Cody Rhodes Really Is That Good, If You Evaluate Him With The Correct Rubric

Cody Rhodes remains perhaps the most polarizing professional wrestler outside of WWE, within the context of what happens during the show. However, it’s important to understand what Cody is trying to achieve before evaluating him. This requires using the correct rubric to assess his impact on pro wrestling.

There are countless wrestlers who produce higher quality matches than Cody Rhodes. To argue against this point would be asinine. Kota Ibushi, AJ Styles, Kenny Omega, Tetsuya Naito, Io Shirai, Asuka, Kazuchika Okada, Roderick Strong, Johnny Gargano, Andrade “Cien” Almas, Zack Sabre Jr., Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jay Lethal, Dalton Castle…well, you get the point. There are a lot of wrestlers who are better at in-ring work than Cody.

Outside of WWE, in-ring work takes precedence. That’s just how it works. If you want to be the champion in NJPW or Ring of Honor, you had better be able to put on the best match on the card night in and night out. If other wrestlers are consistently stealing the show from you, then people take notice.

But is that necessarily how it should be? In WWE, the world champion or proverbial “top guy” is usually  the wrestler who gets the best reactions, sells the most merchandise, or “draws” the most, as nebulous and poorly-defined as that term has come to be.

Cody is of a different mold. He isn’t Okada or Omega. He isn’t Ibushi or Sabre Jr. While he is more than capable of putting an excellent match together, such as his beautiful bout with Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom 12 or any number of his under-appreciated WCPW matches in 2017, Cody captures the essence of the art of pro wrestling differently from these competitors.

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When you watch one of Cody’s matches, you shouldn’t expect to see a mastery of holds and their ruthless execution akin to what Sabre Jr. and Minoru Suzuki do. You also shouldn’t expect to see the poetry in motion of an Okada or Naito match, nor the brutal and versatile raw athleticism of a Strong or Lethal match.

Instead, you get a different kind of treat with Cody. Perhaps professional wrestling’s best heel right now, you get to witness an absolute ham. Cody is a character who plays into the crowd, takes shortcuts, has delusions of grandeur, and milks every move for every ounce of reaction (if crowd reaction were a quantifiable value like the number of steaks Otis Dozovic consumes each day) it could possibly receive from the audience.

To understand what Cody’s goal is, look no further than his response to the following question.

What is the best match ever?

If you asked me, I’d go with Melina vs. Alicia Fox. (If you don’t get that reference, then Stone Cold Steve Austin is very disappointed with you.)

As you’d expect, Cody has a far more rational answer.

Interesting. You see, most of us would pick something like Okada vs. Omega II or Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker or Rey Mysterio vs. Juventud Guerrera (ECW! ECW!).

But Cody chose a match that is far more acclaimed for the raw reaction it received and not the plaudits it earned for its in-ring work.

Professional wrestling isn’t just about putting on the most exciting match or telling the most nuanced story with perfectly-executed moves that showcase the subtle brilliance that this art-form is capable or providing. (Clearly, you can tell what I like the most in my wrestling, and that’s a good old fashioned banger from Okada.)

It’s about getting reactions, and it’s about telling stories that the audience can relate to. The Bullet Club’s implosion? The Golden Lovers? Kiss the ring? Dissension among friends? An arrogant dude who thinks he’s better than everyone and better-looking than everyone? A guy who takes shortcuts and shows contempt for 99% of the human population? Everything Cody’s involved in gets great reactions from the live audience, because it’s all easy enough to grasp without being so easy that it becomes uninteresting.

At his core, Cody is a showman. The over-the-top entrance, the work on social media, his zeal to make sure “All In” is a success, the increasing popularity of the “Bullet Club”, the jeers from the crowd, his on-screen dynamic with Brandi Rhodes, and even his new blonde look are all examples of Cody’s ability to become the center of attention.

In the promotions that Cody competes in, ROH and NJPW, there’s no shortage of Ibushis and Naitos. And while those two, specifically Naito, can certainly draw attention and have charisma, Cody brings a different dynamic. He’s more Rock/Hogan than Omega/Okada. He’s more mainstream. And he stands out, which is what wrestling outside of WWE needs. It needs a mainstream guy who can move the needle, create controversy, and be a bit of a maverick.

So when you evaluate Cody’s merits as a pro wrestler, maybe you should think of him as more of a sports entertainer. Maybe you should think of him as the guy shooting for a Rock/Hogan moment one day. Because even though he can put together a four-star match and hang in there with the best of them, his real value – and his real aim – is to get people talking. Cody is here to entertain people and to broaden the horizons of the brands that he’s associated with.

You see, Cody isn’t just Dusty Rhodes’s son. He’s created his own brand, carved his own legacy, and started his own journey. Sure, Dusty helped, as did Cody’s association with WWE. His Intercontinental Championship and Tag Team Championship reigns in WWE didn’t hurt either. But the biggest moments of Cody’s career are outside of WWE, and there’s something to be said for that. There’s also something to be said for his desire to prove everyone wrong not just as a performer, but as a business mind, as seen in his endeavor to seat 10,000 at a truly Independent wrestling event in “All In”.

As a performer, Cody has his limitations. That’s clear, and if you want to tell me that he’s one of the best ten wrestlers in the world or a bigger draw than Roman Reigns, then I think you need to reassess where is at now. That’s not to say he can’t become an era-defining performer or truly mainstream draw later, because he has the tools.

But to say that Cody is merely the product of his family name, overrated, incapable of drawing an audience, or not skillful enough to weave together can intricate story or exceptionally good match, then you are equally guilty of misevaluating him. Cody is a different animal to his peers in WWE and NJPW, because he’s the type of hybrid of entertainer and wrestler with big dreams who can continue to climb to the heights that he has his sights set on.

People respect the person behind the character, but when the lights are on, we want to see him get his ass kicked. That includes yours truly. And when it’s time to go home after the show, many of us go on social media to talk about Cody, buy Bullet Club merch, watch Being The Elite, and inevitably become part of this movement to make wrestling outside WWE more entertaining.

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That’s what Cody is here to do, and he’s already done a great job of accomplishing this. He has room to grow, but the 32-year-old is just getting started. Judging by how much he’s improved in between the ropes, how much more engaging the stories he’s telling have become, and how much more heat he’s accruing from the audience, he’s willing to adapt (and adapt quickly, at that).