It was a source of speculation even before Cody Rhodes won the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble. Is Sami Zayn’s popularity at The Bloodline Angle making fans turn to Rhodes on the way to WrestleMania 39a la Batista and Daniel Bryan in 2014?
There were no indications of mass revolt, but that didn’t stop the questions. Rhodes has already taken one step at addressing potential controversy on a WWE show. Now he was asked about it by Daily MailAlex McCarthy.
Mostly, Cody sells his own story where someone overcame every obstacle in front of him just to earn a chance at fulfilling his family’s dream of winning the WWE Championship. as he did in bump Last week, he spoke again about the similarity of his mission to Zane’s. Rhodes also compares both of their angles to one WWE reportedly would have chosen either – the returning Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson:
“I like to mention that these stories run parallel, I think sometimes wrestling fans think it has to be one or it has to be the other, while I — and I’m not responsible — I sign up to give them everything.
“That’s where really smart planners and really creative people really get into how you layer it, but that’s very important and that’s something I learned while I was away, is that if somebody’s doing a great job, and they’re having fun and helping to move that ship forward — And I would say Seth Rollins is another example of Raw.
“It was another person when I left who really changed and continued to carry Raw on his back. I fully expected those things to converge, and I still expect them to converge just because we have these great options.
“With all the respect in the world to one of my goats, The Rock, the choices we have here on the menu seem to be better because of the stories that happen.
“One story about finishing something that started in 1978 — seven years before I was born — and another about the tragedy of being welcomed into the bloodline and then what I saw unfold.
“I think with the amount of time between now and WrestleMania, it’s important to keep my eyes fixed on WrestleMania, and directly wrestle for the WWE Undisputed Championship and as I hinted that might not be against Roman Reigns.
“Now I don’t know if anyone can beat Roman Reigns, I really don’t know, but for me it’s about catching the slide. I love the melodrama, I love the heft in these storylines that are developing in our industry, but I’m simply a guy looking for a belt.
“I’m looking for a championship title belt, the most important in our world that’s the biggest – not just in the WWE bubble but in all bubbles – and to be the first to say I’m like Rhodes. And it wasn’t Dusty Rhodes and it wasn’t Dustin Rhodes – it was Cody Rhodes.”
Who knows how Triple H & Team would have worked on The Rock in the Bloodline storyline. The basic idea was clear – a battle over who is the real “Chief of the Tribe”. But they’ve had to work to incorporate that into long-standing rivalries that have evolved more organically over time like Sami or Jey Uso vs.
While that’s an appealing title, I don’t think there’s much arguing against Rhodes or Zayn being better story choices at this point (while Cody wouldn’t have an argument if he claimed he or Sami were better choices at the box office).
Will there be a debate as to whether he or Zayn (or J) is the better choice for ‘Mania’? We’ll find out over the next couple of months.
