…that being that Cody Rhodes is currently MIA from his own story. One might argue for good reason, given that he had his cranium kicked through the announcer’s table, which would surely yield more than a little headache. But that does not change the fact that, as usual, the company has done very little to deliver any follow-up. 

I am not a fan of crafting false hype for a return, and that is basically what is happening with Cody. He has been sidelined, and the company is just scrambling to find some form of update. A multi-billion dollar company, I will remind you, is struggling with coming up with an actual update on when its top champion will return. At least the UFC had an excuse, they had Jon Jones as champion, and theirs is a real competition. This is scripted. Write something in the script. DO ANYTHING. 

Instead, we got Drew McIntyre asking for an update and Joe Tessitore, while running away from McIntyre, fobbing him off with, ‘We’re efforting.’

You’re what? 

Sure enough, Rhodes will return, and he will more than likely do some in some grand returning fashion. Maybe to save a certain friend who will surely face him soon. It will be a cheap pop on the night, with the fans in the building reveling at the chance to see the “American Nightmare,” but what will really happen beyond that? He and McIntyre will have a match, and weeks of filler TV will be forgotten. It makes for a weekly slog when the company is clearly manufacturing surprises for future events in different venues, there is very little sustenance to occupy the hours of programming, and everything is lost in a void of formulaic patterns of booking.

Written by Max Everett