Massive WWE star is legitimately frustrated following Roman Reigns' return, claims veteran
Roman Reigns returned to WWE after nearly four months of absence at SummerSlam. A wrestling veteran now believes a massive superstar must be legitimately frustrated by his booking following The Original Tribal Chief's comeback.
The superstar in question is none other than Cody Rhodes. On the Behind The Turnbuckle podcast, wrestling veteran Jonathan Coachman and former WWE employee Tommy Carlucci discussed Rhodes' current status in the Stamford-based company. They agreed that The American Nightmare has been "put on the back burner" since his victory over Reigns at WrestleMania, with the company giving more focus to The Bloodline storyline. Carlucci even claimed the former AEW star has seemingly become "irrelevant."
Meanwhile, Coachman pointed out that SmackDown has been "all about The Bloodline" since Reigns' return, criticizing how the company had Rhodes ask Kevin Owens to challenge him at Bash in Berlin. The former Interim RAW General Manager predicted that things are not going smoothly behind the scenes:
"Behind the scenes, if I was a betting man, Tommy, I would bet things are not as kosher as they should be because now with Roman [Reigns] back, Paul [Heyman] back, it's all about The Bloodline. So, to your point, which I agree with, if Randy Orton can go show-to-show, why can't Cody Rhodes go show-to-show?" Coachman said. [From 29:13 to 29:31]
The two WWE veterans discussed potential scenarios for Cody on RAW, wondering why the company's writers could not think of similar ideas. Coachman then predicted that Rhodes must be frustrated with his booking, claiming Creative should move The American Nightmare between SmackDown and the red brand:
"If you're Cody Rhodes, who we love, I would be incredibly frustrated at this point. He's making the millions and he deservedly so, but now we know that Roman Reigns calls the shots. And this wouldn't be happening if Roman Reigns walked in, would it? And said, 'Hey guys, don't forget about that guy. That's not happening. Instead, I've got six or seven guys that we can make great television for an extended period of time.' And this was what I was worried about. That's why you move him over. You don't have the two titles on two different shows. And you say, 'Hey, you know what? For the next four weeks you're gonna be a RAW guy and then when it makes sense, let's move you back to SmackDown.'" [From 30:35 to 31:16]
Cody Rhodes retained his Undisputed WWE Championship at Bash in Berlin
Cody Rhodes squared off against Kevin Owens last night at Bash in Berlin after offering an Undisputed WWE Championship shot. Despite The Prizefighter's efforts, he failed to end The American Nightmare's title run.
Although many expected Owens to turn on Rhodes at the premium live event, it did not happen. Instead, the former Universal Champion raised his opponent's hand after the match in a gesture of respect and friendship.
Despite this, WWE analyst Sam Roberts predicted on his Notsam Wrestling podcast that the story of these two superstars will continue and will eventually witness a betrayal from Owens' side:
"This story is so far from over. And I've been saying this from the beginning, and I know you've heard me say it, but I love the idea that this is the slow progression of Kevin Owens turning, right? And I feel like because it's being done slowly, it can take us through Bad Blood, maybe into Survivor Series, and just as we're getting towards that end of the year, Cody can get done with Kevin Owens, go, 'Randy, can you believe how maniacal Kevin Owens became?' And then Randy turns on Cody too," he said.
WWE color commentator Michael Cole seemingly confirmed that Solo Sikoa will be Rhodes' upcoming challenger in a SummerSlam rematch. It would be interesting to see what is next for The American Nightmare.
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