What do you think is holding Cody Rhodes back?

[cyhh2002]

IMO, I think that Triple H is the reason why Rhodes has been de-pushed as of late. HHH felt that Rhodes hadn't paid his dues as he was promoted ahead of other deserving developmental talents but Rhodes took the easy way since he was Dusty Rhodes' son.

This angered HHH so much that he treated Rhodes as a jobber and I would not be surprised if Rhodes ended up putting The Great Khali over instead of competing in the Money in the Bank ladder match.

Your thoughts?

[Big Red Machine]

IMO, I think that Triple H is the reason why Rhodes has been de-pushed as of late. HHH felt that Rhodes hadn't paid his dues as he was promoted ahead of other deserving developmental talents but Rhodes took the easy way since he was Dusty Rhodes' son.

This angered HHH so much that he treated Rhodes as a jobber and I would not be surprised if Rhodes ended up putting The Great Khali over instead of competing in the Money in the Bank ladder match.

Your thoughts?

I don't think this is true at all. I think he is just getting lost in the shuffle, like Cesaro is.

[Bob-O]

IMO, I think that Triple H is the reason why Rhodes has been de-pushed as of late. HHH felt that Rhodes hadn't paid his dues as he was promoted ahead of other deserving developmental talents but Rhodes took the easy way since he was Dusty Rhodes' son.

This angered HHH so much that he treated Rhodes as a jobber and I would not be surprised if Rhodes ended up putting The Great Khali over instead of competing in the Money in the Bank ladder match.

Your thoughts?

I see your reasoning, but why single out Cody? Randy Orton is a 2nd Generation talent that never really "payed his dues", but Triple H likes him. Sheamus is another good example, as he was put into a main event program and a title reign in under a year on the main roster based on Hunter's recommendation. I'm probably Triple H's biggest critic on this board, and even I can't deny how awesome WWE's developmental system has become since he took over. There's no question that Raw is a better show when Vince takes the night off. I can't see him holding talent back for not paying dues.

However, I do love a good conspiracy theory! How about this to turn the wheels, maybe it's not Triple H at all. Maybe it's Vince....

Vince was never big on Dusty Rhodes. Dusty was #2 to Ric Flair and the booker of Crocket Promotions (WWF's biggest competition in the 80's) before coming to Stamford looking for work. Vince went through great lengths to make sure that everybody knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what he thought of The American Dream (and Crocket) by making him work in polka dots while jobbing him out. :-B Did you know :-B that Ted DiBiase's legendary assistant Virgil was named such as a shot at Dusty (who's real name is Virgil)? Yet, Dusty got over and that just HAD to frustrate Vince.

Fast forward a few years, here comes Dusty's other son. What do they decide to do with him? Paint him gold, put him in a wig, and his gimmick was trying to kiss dudes. This is 90's Vince, mind you, not so much "Be A Star" Vince or "Publicly Traded Company" Vince, THIS was "chase people around with soiled underwear on a stick" Vince, and I'm sure that wasn't exactly what Dustin wanted to hear during orientation... "If you want to work here this is what you're gonna do... I'M VINCE MCMAHON DAMMIT!!! Now put the wig on..." Like his father, Dustin embraced it, and got it over in a big way.

Fast forward a few more years and enter Cody. Cody had a good run with Legacy, but was expected to be the Janetty to Ted DiBiase Jr's Micheals after the inevitable breakup. The Marine 2 flopped, Ted flopped, and Cody emerged the brighter star. What'd they do? Had him shave his legs and put on some lip gloss (No knee pads, man. CHAMPIONS WEAR KNEEPADS! :p) Cody ran with it, turned it into a great gimmick and has been the most relevant IC Champion in close to a decade. People were saying he'd be headlining in 12 months, he was on his way! Hahahaha, no no no, not a Rhodes in WWE. Back to the mid-card, Dusty's kid...

I think he is just getting lost in the shuffle, like Cesaro is.

Conspiracies aside, this is likely the case.

Cody's good, but he's not great. He can wrestle a good match, but he isn't going to carry anyone like Daniel Bryan can. He can cut a promo, but he's not going to drop a pipe bomb any time soon. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED his IC Title reign. I thought it was crap when they ended it so Big Show could have a "Wrestlemania Moment". But, I've yet to see anything from Cody that makes me think he could sell a Pay Per View. That he could have a convincing program with John Cena (sorry Miz). That he's "the guy" for the next level. I think he's peaked, and thus easily lost in a shuffle being shaken by the strongest undercard WWE's seen since it consisted of Cena, Orton, and Batista. And hey, I hope I'm wrong. Those are words I will gladly eat. A little Red Hot, a little Ranch, they'd be delicious.

Nice topic, cyhh! I haven't thought that hard about anything in a while! Keep 'em coming!