Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns may well go down as one of the greatest feuds of the modern era. Few, if any, rivalries in recent years have captured quite the same emotional investment as this program, rooted in strong in-ring and mic work alike from both principal players. Perhaps the most important ingredient to the program’s success was each man’s backstory.
Even going into the first WrestleMania main event between the two, The Tribal Chief was riding a historic wave of momentum as a long-reigning, dominant champion—a dynamic that had only intensified going into WrestleMania 40. Meanwhile, The American Nightmare embraced a story of redemption both for his own unconventional career path and for his family.
Indeed, the story set such a high bar that the title reign Rhodes has embarked on since has felt a bit anticlimactic for not living up to how it got started. The key challenger to get this run back on track is none other than Solo Sikoa.
There Hasn’t Been Drama To Any Cody Rhodes Title Defenses Thus Far
One can’t fault AJ Styles or Logan Paul as challengers to Cody Rhodes. Both men are skilled performers who more than carried their ends of excellent WWE Championship PLE matches against The American Nightmare. However, there’s also an undeniable truth: no one thought Styles or Paul had a legitimate chance of taking the title off Rhodes.
Indeed, WWE has found itself in a confounding situation of a great main event face coming off an incredibly dramatic story with no sense he’s in any jeopardy of losing his title right away. As credible as Styles is as an all-time great in-ring worker, it’s hard to imagine him winning a world title in WWE again unless a string of injuries to other top stars make the company “break glass in case of an emergency.” Meanwhile, Paul is well-established as an upper mid-card player, but it’s hard to imagine him carrying the top prize in the business anytime soon.
WWE may well have made the right call in feeding Rhodes challengers who aren’t believable but could give him very good matches while fans wouldn’t believe he’s dropping the title anyway. That will have to change soon, though, for this title reign not to feel flat.
The New Bloodline Has Heat
The new Bloodline, running under Solo Sikoa’s leadership, has been a provocative part of WWE programming since WrestleMania. The faction and its defining family are over with the WWE audience. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa are fresh faces who’ve added intrigue to faction, and insiders make it seem like only a matter of time before Jacob Fatu joins the mix.
With Sikoa declaring himself the leader in the absence of Roman Reigns, there’s also intrigue around what will happen when The Tribal Chief does return, or what things will look like when The Rock is back on WWE television. All of that sets up buzz around the Bloodline again, without over-exposing them too dramatically (including going so far as to leave the group off the King and Queen of the Ring PLE altogether).
A time will come sooner than later when Sikoa will be ready to take his rightful place as a bona fide main eventer. Cody Rhodes will be waiting.
Solo Sikoa Is Well Protected
Yes, Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa has happened before. It occurred on numerous house shows and in dark matches, and even once on Raw as The American Nightmare got ready to challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39. Nonetheless, their issue feels far from played out, as the two haven’t collided on a PLE before, and their one televised bout was long enough ago not to be fresh on fans’ minds.
Moreover, Sikoa feels ready to main event. His televised losses have been few, far between, and only at the hands of top-tier talents. He also has a decisive victory over John Cena to still hang his hat on. All of this means that it would only take a small push rather than rehabilitation to position him as a credible challenger for the WWE Championship.
Cody Rhodes Vs. Solo Sikoa Can Be A Gateway To Bigger Things
It’s possible for WWE to position Solo Sikoa as a legitimate challenger to Cody Rhodes. Moreover, even in the likely case Rhodes survives that challenge and walks away champion, there’s every potential for WWE to keep a compelling story going.
With The Rock and Roman Reigns each waiting in the wings, The American Nightmare’s continued war with The Bloodline could naturally segue to one of these much bigger matches. While some fans feel Rhodes vs. Reigns is played out, it’s still a bankable main event rematch for WWE to stage at some point. From there, Rhodes vs. The Rock feels like the masterplan—the dream bout that a general consensus of fans has prognosticated to headline WrestleMania 41 and a match that can naturally follow from Rock showing up to backup or perhaps avenge his kin, Sikoa.
Cody Rhodes has made every scenario thrown at him since his WWE return work for him, and the smart money is on his title reign turning out to be very good. The right challenger will really spark something, though, and Solo Sikoa is a prime candidate for that spot.