a card where both sides tell you to flip it over.