Welcome to a new edition of eWrestlingNews’ Daily Question!
After holding on to the Undisputed WWE Championship in his match against Kevin Owens at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, Cody Rhodes fell prey to a surprise attack from Owens. The brutal piledriver that concluded the assault saw Rhodes being carted out on a stretcher, echoing the recent incident involving Randy Orton. As things stand presently, updates on Rhodes are scarce.
Now, our question to you today is, “How would you proceed with this storyline?”
Feel free to share your theories and ideas in the comment section below.
Moving on to my take….
Frankly, I wouldn’t have stretched the Owens/Rhodes arc any further than it has already been. However, since it has happened, if I were a part of the WWE Creative team today and requested to propose next steps— without insight on their plans for The Rock, Roman Reigns, or other major factors heading into WrestleMania season—here’s my pitch:
First and foremost, Rhodes shouldn’t be making a comeback before Randy Orton. Given how their injuries played out, it wouldn’t add up for the Rhodes to heal quicker. Despite the possibilities of explaining it away, such as citing Cody’s relative youth and fewer injuries, it would still be bizarre.
Instead, Orton has to be the first to return. Owens and Orton must have their feud-ending match. It could either be on the Raw episode airing January 6th on Netflix or at the Saturday Night’s Main Event on January 25th. Extending it till the latter date might diluting Owens’ storyline, especially with no substantial plot for him in the meantime, as it wouldn’t be fair to expect him to idle time away.
My guess is Orton will stage his return next week on SmackDown. Owens can take up a week reacting to the incident and addressing it. Following this, Owens and Orton can battle it out with the match possibly being scheduled for Jan 6th or the Jan 3rd SmackDown episode.
For Owens to emerge victorious, Rhodes should come back on the 10th to anchor something for the 25th’s Saturday Night’s Main Event. A suitable climax for their feud might be a Last Man Standing match. This way, Cody could retain his title before the Royal Rumble and justify his absence from the event.
The Royal Rumble’s lineup would ideally include the two 30-men/women matches and a few other most probably midcard title defence matches. Cody could skip that event or participate as a commentator for the men’s match.
At this stage, Owens could participate in the Royal Rumble, or if he lost the gimmick match at SNME 38, he can sit this one out. Including him in the match could offer a fresh angle with Owens vowing to win and challenge Cody, only to be eliminated and kickstart a feud with another wrestler — ensuring his participation at WrestleMania.
So, what do you make of this approach? Share your thoughts below!