Regarding the WWE product currently surrounding Rhodes, Bischoff clarified that “flatlining” doesn’t equate to death, but rather, a plateau. A heel turn from Rhodes, in Bischoff’s eyes, would freshen up the product, and more importantly, possibly get WWE back on an upward trajectory, however.

“That just means it’s kind of cruising along, just doing the same old stuff every week,” Bischoff said. “That’s not good TV. Good TV grows. There are certain times a year it’s a little harder. It’s harder this time of year for a lot of reasons. It’s harder in the fall when football kicks in. But there’s a period between the end of the football season, the regular season, especially the end of the playoffs and about now when NBA playoffs get hot. So you got a window there, couple months, you can really heat things up so that you could go into the summer with the audience engaged as best you can. Hopefully they’re going to come up with something that kicks it in gear. I’d love to see a different character out of Cody.”

In his three reigns as Undisputed WWE Champion, Rhodes has firmly cemented himself as a top face of WWE, so much so that he’s often referred to as “QB1.” Rhodes continues to be one of WWE’s best sellers in terms of merchandise as well, alongside the likes of former World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and Danhausen.

Coming out of Clash In Italy, Rhodes’ rematch offering was accepted by GUNTHER, though under the added condition that “The Ring General” would choose the stipulation. Further details of the Rhodes-GUNTHER follow-up clash, including that stipulation and its time, have yet to be revealed.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “83 Weeks” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.