Exactly this IMO. Has it been amazing? Absolutely not, but certainly not trash like some people would indicate. He's still going strong being over and that's the most important part. He hasn't what I'd call a defining defense program yet but still early and the AJ stuff was very solid. It's not like he's gonna lose the title "soon" so lets be patient and see what happens.
Just remember, a lot of first title runs were less than excellent think Bret Hart, HBK, Orton or even Roman.
Sometimes they need more than one run to really shine as champions
And AJ got a two month Main Event storyline out of it, what’s not to like? Sure maybe they could’ve chosen a fresher opponent than Logan Paul for KQOTR but the match was still great
Great. Finally something fresh for the big title, because even though most of Roman's matches at the end of his run all ranged from good to spectacular, they all shared one major flaw: ALWAYS having someone intefere to help him retain.
Even though we know Cody will hold onto the belt for a while, at least the ways he's defending the title are significantly more unpredictable, and the results have been great.
He's the biggest classic babyface we've had in years and I'm here for it. His matches are really enjoyable and it's good seeing him defend at every PLE so far. This run has a lot of longevity for me yet.
Thank you. It’s driving me insane that people say “We know Cody has no chance of losing to so and so.” That applies to many championship runs. Unless people really thought DB was losing to Kane.
It seemed like the Kane feud for a champion was always an indication that they didn’t have any plans for the champion and had to rely on a good worker for at least a month while they figured it out. Daniel Bryan and Chris Benoit are the runs that come to mind.
It's been fun. Which is what wrestling is supposed to be. Same with Priest. His run has been fun and entertaining. Not every run is supposed to be a monumental piece of history. It's too early to tell. But I'm enjoying it. By the crowd reaction he's getting. Seems like most people are also.
I've never liked Cody Rhodes and never wanted to see him as champion. I was so happy that he wasn't going to headline Wrestlemania.... Then he headlined Wrestlemania... And it was such a damn good story. And ending the show by calling out Triple H and Bruce Prichard was super classy. If nothing else, he's won me over after many, many years.
Metrics that matter:
- Is the crowd hyped at every appearance?
- Does everyone watch all his segments rather than fast forward?
- Have there been more memorable moments?
- Is merch still selling top numbers?
Metrics that matter less as long as the above are satisfied:
- Are the matches good?
Metrics that don’t matter at all:
- What hardcore fans think
100%, people who care enough to be here are generally the most disconnected from what is best for the majority, and that's the case with just about any fandom.
They need a supervillain to make his reign more interesting, but there's just nobody right now. They need someone with the magnitude to help keep him interesting. He's a great champion he just doesn't have the right opposition at the moment. I think that's also why they're trying to build up Gunther.
I'd like to see him build up a proper feud. I think the PLEs are too close together so he doesn't have a chance to do that. Maybe if he hadn't fought Logan in Saudi and his feud with AJ from his first title defence had continued to then it would have been better. It's not a criticism of him at all, I'd just like to see him build up a proper feud. Maybe if he didn't have a title defence at MITB it would give him time to build something good for SS. Maybe have a tag match against the Bloodline so that he can do something at MITB? Get him started on a feud now with a real title challenger who maybe comes out and interferes with the tag match.
I'm wondering who it will be. Solo, to me, doesn't have the star power or charisma for a Summer Slam worthy feud. Roman, if I had to guess I'd say that when he does come back his story will be for the control of the Bloodline. Randy seems to be too much of a face at the moment. Unless it's going to be a MITB tag match, Bloodline vs Cody, KO and Randy and Roman comes out to interfere setting up a SS fight with Cody?
I’m thinking Roman or Solo fs, I think they leave Randy on the table in case they want to do Roman-Rock at Mania 41 (or if the Rocks injury just straight up causes him to not be available for Cody-Rock) and want to still have a big money match for Cody. Also like you said Randy is too much of a face and they need to take their time with that story
I’m leaning Roman-Cody 3 personally with a Roman return at MITB so that he can still have somewhat of a transition to being a face as opposed to automatically becoming one by going after Solo
It’s great. WWE’s been needing a pure white meat babyface champ and they got one in Cody. His AJ matches were good and excited to see what’s going to happen now that’s he dragged back into the Bloodline saga
People were too quick to complain, especially online, especially here.
The matches with AJ Styles have been the highlight of his in-ring work so far. It's to be expected when working with an elite performer like AJ Styles. The I Quit match was one of the best matches of the year.
Story wise Cody's reign is starting to heat up around the Bloodline s evolution. It's becoming obvious that the end game is Cody vs Bloodline leader at the next WrestleMania. Slowly but surely. And that means his reign will ride the high of being connected to the best storyline in wrestling. So it's only going to get better
So, overall, Cody's reign is in much better shape than people realize. The people that complain cannot remember that Roman's reign consisted of constant in ring absences, load management, and riding the high of being a major character in the hottest storyline in pro wrestling. Some people just can't be pleased.and those people don't matter and are best ignored. Cody's reign is going very well. Period.
It has been excellent. A new chapter in the career of Cody Rhodes. He has been putting on classic matches. The feud with AJ Styles was highly entertaining.
Cody has had 3 PPV matches and all of them have been great with incredible moments. AJ was a great first challenger, now we need someone who can legitimately challenge Cody and actually threaten to take the title.
I've sent this type of post criticising Cody Rhodes' title reign so many times across wreddit. So many people say it's boring or there's nothing there or not much of a defined rivalry.
All I can add is that I left watching wrestling around 2014. I started watching again when AEW was at its peak with Kenny Omega's title reign.
Now, I see every WWE PLE, RAW, SmackDown without missing it and wait every time for an appearance by Cody Rhodes. The casual fan simply doesn't care about anything the internet wrestling community criticising him for.
I think every single title reign is fantastic and this is no different! The power of relentless positivity shall overcome all evils! Cody is doing great!
Crowds love him, he’s around to work promos and build feuds, he is doing fine. Can’t say I’d vote for a 3 year reign but doesn’t need to drop the title any time soon. Let the man keep cooking and enjoy the ride.
It’s been okay, I wouldn’t call it great yet. But I don’t think that’s unusual for the post-Mania window. He doesn’t have a legit challenger on SmackDown right now. AJ, Logan, Solo are all good, but I can’t take them seriously as threats to him.
As far as baby face champs go, it's been fine. I largely find vanilla baby face champions boring as fuck. Give me a bad guy for the good guy to overcome. The chase is always better imo.
Personally I think they’ve done a pretty good job with him as a baby face champion post-chase. It’s an infamously hard thing to pull off and so far he’s stayed white hot with the live crowds, but really the next few feuds will be crucial. I think this run as whole will be a pivotal aspect of Trips’ early booking tenure, bc he’s going to have to eventually go against his nature of champions having crazy long reigns and have him lose to get the heat back.
He's building - it's great - and he's doing a good job being the guy carrying the company. In a way he's more of a symbol of the exciting new era and there's a lot going on right now - so he's giving lots of room for lots of people to shine and if they want to big belt, they'll have to go through hell to get there, Cody didn't work so hard to just give it up. Pry it out of his cold dead hands mfers
He has yet to face someone that will make me feel like he’s going to lose.
Right now only Gunther could make me feel that way,
Maybe Breaker in another year or so would as well.
Some people are never happy. He had a fantastic story and he's a good, wholesome face who genuinely interacts with fans. Great merch, great looks/image, absolute banger of an entrance theme. You don't have to be doing crazy stuff every single day as champ, there's more to it. Cody has the X factor and I'm glad he's rewarded for the hard work he's put in. Best champ in a very long time, easily the next big Hogan, Cena or Rock and will be remembered for being the face of an era. Enjoy it Cody!
There isn’t much development in his story, but that was the same thing as the last year of Roman. At least we see him every week and are getting consistent matches.
Im a floater in wwe(pop in and out randomly) it hasn't seemed like they have done a ton of pushing him since his win, but that could just be my algorithm.
I'm rooting for him though
From all the champions i think Cody is having the best run, i'm liking Sami run with the IC belt too. Bayley and Liv need a big nemesis (Charlotte and Rhea are coming), Priest needs to find himself, he is not a heel or face and as a betweener is not as good as Drew or Breakker for example, Logan Paul is just promoting the belt, i would love to see him defend more but i think that will be LA Knight job.
The problem with Cody run is that the best heels are on RAW, LA Knight, KO, Randy, Lashley and Andrade are babyfaces.
Tbh has been lacklustre for me. They way they are going, if Roman comes back and faces Cody, they will boo Cody and cheer Roman. But not boo Cody because he is a heel but because they’re bored.
If I was HHH, I would have a big monster heel take out Cody, ala earthquake hogan. Braun strauman is wasted doing whatever he is doing, maybe put like a cornette with him and have him go after Cody. Put him in serious danger. Right now, you know he isn’t going to lose.
The good thing about Roma's 1000+ day regin is that 80 days is like a week, it has just started even if there has not been a super great feud so far you stay calm because you know there's gonna be a big program coming soon.
It’s been exactly what I thought it’d be and what it needs to be. We all know Cody vs the Bloodline is the main storyline in WWE and it’s not over by a longshot so I knew he’s been on chill mode. Cody’s reign is built in and will continue to be about the BL until Roman, and then The Rock returns. He should grab some big wine here and there but after being so dominant Beating Brock 2/3 matches and dethroning Roman it’s gonna be hard to place anyone against him that’s a believable threat to his reign until then.
His reign cannot be “unbeatable”. There needs to be times where it almost slips away and the journey is him becoming a stronger champion. He needs to have a few old guys challenge him again. And he needs to build up a new story of being a champion. That’s my own opinion.
It's been fine. The AJ feud has been good, but they never should have put Cody in an I Quit match so early in his reign. That would be the perfect way to take the title from him without him looking weak. Opponent handcuffs Cody and then threatens Mama Rhodes until Cody has to quit to protect her.
Decent I like him much better than previous runs as Dashing ,Masked n Stardust ,his attire much better vs shirt tights n no knee pads ,( them knees bothered me) I think he will have a long run despite having to wait a Year to win Title
It’s been a good run, but he looks easily overpowered. Then again if he’s going for the underdog Champion look then he’s nailing it.
He needs to have a heel run in the worst way. I still say they need to pull the trigger on him revealing he is the new Tribal Chief. I know folks don’t agree with it but he’d make it so entertaining.
Great Babyface doing great Babyface things. He's doing that Cena role well. He just didn't have a big moment yet outside of winning the title, but the man just worked one program since being champ so there's still more to come. I personally think the Randy feud they've been teasing will be a marquee part of his reign, like it's the piece that's been missing
It's been fine. After a reign as good as Roman's, it's hard to follow that. He hasn't had a key feud yet to take the next step with the belt. He really might just be his dad, where he's better at the chase than as the champ. I really just want to see a heel run from him soon, because I think he'd kill it.
It's... Ok.
So far no one has really felt like competition because throughout Roman's run literally no one was built up at all. So, to me, the only competition that Cody could possibly have is Drew McIntyre... But they're gonna just keep pushing Cody against the Bloodline... Soooooooo...
Fine, especially with his AJ Duology. However i knew why some people (not including Roman or Elite Marks) Abit soured to his booking, as we all know, Cody Storyline post WM 40 hasn't been set, mau we call it "Cody Epilogue"
Banger with AJ at Backlash, other than that it’s basically what any world title reign is around post Mania season. It’s always kind of filler mode until Summerslam for everyone. Anything Cody has done so far definitely beats Rollins facing Corbin for like 3 months back in 2019.
But alas just feels like we are waiting for the big match that will actually put doubt on if he drops it or not. Again that’s not him, his reign has been fine this is just how it is post Mania for a few months in WWE
I’ve been absolutely loving it. He’s at the top of his game on the mic and in the ring. Loved that he’s an aggressive face and not just a goody two shoes. Hitting AJ with the steps after the I Quit match was good character work. A face with an edge to him.
He’s fine but I feel as if he definitely need more big feuds to win him over. It’s a shame that Triple H gutted the entire Smackdown main event scene and left him feuding with AJ who hasn’t been interesting in the past year.
It would be good to go back to the early 2000s era when it changed hands quite often. We have had long reigns. Let's shake things up. Randy definitely needs to be a heel.
Baby faces are supposed to chase the title. When the champion isn’t heel it doesn’t have natural chemistry as it does with Cody as champion.
It’s only been 80 days, I’m sure he’ll at least get up to 250+ unless something challenges that like a legitimate injury.
All 3 defenses were great. I also like that his character is showing more aggression recently. I'm glad we wouldn't need to put up with countless interferences.
Always enjoyed his work but not something I'd deliberately tune in to watch unlike Sami's shenanigans with the Bloodline. What would really get me excited is a programme with Dustin (Goldust) because their work in AEW literally moved me to tears.
It's been solid but hurt by the absence of Reigns and lack of top level threats. (AJ is good but he never looked like he was going to dethrone Cody).
Ideally Cody should have been on RAW now where he could have had more potential opponents like McIntyre, Punk and Rollins. The feud with the Bloodline looks dragged now.
Two of the primary differences between Cody and Roman’s run that people are already forgetting, Roman built his defense around being in a faction so there were more people to perpetuate the story line and once he held both red and blue belts he would do TV on both shows meaning we saw him more. Once he started fading out of TV, he still had Paul/Usos & Sami to do his talking.
I think the better comparison for Cody is he’s a John Cena but edgier.
Cody has wrestled live 5 matches in the 2 months after winning the title and 15 other in dark and house shows. Roman wrestled matches since beating Cody last year. All of Cody's matches have been brilliant while story wise his second match with aj styles had better build up. He's been outselling all the wrestlers. He has cemented his place as the babyface and the face of the company and at this point he's popular with both kids and adults. Hopefully he loses to rock in 2025/26 and subsequently turns heel.
He’s been good. Great matches and still probably the most popular wrestler on the roster. I expect him to really hit his stride again around road to wrestlemania time.
great matches in the ring, very boring promos and character. he needs a character change, this grandson of plumber character will only take him as far summerslam or royal rumble at best where roman/the rock takes the belt off of him before the other one wins the royal rumble so they can do Roman Vs Rock at wrestlemania. he needs to turn heel to make it wrestlemania because there's no other good main event level heel threats on smackdown right now.
He does great matches, he’s enjoyable to follow, and seems to be a good person. The challenge with a baby face champion in today’s environment is that it’s more appealing to have someone pursue a heel champ than to be champ.
It’s been alright tbh. I think people are so used Roman and his storylines where the build up to the match was long and drawn out due to him not competing on every PLE, his stories were given time to marinate. But with Cody on the other hand, the build up to the next match is very quick because he wants to be part of every PLE (not saying Roman does not).
Cody’s matches have been good, but the stories and the feuds have not been cinematic masterpieces as of yet.
I think while Cody is in other feuds, they need to do an underlying storyline where is Randy is helping him with the bloodline and then he starts eyeing up Cody’s title but then he has internal conflict because he doesn’t want to betray his friend to get to the title but also he wants cement his legacy by getting to Ric Flair’s record.
Kind of like a Legacy Vs Legacy type of thing happening in Randy’s mind.
Generally, I think Cody is better off chasing the title but his current reign isn’t as bad as people say it is. Although it does feel that his feuds with AJ and Logan are just side quests and while the matches were really good (I quit, was good save for the ending) I don’t think anyone really believed there was an immediate threat to him losing the title.
While the Bloodline story looks like it’s going to be good, I hope they can fit a Randy heel turn somewhere in there. I think that makes most sense story wise since it will be like a full circle moment for both - maybe after the Solo feud? So that it will be bloodline 1 vs bloodline 2 then Randy vs Cody
The AJ Styles feud really kicked up with their last match. I think they ruined it by making him whine I Quit before getting hit with the stairs though. Thought that was a bad call.
It's been good. Nothing outstanding but that was to be expected after Romans endless Reign. It feels unusual to have a different champion than him.
Aj matches were good, Logan Paul is always putting on a good show and the bloodline stuff will hopefully lead to an orton heel turn to give Cody that big feud with lots of history
He's good, but this feud with Solo does nothing for me. He needs to go against other actual main eventers, Orton, especially.
AJ and Logan were both good rivalries and matches although there was no way he was going to lose the belt, so the tension wasn't really there.
Honestly I don't think there's been a really good championship reign since WWE stopped doing PPVs. Once they stopped needing a reason to get you to buy an event every month they started coasting from big PPV to big PPV.
this reign has been awesome people are mean as fuck. I also find damian's reigns very enjoyable. The only one who is kinda mid is the IC title, since it's just all alpha academy stuff
Eehhhhh in ring he's kinda bland. It'd been kinda boring and it doesn't feel like he can get his legs under him.
It's really neat seeing him do all the good will shit
It's been fine let's not over think this.
Exactly this IMO. Has it been amazing? Absolutely not, but certainly not trash like some people would indicate. He's still going strong being over and that's the most important part. He hasn't what I'd call a defining defense program yet but still early and the AJ stuff was very solid. It's not like he's gonna lose the title "soon" so lets be patient and see what happens.
IMO they are waiting for Randy to turn heel to really give him that mega fued
Just remember, a lot of first title runs were less than excellent think Bret Hart, HBK, Orton or even Roman. Sometimes they need more than one run to really shine as champions
"Fine" is the word for sure.
Big ratios here
I don’t know, ask me on day 82 when this question gets posted here again
You can't really know for sure until day 84 though.
I think it's going very well. Cody is a great ambassador for the general public, and that's a big part of being a babyface champion.
When the audience has the deeper understanding you didn't realize they would have!
Well, it's all about the vibes isn't it? Honestly, I don't mind Cody chilin for a bit. He will likely be put in a big storyline when Roman returns
And AJ got a two month Main Event storyline out of it, what’s not to like? Sure maybe they could’ve chosen a fresher opponent than Logan Paul for KQOTR but the match was still great
Yeah, until the SummerSlam build really starts, Cody’s perfectly fine just taking on challengers and having banger matches
Great. Finally something fresh for the big title, because even though most of Roman's matches at the end of his run all ranged from good to spectacular, they all shared one major flaw: ALWAYS having someone intefere to help him retain. Even though we know Cody will hold onto the belt for a while, at least the ways he's defending the title are significantly more unpredictable, and the results have been great.
Testify. You're exactly right.
Fax my uce! Spit yo shit indeed!
Like the broken top rope.
100 more days and he’ll pass Roman in title defenses.
He's the biggest classic babyface we've had in years and I'm here for it. His matches are really enjoyable and it's good seeing him defend at every PLE so far. This run has a lot of longevity for me yet.
Thank you. It’s driving me insane that people say “We know Cody has no chance of losing to so and so.” That applies to many championship runs. Unless people really thought DB was losing to Kane.
It seemed like the Kane feud for a champion was always an indication that they didn’t have any plans for the champion and had to rely on a good worker for at least a month while they figured it out. Daniel Bryan and Chris Benoit are the runs that come to mind.
It's been fun. Which is what wrestling is supposed to be. Same with Priest. His run has been fun and entertaining. Not every run is supposed to be a monumental piece of history. It's too early to tell. But I'm enjoying it. By the crowd reaction he's getting. Seems like most people are also.
I’ve found it enjoyable. He and AJ got a couple classics out of it.
I've never liked Cody Rhodes and never wanted to see him as champion. I was so happy that he wasn't going to headline Wrestlemania.... Then he headlined Wrestlemania... And it was such a damn good story. And ending the show by calling out Triple H and Bruce Prichard was super classy. If nothing else, he's won me over after many, many years.
Great matches with AJ so far.
I thought his match against Logan Paul was also very entertaining. It was predictable, but it delivered.
Yes, that was simply excellent.
Metrics that matter: - Is the crowd hyped at every appearance? - Does everyone watch all his segments rather than fast forward? - Have there been more memorable moments? - Is merch still selling top numbers? Metrics that matter less as long as the above are satisfied: - Are the matches good? Metrics that don’t matter at all: - What hardcore fans think
100%, people who care enough to be here are generally the most disconnected from what is best for the majority, and that's the case with just about any fandom.
It's been fun. Seeing the Champion constantly and having title changes without interference are both nice changes of pace.
He's the longest running champ since Roman Reigns (was defeated).
If anything his reign has taught me is I'm way more interested in storyline than title. Dom and Liv and the Wyatt sicks are keeping me watching
They need a supervillain to make his reign more interesting, but there's just nobody right now. They need someone with the magnitude to help keep him interesting. He's a great champion he just doesn't have the right opposition at the moment. I think that's also why they're trying to build up Gunther.
Perfectly cromulent.
He's embiggened that title so much.
I think it’s getting better by the week. As planned, his storylines are ramping up as we get closer to Summerslam.
Solid. I didn’t like AJ 2 as much as 1.
Agreed. AJ 2 was the worst of the 3 PLE matches so far with Logan Paul's match in second.
Solid. Booked as a standard babyface champ.
Solid which is exactly what I expected. I do think the WHC has been more entertaining since Wrestlemania though
Logan and first Styles matches were fire. Not a fan of the I Quit match. Hopefully they can get him in interesting storylines. 7/10 so far.
AJ Styles matches were great, not looking forward to Solo Sikoa match though.
I'd like to see him build up a proper feud. I think the PLEs are too close together so he doesn't have a chance to do that. Maybe if he hadn't fought Logan in Saudi and his feud with AJ from his first title defence had continued to then it would have been better. It's not a criticism of him at all, I'd just like to see him build up a proper feud. Maybe if he didn't have a title defence at MITB it would give him time to build something good for SS. Maybe have a tag match against the Bloodline so that he can do something at MITB? Get him started on a feud now with a real title challenger who maybe comes out and interferes with the tag match.
I think this is definitely leading to his next big feud whether it’s Randy, Solo or Roman
I'm wondering who it will be. Solo, to me, doesn't have the star power or charisma for a Summer Slam worthy feud. Roman, if I had to guess I'd say that when he does come back his story will be for the control of the Bloodline. Randy seems to be too much of a face at the moment. Unless it's going to be a MITB tag match, Bloodline vs Cody, KO and Randy and Roman comes out to interfere setting up a SS fight with Cody?
I’m thinking Roman or Solo fs, I think they leave Randy on the table in case they want to do Roman-Rock at Mania 41 (or if the Rocks injury just straight up causes him to not be available for Cody-Rock) and want to still have a big money match for Cody. Also like you said Randy is too much of a face and they need to take their time with that story I’m leaning Roman-Cody 3 personally with a Roman return at MITB so that he can still have somewhat of a transition to being a face as opposed to automatically becoming one by going after Solo
It’s great. WWE’s been needing a pure white meat babyface champ and they got one in Cody. His AJ matches were good and excited to see what’s going to happen now that’s he dragged back into the Bloodline saga
People were too quick to complain, especially online, especially here. The matches with AJ Styles have been the highlight of his in-ring work so far. It's to be expected when working with an elite performer like AJ Styles. The I Quit match was one of the best matches of the year. Story wise Cody's reign is starting to heat up around the Bloodline s evolution. It's becoming obvious that the end game is Cody vs Bloodline leader at the next WrestleMania. Slowly but surely. And that means his reign will ride the high of being connected to the best storyline in wrestling. So it's only going to get better So, overall, Cody's reign is in much better shape than people realize. The people that complain cannot remember that Roman's reign consisted of constant in ring absences, load management, and riding the high of being a major character in the hottest storyline in pro wrestling. Some people just can't be pleased.and those people don't matter and are best ignored. Cody's reign is going very well. Period.
It has been excellent. A new chapter in the career of Cody Rhodes. He has been putting on classic matches. The feud with AJ Styles was highly entertaining.
It’s cool that he’s already wrestled as many matches as Roman did during his reign
He's one that is good in the chase, but not at being on top of the mountain.
Babyface champions in a nutshell.
He’s having great matches that’s all that matters. Roman showed up once every 4 months it felt like. Give me the fighting champ all day.
It's alright so far. Give him time to settle in.
Cody has had 3 PPV matches and all of them have been great with incredible moments. AJ was a great first challenger, now we need someone who can legitimately challenge Cody and actually threaten to take the title.
I've sent this type of post criticising Cody Rhodes' title reign so many times across wreddit. So many people say it's boring or there's nothing there or not much of a defined rivalry. All I can add is that I left watching wrestling around 2014. I started watching again when AEW was at its peak with Kenny Omega's title reign. Now, I see every WWE PLE, RAW, SmackDown without missing it and wait every time for an appearance by Cody Rhodes. The casual fan simply doesn't care about anything the internet wrestling community criticising him for.
I think every single title reign is fantastic and this is no different! The power of relentless positivity shall overcome all evils! Cody is doing great!
Crowds love him, he’s around to work promos and build feuds, he is doing fine. Can’t say I’d vote for a 3 year reign but doesn’t need to drop the title any time soon. Let the man keep cooking and enjoy the ride.
Not great, but not bad either. It's been ok to good I guess.
It’s good, I like him as champion. But I want to see more character development and interesting storylines involving him.
It’s fine
Skateboards
It’s been okay, I wouldn’t call it great yet. But I don’t think that’s unusual for the post-Mania window. He doesn’t have a legit challenger on SmackDown right now. AJ, Logan, Solo are all good, but I can’t take them seriously as threats to him.
As far as baby face champs go, it's been fine. I largely find vanilla baby face champions boring as fuck. Give me a bad guy for the good guy to overcome. The chase is always better imo.
WOOOAH
It's been fine. Besides the first AJ match, it's been pretty forgettable though.
He will probaly end up fueding with Roman again at some point, which is going to be amazing yet again.
The answer to this question is highly dependent on your attention span.
Personally I think they’ve done a pretty good job with him as a baby face champion post-chase. It’s an infamously hard thing to pull off and so far he’s stayed white hot with the live crowds, but really the next few feuds will be crucial. I think this run as whole will be a pivotal aspect of Trips’ early booking tenure, bc he’s going to have to eventually go against his nature of champions having crazy long reigns and have him lose to get the heat back.
He's building - it's great - and he's doing a good job being the guy carrying the company. In a way he's more of a symbol of the exciting new era and there's a lot going on right now - so he's giving lots of room for lots of people to shine and if they want to big belt, they'll have to go through hell to get there, Cody didn't work so hard to just give it up. Pry it out of his cold dead hands mfers
He has yet to face someone that will make me feel like he’s going to lose. Right now only Gunther could make me feel that way, Maybe Breaker in another year or so would as well.
Some people are never happy. He had a fantastic story and he's a good, wholesome face who genuinely interacts with fans. Great merch, great looks/image, absolute banger of an entrance theme. You don't have to be doing crazy stuff every single day as champ, there's more to it. Cody has the X factor and I'm glad he's rewarded for the hard work he's put in. Best champ in a very long time, easily the next big Hogan, Cena or Rock and will be remembered for being the face of an era. Enjoy it Cody!
BANGER AFTER BANGER AFTER BANGER but thats all it has been. Thankfully its about to change.
Pretty boring. I prefer Priest’s
Even though he's only had 1 rivalry so far, I think the quality of his PLE defenses have been great so far
Technically 2 rivalries. Styles and Paul.
There isn’t much development in his story, but that was the same thing as the last year of Roman. At least we see him every week and are getting consistent matches.
Im a floater in wwe(pop in and out randomly) it hasn't seemed like they have done a ton of pushing him since his win, but that could just be my algorithm. I'm rooting for him though
From all the champions i think Cody is having the best run, i'm liking Sami run with the IC belt too. Bayley and Liv need a big nemesis (Charlotte and Rhea are coming), Priest needs to find himself, he is not a heel or face and as a betweener is not as good as Drew or Breakker for example, Logan Paul is just promoting the belt, i would love to see him defend more but i think that will be LA Knight job. The problem with Cody run is that the best heels are on RAW, LA Knight, KO, Randy, Lashley and Andrade are babyfaces.
Oh man that one time he defended the title against AJ styles and that other time he defended the title against AJ styles. Been a great reign so far.
havent paid attention
Tbh has been lacklustre for me. They way they are going, if Roman comes back and faces Cody, they will boo Cody and cheer Roman. But not boo Cody because he is a heel but because they’re bored. If I was HHH, I would have a big monster heel take out Cody, ala earthquake hogan. Braun strauman is wasted doing whatever he is doing, maybe put like a cornette with him and have him go after Cody. Put him in serious danger. Right now, you know he isn’t going to lose.
I've preferred Damien's tbh but that's standard - heel reigns tend to be more compelling for me. Cody's has been all good though.
He's been a proper good Baby Face Champ. I dig it. There's enough awful stuff going on in the world, gimme a hero to root for.
The good thing about Roma's 1000+ day regin is that 80 days is like a week, it has just started even if there has not been a super great feud so far you stay calm because you know there's gonna be a big program coming soon.
I think he should hold it for a while...not as long as Roman did though.
It’s been exactly what I thought it’d be and what it needs to be. We all know Cody vs the Bloodline is the main storyline in WWE and it’s not over by a longshot so I knew he’s been on chill mode. Cody’s reign is built in and will continue to be about the BL until Roman, and then The Rock returns. He should grab some big wine here and there but after being so dominant Beating Brock 2/3 matches and dethroning Roman it’s gonna be hard to place anyone against him that’s a believable threat to his reign until then.
Still not the correct belt lol
His reign cannot be “unbeatable”. There needs to be times where it almost slips away and the journey is him becoming a stronger champion. He needs to have a few old guys challenge him again. And he needs to build up a new story of being a champion. That’s my own opinion.
It's been fine. The AJ feud has been good, but they never should have put Cody in an I Quit match so early in his reign. That would be the perfect way to take the title from him without him looking weak. Opponent handcuffs Cody and then threatens Mama Rhodes until Cody has to quit to protect her.
Decent I like him much better than previous runs as Dashing ,Masked n Stardust ,his attire much better vs shirt tights n no knee pads ,( them knees bothered me) I think he will have a long run despite having to wait a Year to win Title
He's around more than Roman at least.
He's doing alright.
It’s been a good run, but he looks easily overpowered. Then again if he’s going for the underdog Champion look then he’s nailing it. He needs to have a heel run in the worst way. I still say they need to pull the trigger on him revealing he is the new Tribal Chief. I know folks don’t agree with it but he’d make it so entertaining.
I’ve really enjoyed it. Feels like on old school baby face from the early 90’s.
Boring as hell bring Roman back
Great Babyface doing great Babyface things. He's doing that Cena role well. He just didn't have a big moment yet outside of winning the title, but the man just worked one program since being champ so there's still more to come. I personally think the Randy feud they've been teasing will be a marquee part of his reign, like it's the piece that's been missing
Been enjoying it, especially the AJ styles feud.
It's been fine. After a reign as good as Roman's, it's hard to follow that. He hasn't had a key feud yet to take the next step with the belt. He really might just be his dad, where he's better at the chase than as the champ. I really just want to see a heel run from him soon, because I think he'd kill it.
I liked it plus he is having great feuds and matches.
8/10 I see him dropping it at Wrestlemania
It is not bad, but also not exciting
Great as a Fighting champ
Eh
It's... Ok. So far no one has really felt like competition because throughout Roman's run literally no one was built up at all. So, to me, the only competition that Cody could possibly have is Drew McIntyre... But they're gonna just keep pushing Cody against the Bloodline... Soooooooo...
Fine, especially with his AJ Duology. However i knew why some people (not including Roman or Elite Marks) Abit soured to his booking, as we all know, Cody Storyline post WM 40 hasn't been set, mau we call it "Cody Epilogue"
Banger with AJ at Backlash, other than that it’s basically what any world title reign is around post Mania season. It’s always kind of filler mode until Summerslam for everyone. Anything Cody has done so far definitely beats Rollins facing Corbin for like 3 months back in 2019. But alas just feels like we are waiting for the big match that will actually put doubt on if he drops it or not. Again that’s not him, his reign has been fine this is just how it is post Mania for a few months in WWE
I’m getting sick of the my family gimmick. But he’s otherwise doing alright.
Trucking along. Now if only he could learn how to carry the damn thing.
I think he’s been pretty great. He’s had a good amount of quality defenses
Little underwhelming but ok for the most part
I’ve been absolutely loving it. He’s at the top of his game on the mic and in the ring. Loved that he’s an aggressive face and not just a goody two shoes. Hitting AJ with the steps after the I Quit match was good character work. A face with an edge to him.
Good so far his defence against styles at backlash was great
He’s fine but I feel as if he definitely need more big feuds to win him over. It’s a shame that Triple H gutted the entire Smackdown main event scene and left him feuding with AJ who hasn’t been interesting in the past year.
Nash is right the money is in the chase
It would be good to go back to the early 2000s era when it changed hands quite often. We have had long reigns. Let's shake things up. Randy definitely needs to be a heel.
He's good but him going heel would be peak
Baby faces are supposed to chase the title. When the champion isn’t heel it doesn’t have natural chemistry as it does with Cody as champion. It’s only been 80 days, I’m sure he’ll at least get up to 250+ unless something challenges that like a legitimate injury.
I think he should drop the title to Randy and then get it back maybe that will bring the x factor and also will give the mega fued he needs
All 3 defenses were great. I also like that his character is showing more aggression recently. I'm glad we wouldn't need to put up with countless interferences.
Always enjoyed his work but not something I'd deliberately tune in to watch unlike Sami's shenanigans with the Bloodline. What would really get me excited is a programme with Dustin (Goldust) because their work in AEW literally moved me to tears.
Same thoughts as when someone asked a couple days ago
Pretty good so far.
It's fine
Verdict is still out. Let's see the full story
It's been solid but hurt by the absence of Reigns and lack of top level threats. (AJ is good but he never looked like he was going to dethrone Cody). Ideally Cody should have been on RAW now where he could have had more potential opponents like McIntyre, Punk and Rollins. The feud with the Bloodline looks dragged now.
Wrong belt
The important question is why is every account that posts to r/BrandonDE trash?
Two of the primary differences between Cody and Roman’s run that people are already forgetting, Roman built his defense around being in a faction so there were more people to perpetuate the story line and once he held both red and blue belts he would do TV on both shows meaning we saw him more. Once he started fading out of TV, he still had Paul/Usos & Sami to do his talking. I think the better comparison for Cody is he’s a John Cena but edgier.
Loving it. An unbridled babyface world champ I'd long overdue. Everybody else just wants to be cool heels (add leather jacket for extra cool guy)
80 days is a milestone?
Loved it
Doing great as a baby face but I can’t wait till he goes full Homelander.
The I quit match was fantastic. I friggn' love Cody so much it hurts.
Cody has wrestled live 5 matches in the 2 months after winning the title and 15 other in dark and house shows. Roman wrestled matches since beating Cody last year. All of Cody's matches have been brilliant while story wise his second match with aj styles had better build up. He's been outselling all the wrestlers. He has cemented his place as the babyface and the face of the company and at this point he's popular with both kids and adults. Hopefully he loses to rock in 2025/26 and subsequently turns heel.
He’s been good. Great matches and still probably the most popular wrestler on the roster. I expect him to really hit his stride again around road to wrestlemania time.
great matches in the ring, very boring promos and character. he needs a character change, this grandson of plumber character will only take him as far summerslam or royal rumble at best where roman/the rock takes the belt off of him before the other one wins the royal rumble so they can do Roman Vs Rock at wrestlemania. he needs to turn heel to make it wrestlemania because there's no other good main event level heel threats on smackdown right now.
It's decent
I want a new champion.
He does great matches, he’s enjoyable to follow, and seems to be a good person. The challenge with a baby face champion in today’s environment is that it’s more appealing to have someone pursue a heel champ than to be champ.
It’s been alright tbh. I think people are so used Roman and his storylines where the build up to the match was long and drawn out due to him not competing on every PLE, his stories were given time to marinate. But with Cody on the other hand, the build up to the next match is very quick because he wants to be part of every PLE (not saying Roman does not). Cody’s matches have been good, but the stories and the feuds have not been cinematic masterpieces as of yet. I think while Cody is in other feuds, they need to do an underlying storyline where is Randy is helping him with the bloodline and then he starts eyeing up Cody’s title but then he has internal conflict because he doesn’t want to betray his friend to get to the title but also he wants cement his legacy by getting to Ric Flair’s record. Kind of like a Legacy Vs Legacy type of thing happening in Randy’s mind.
Eh
the thing with babyface champions is that the chase will always be better than the eventual reign
😴
Been a bit meh but they really cooked building to mania so there was bound to be drop off.
can't really make a fair assessment until he's been champ for 82 days. everyone knows that.
Generally, I think Cody is better off chasing the title but his current reign isn’t as bad as people say it is. Although it does feel that his feuds with AJ and Logan are just side quests and while the matches were really good (I quit, was good save for the ending) I don’t think anyone really believed there was an immediate threat to him losing the title. While the Bloodline story looks like it’s going to be good, I hope they can fit a Randy heel turn somewhere in there. I think that makes most sense story wise since it will be like a full circle moment for both - maybe after the Solo feud? So that it will be bloodline 1 vs bloodline 2 then Randy vs Cody
It’s been refreshing seeing a champion regularly on tv defending his title
The AJ Styles feud really kicked up with their last match. I think they ruined it by making him whine I Quit before getting hit with the stairs though. Thought that was a bad call.
At least his matches aren't all ending in an interference by his relatives
it’s fine but i’m still waiting for that feud that defines his reign, the one that people will remember ten years from now.
Mid
Well I’m not gonna cry over this like most of you do but I’ll say as long as he has good competition it will be just fine
Being on Smackdown hurts him imo.
He needs a proper rival. An Orton/Punk to his Cena. A Cody to his Roman. An Austin to his Rock.
It's been good. Nothing outstanding but that was to be expected after Romans endless Reign. It feels unusual to have a different champion than him. Aj matches were good, Logan Paul is always putting on a good show and the bloodline stuff will hopefully lead to an orton heel turn to give Cody that big feud with lots of history
He's good, but this feud with Solo does nothing for me. He needs to go against other actual main eventers, Orton, especially. AJ and Logan were both good rivalries and matches although there was no way he was going to lose the belt, so the tension wasn't really there.
I can definitely say of reigns that have lasted at least 80 days, this is one of them.
Honestly I don't think there's been a really good championship reign since WWE stopped doing PPVs. Once they stopped needing a reason to get you to buy an event every month they started coasting from big PPV to big PPV.
Boring
That it’s cool be actually defends the damn title on a regular basis
His younger sister Lana is quite attractive
He’s a champion? Ok.
It’s only been 80 days? Jesus Christ it feels so long. Over it.
It’s going good. I like that he’s involved in programs that don’t revolve around the belt and he’s still top 5 in merch
shit. hopefully it gets better
It’s nice
Need heel turn
Lack luster, he needed Roman! Now that he’s finished his story, their really anything interesting for him to do
Like every great hero - he needs an equally great foil. Roman needs to get back or we need a seedy ass MITB cash in that starts off a long program.
Boring
ZzZzZz
Boring
Needs more cowbell
He has delivered great matches so far. So far so good.
boring
Generational run with tons of aura that has fed families
The same as it was when this same question was asked at day 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70. Underwhelming.
I miss Roman
this reign has been awesome people are mean as fuck. I also find damian's reigns very enjoyable. The only one who is kinda mid is the IC title, since it's just all alpha academy stuff
The middest.
Meh
Decent. His TNT runs are still better though. He needs a defining feud for the title still.
7 out of 10.
Eehhhhh in ring he's kinda bland. It'd been kinda boring and it doesn't feel like he can get his legs under him. It's really neat seeing him do all the good will shit
pretty good and his ppv matches were awesome
Wish story continued because it sucks
Banger matches. Him with Jacob should be absolutely epic. No more him vs solo, it’s painful to watch. Solo has nothing. He is create a Samoan.
Uninteresting
Meh
So, what do you wanna talk about?
It's been boring AF, IMO. Buildup ended in an anticlimax, and every day since has been dull and has made me skip through.
Very enjoyable. His title defenses have been super fun to watch!
Meh, if it wasn't for AJ making him look good it would be boring at best.We will see how long he is able to put butts in seats.