Many times, when a wrestler becomes too dependent on one thing, it becomes a crutch. If Rhodes' had stuck with that, it's quite possible that it would have become his crutch. It can became very one-dimensional and, truth be told, boring. As much as some people fear it -- change is good! This was great timing for Rhodes, as this might be the finally step to finally being a full-fledged main eventer. His feud with Orton proved his worth, but now, with continued improvements and a slight gimmick change, he has all the tools to succeed. It creates interest and allows us as fans more intrigue, we don't know what to expect from Rhodes at this point.
The future looks bright for Cody Rhodes, no doubt. To me, he's the future for the WWE, or at the very least, an important cog in the machine for many years to come. He has the look, the in-ring ability, the mic skills, etc. An excellent talent. This move takes the emphasis off of his gimmick, off of the mask, and allows him to evolve some more. It puts the focus on Cody Rhodes and his tremendous abilities, while offering him a new way to garner heat, a new way to propel his heel character. No longer does he have to use the mask or bag the fans, now he can just focus on buffing out the rough spots and preparing himself for the big time.
This puts Cody Rhodes in the company of guys like Kane, Undertaker, The Rock, and the like. All those guys adjusted their gimmicks over time, using what got them to "the dance," while also tweaking it bit by bit over time. I'm certainly not saying Rhodes needs to pull an Undertaker and go American Bad Ass or anything, but the small changes to the Deadman gimmick is what I'm talking about. Today's Undertaker is not the one we saw when he debuted, hell, it's not the one we saw in the Attitude Era. All greats have to do it, they all have to change. There's just no way around it. Wrestling fans are fickle and impatient, no doubt about it. It's not easy to keep their attention, to keep them interested in you. It's very rare that the EXACT SAME THING will work, over and over again. It's all about evolving.
Rhodes went from Hardcore Holly's tag team partner, to a lackey in Legacy, to now finally emerging as one of the brightest young stars in professional wrestling. If that's not impressive, then I don't know what is. He was dismissed when Legacy split up, seen by many as the Marty Jannetty to Ted DiBiase Jr.'s Shawn Michaels. How did that pan out? Not a knock on DiBiase, as he's starting to make something of himself on Smackdown as well, but he's nowhere near Cody Rhodes. That right there shows Cody Rhodes' perseverance, his ability to adapt, there's no way a slight change in his gimmick, like this one, will bury him.
Rhodes has the key now, he has his ticket to the top. In today's age of wrestling, after the Attitude Era, most gimmick-intensive wrestlers just don't work. After a while the same thing was going to happen. With a larger focus on him being "psychotic," it allows for more realism, something more believable.
I LOVE this change. Excellent move.
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