Triple H's booking may have subtly confirmed 38-year-old star is gone from WWE RAW
A few weeks ago, Triple H announced that the WWE Draft would be held between April 26-29 on the respective editions of SmackDown and RAW.
While there is no information on which superstar will land on which brand, fans have begun to speculate if Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes will be a regular on SmackDown after his recent promo on the red brand. During his promo, Rhodes hailed himself as a SmackDown Superstar, stating that RAW now belonged to Main Event Jey Uso.
A recent report from the Wrestling Observer (via Wrestle Talk) also states that Cody Rhodes' promo during the latest episode of RAW was essentially his farewell speech to the red brand.
"The idea was basically to tell you that he's a SmackDown guy, and this was his farewell, and to endorse Jey Uso because with Seth Rollins gone, Jey Uso is the guy now."
It seems that the reports are right as Triple H's latest booking subtly hints at Cody Rhodes being moved to SmackDown. Here's how:
SmackDown's title belongs to Rhodes!
This week on RAW, the brand new World Tag Team Title was revealed by WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H and General Manager Adam Pearce.
With the new belts mirroring the design of the World Heavyweight title and the Women's World Title, it seems logical that those holding those titles will remain on RAW.
With that in mind, as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Cody's future is on SmackDown, given that the design of his belt would stick out on RAW.
Cody's Backlash opponent is blue!
Another reason The American Nightmare looks set to be a part of SmackDown is that his possible opponents at Backlash, AJ Styles or LA Knight, are part of the blue brand.
While they could get drafted to RAW, it seems unlikely, given that WWE Creative has made a conscious effort to have the World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest and his challenger, Jey Uso, feature heavily on the red brand.
Rhodes' future is blue!
Lastly, the major reason why Cody will become a permanent member of the blue brand is because his longtime rival Roman Reigns is a part of SmackDown.
The Tribal Chief established his reign of terror on the blue brand during his 1316-day reign as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. With him likely to remain a part of SmackDown, it seems logical for his successor, Cody Rhodes, to be a part of the same brand.
Triple H praises Cody Rhodes!
During the WrestleMania 40 post-show press conference, Triple H explained why The American Nightmare was the ideal candidate to lead WWE in its new era.
"Cody is that guy, but he is not that guy because it was manufactured. He's that guy because he's the right guy. He's the right human being; he is everything you want to believe in, get behind, and see fight. It's all that," said The Game.
Resonating with all major demographics of the WWE fanbase, Cody Rhodes is undoubtedly the perfect star to lead the company in the ''Triple H Era.''