Cody, Seth, and Sami are all great at chasing belts, where Gunther and Drew are both great at holding the belts. Once Roman's belt is freed up, the amount of different championship level feuds we can have is going to be insane.
Cody said it best: the babyfaces have "equity." With the top star being the unstoppable heel boss Roman Reigns, all the babyfaces are at the same level of overness as each other. War Games was proof of that. As Team Cody filtered out one by one, they all had enormous chants and singalongs. They popped for Kingdom. They popped for Sami's song. They bounced along with Jey. They sang along with Seth. And when the Viper arrived, they all lost their goddamned minds. Powerlevels might still be different -- Randy, Seth and Cody would still be "stronger" than Sami or Jey -- but they're treated equal in the eyes of the audience. They're all our heroes, who will one day liberate us from Roman Reigns' tyrannical grip on the titles.
As disappointing as Cody's loss to Roman was, one things people forget is that there was some doubt/hate by the fans to Cody cause they felt it was happening so fast and he had not done enough to deserve it(even though in my mind he had because of his entire career). But those matches with Brock elevated him to a whole other level, his story with Jey Uso and the judgement day, though sometimes repetitive has been cool, and now a new story with Shin and he has managed to keep fans invested all the way. Now everyone is truly rooting for him to win. Oh and, he's the only wrestler ever to top merch sales for the year without being a world champion. That's just crazy.
When you want level headed critique and analysis of pro wrestling, Simon Miller is the go to guy. No emotional outbursts or bs, just reasonable opinions. Great as always👍
I really like long term story telling. I really like HHH. So I am more than willing to sit back, not watch any of the wrestling leaks videos all over RUclips, and just enjoy the story as it unfolds. It really has allowed me to like wrestling again so when Cody lost to Roman, I was shocked, but I was also excited to see what was coming next. That's how I look at the product now. I think it's the most healthy way to watch it and I wish more people would do it too.
That's how it use to be in the late 80s and 90s ..there wasn't any way to find out stuff ..and we had to wait a week for the next tv show and every 3 months for a ppv so u just followed the story and they would drop bread crumbs ..like when hbk began to turn on jannetty ..at first they made a mistake and Shawn was off his game but they still won and jannetty gives him the let's get it together next time..then another mistake costs the match ..now cracks are appearing and your wondering whats going on then Shawn is blatantly ignoring martys tag while he talks to ladies in the front row and now we're beginning to get frustrated with Shawn and why is he doing this then boom hes throwing jannetty through the barber shop window and hes turned and everyone was furious with him like why Shawn why!! lol and it's still a memorable moment that gets talked about 30 years later because it was allowed to happen naturally at its own pace ..but today we would of already known he was turning before Shawn did and then we just go through the motions waiting for the pay off it takes the fun out of it and the magic
my only issue with Triple H's booking is that he seems to have fallen in love with how NJPW does false hope spots: kickout at 2, competitor tries to fight back, but vainly and clearly on his last legs. Champion rears back, delivers one last blow, and picks up the pin. I prefer false hope spots where the "fighting back" part seems credible and might actually work.
@@romxxii I kind of feel like the hope spots are working like you said you want them to work... At least that's the effect they have had on me for the most part. I mean I didn't think LA Knight was going to beat Roman until his fight back stage and they somehow got me to believe it might happen! But if it's not working for you then I'd get how that'd be something to pick at.
I think Cody winning back to back rumbles is fine. Last time it happened was Austin in 1997-98. About time we did it again. He’s the guy. Underline it here and he can beat Roman at Mania. I love the idea that Randy gets demolished by Roman, only to come back and find his protege has taken the title and is the man. Jealousy, resentment, all perfect Orton emotions. Cody is gonna be champion a while so Orton would be my big Summerslam main event and have Gunther win the Rumble 2025 to challenge Cody at Mania 41.
Especially if the odds are stacked against him, have him come in first, second or third. Make it brutal for him, have him and Orton at the end, Cody to throw him over.
as an "American Nightmare Cody" hater (bring back Stardust!) even I have to agree that Cody is white hot and booked strongly enough to be in that position. But please, be Stardust again, this "American Nightmare" gimmick makes no sense to me.
@@romxxiiIt’s not about the name “American Nightmare” it’s about finally coming out of the shadow of his father. He’s struggled his entire life to get out of his fathers shadow, Cody and Dustin. They both found there way out and the monicker came about whenever he was playing a Heel character in New Japan. So that’s why it’s kinda named like a heel
Simon, your enthusiasm is absolutely infectious. I love how you can analyze things from different angles while still giving your personal opinion as a fan. And putting your opinion on RUclips for all to see? That takes guts. Cheers to you, sir! Hope you had a happy Hanukkah!
Also, they needed to build up the actual downfall of Roman in the Bloodline (which I hope we'll start tonsee reallybegt rolling soon) so that when Roman comes back after taking another break after he loses everything he can be a badass baby face
Still want L.A.Knight to hold the belt. Over naturally, not part of some story, not a part of some plan. He got over on his own, he didnt need the Roman rub for stardom he was there already. That deserves a championshio, that style of success shoukd be rewarded with a main event title.
I always thought the easiest, most believable way for LA to get the belt is if Damien Priest cashes in, more likely on Seth. It sets up a perfect storyline with Damien being the guy to take the briefcase from LA at the last moment. It also adds Judgment Day for LA to deal with which would make it that much more entertaining. Imagine LA insulting every member of the Judgment Day in one promo.
@@L7Sfilmsthe crowd just absolutely on the edge of there seats as they realize he has insulted Rhea, Damien, Finn, Jd and now he has set his eyes onto Dominick.
Was thinking about this yesterday: If there's one thing i gotta credit Triple H and creative for, it's having BOTH a long term champion w/ a compelling story (wish the matches were as compelling), AND making tons of new stars out of it without them feeling like they're just fodder for Roman. Couldn't have said that 10 years ago, and if they can keep it up, with the depth of the main event scene, this era is gonna be something truly special.
love the journey and level of insight you bring Simon. I was literally watching some cm punk documentary and was like Punk does have a bone to pick with Roman, especially because of Paul Heyman... Punk Vs Steve Austin does have backstage history also from those wrestling nerds who actually watch the product and Cody vs Randy Orton should happen because Randy isn't going to just let Cody be the Champ after having him as a stablemate in Legacy either is he?
You remember what they did @ Mania 6? Warrior v Hogan. Warrior IC Champ v Hogan WWF champ. They can do that w/Gunther. Have him relinquish the IC belt for the World Title belt.
If we get Cody challenging Roman at WrestleMania 40, then it needs to be a match that sees the Tribal Chief standing on his own against the American Nightmare... no Bloodline, no Paul Heyman, no shenanigans. Rhodes must beat Reigns one on one.
God, I haven’t seen such a stacked main event level talent since the attitude era! Cody, Seth, Gunther, Sami, Jey, LA Knight, Randy, Friggin CM Punk! Hell, I’ll even throw Rhea Ripley in there!
When you look at the amount of matches that could be done at Mania 40.. wow... The combinations are incredibel. Id have Randy vs Knight vs Roman at the rumble have Randy take the L after Solo interference and then you can protect Knight and set up Solo vs Randy at Mania.
2:13 Could argue the loss at MITB was more wasted. It was meant to be a big thing that Roman hadn't been pinned in years. But since then, Jey hasn't won a singles match in 4 months and Jimmy just got Ctrl-Z back into being a henchman
I’m a huge fan of the Bloodline with Roman as champ still. Same reasons you’ve mentioned. It has increased the stock of the players against him. Created that end boss feel.
So simon, i had to come back to this video to leave this comment. I watched this video a few hours ago, and then just now i saw something that reminded me that NXT deadline is this saturday. And when i saw that i saw your video about how WWE doesnt have any PPV (PPE 🙄) in december or january, and how much faith they have in their product to go that long, but what if that just means they want to give NXT a spotlight for a couple months before WrestleMania season truly begins.
HHH's record of booking NXT title chases with emotional payoffs - Sami Zayn, Bayley, Johnny Gargano - earned him my trust with handling these sorts of decisions. Cody is still the top face in the company and every possible story's a bigger deal now than it would've been 12 months ago. Also 100% agree with Simon here about how Austin was at his best when chasing titles and the obvious role Gunther is being groomed for down the line - expect more premature 'WWE has made a terrible mistake' takes if he then beats Cody for the title at Summerslam or wherever.
Lincoln Financial Field is going to erupt when Cody pins Roman at WrestleMania 40. I can see Bron Breakker beat Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania.
I will always support Cody but I was there at mania. That feeling after the match was unforgettable. In my opinion any show that can do that is a success
@@cosmicvcosmic uh yeah. Cause every time he comes around it’s a celebration. Case and point if Cody was really the guy, and the man made the belt. Why not go after Seth and the WH title? If the amount of matches and appearances were what dictated a good champion or good wrestler why dod they Boo Roman when he was here every night, why are people saying that MJF needs to drop the belt?
@@cosmicvcosmic Iets be real, take away house shows and just talk about stuff on TV. Every match Roman has been in this year has been a big match feel. Even the ones when the title isn’t one the line…
Firstly, Simon you’re the best and so awesome. Secondly, I really hope by Mania they can have that sense of momentum built again in Cody because man at 39 it felt like the whole world was coming to him. I know we’ve got some time till then but doesn’t have that feeling just yet. Hopefully 🙏
What mistake did WWE make? Y'all calling it a mistake because it's not what YALL WANTED to happen. WWE knew what they was doing and even if they didn't, they definitely made the right call
Babyfaces should never have long reigns in my opinion. Look what happened to CM Punk. He lost a whole bunch of momentum with the belt, he had to turn heel. If Cody wins the belt it shouldn’t be longer than 9 months. The good guys need hurdles to overcome.
I just hope WWE starts spreading the belt around. Yeah there’s the whole thing about “the belts not mattering as much” but the era where WWE was most popular was the era where belts moved and guys could feel like stars because they didn’t have to hit a “I won but the only other thing I can do is lose” ceiling.
@@LeeBrown-pz7tc sure, but what’s the point of being the “finally beat the guy” guy if you don’t get to do anything after that first reign? Tho k about how long it’ll be until Seth is champ again, or even has the chance to fight for it? Im the other hand, since everybody can’t win and you’re building one new guy every what, 8-14 months??? How many guys are stalling doing nothing in the middle of that time? Sami Zayn Drew McIntyre Jey Uso Cody Rhodes Damian Priest Shinske Nakamura Finn Balor ALL guys that are waiting for their big title reign. And I’m counting Drew here because his was in front of nobody. If the title changes hands at the rate it’s going it would be basically 5 years for those guys to all get ONE title reign and for the rest of those 5 years they’d be hitting the ceiling. And that’s without anybody having a Gunther/Rhea Ripley type reign. Long title reigns aren’t special when you’re just one of 4 8 month title holders in the company. Also: Who beat CM Punk after his 434 day reign? The Rock. No star built. Who beat AJ styles and his 371 day reign? Daniel Bryan. Again, no new star. Who beat Cena after his year long reign in 06? Randy Orton. Who beat Dean Ambrose after his year long US title reign? Shaemus. In 2014. Seeing a trend? Who beat MVP after his year long reign with the same belt, it was 08 Matt Hardy. Every year long title reign with a belt that still exists today in the last 20 years and not once has it built up a *NEW* guy. Every single time it was an established star who beat them. You want to go to the longest reign of all time? Ivan Koloff toppled Bruno. Who??? Exactly. It doesn’t garuntee a star built, what it does garuntee is other guys missing opportunities and THAT guy going through a major champtionship drought afterwards
@@LeeBrown-pz7tc It has everything to do with it. As much as the idea is to get somebody over, you’re not going to give Roman Reigns to somebody who’s not an established superstar. . Plus Sami Cody and Jey aren’t bigger because Roman was the longest reigning champ, they’re bigger because they were part of the greatest storyline since…the Mega Powers??? Wanna see the alternative? Gunther. Who has Gunther faced that’s still a big star because of that feud? The last guy was Chad Gable, and Chad was hot but what did it lead to? Nothing. Because the belt is still on Gunther. Did Ricochet get bigger? No. Now he has to be built entirely over again. The same way Fin Balor isn’t really even a singles star anymore. The same way Drew lost his momentum and had to build it back up. The fact of the matter is, if everybody’s holding the belt for 8+ months, guys miss their moments constantly. Sami Zayn himself isn’t a big as he was this time last year. Not close. Cody spinning the block will NOT be as big as him winning the belt at Mania 39 would’ve been, and the Roman feud isn’t what made him where he is. Neither is that the case with LA Knight. No the title shouldn’t just bounce around like the 90’s-but this isn’t a good way to go either. As I said, not ONCE has a year long reign began a brand new superstar. Every single time it has been somebody who either didn’t become or already was a superstar. The greatest wins and payoffs of all time come from great stories, not toppling big reigns. Because toppling the reign doesn’t garuntee you anything. You know what does? Being in a title feud where it actually feels like you could win or lose. A once every year and a half payoff isn’t just going to be bigger than the 3-5 payoffs you could’ve had in that same timeframe. WWE is all about capitalizing on moments, and if you can’t do that if every crowning moment is locked up for the next 400 days.
while Cody not winning at mania was disappointing, it did give us the rise of Jey Uso. The problem for me is that when Jimmy turned on Jey, it ended the "cinema" of the Bloodline for me. I've stopped being invested. If not Cody, then Jey. You could have Jimmy turn on Jey after winning the title, let that storyline go there. It feels like Roman Reigns' record is more important now. They needed to hit a 1,000 days, they needed to beat this record and that record. And the problem here is that the reign means little because he needs help at every defense. When he isnt defending the title, he disappears for months at a time now. How does that add prestige? He can't win on his own, and he's not appearing for weeks and weeks. How can we say Roman is the biggest star? I know thats the narrative they want to give us. I just don't buy into it. Jey should have been the guy if not Cody. I will end with this. What will we tell ourselves if Mania 40 comes and goes and Roman is still champion? What will we tell ourselves then?
Now for obvious reasons, it can’t happen just this moment. But there is absolutely no reason why Dexter Lumis can’t be pushed as the new supernatural main roster star. Have him feud against Shinsuke or something and it would be a blast in the mid-card.
Hello Simon, I agree with what you are saying and would like to add my perspective on the Cody Rhodes situation. I believe that there are 2 reasons why Cody will beat Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 40. The first being that WWE did not crown him as champion at Wrestlemania 39 because they wanted him to earn more sympathy from the fans after failing to win and WWE wanted to test him physically and make sure he could stay healthy for more than a year before he becomes champion. Secondly, if you remember Wrestlemania 30, of course we all do, I remember reading that Vince McMahon wanted something memorable to mark that Wrestlemania and that ended up being The end of the Undertaker's Streak. We all know where we were when thst happened. I believe Wrestlemania 40 will be marked by Roman Reigns historic title reign being ended. We will find out in 4 months. Keep up the good work.
Call me crazy but I feel Cody should be the one to beat Roman, yet not yet. Not at mania this year. Earn his rematch, get the big day. Get to the pin 1,2, Jey betrays Cody to rejoin the “falling Bloodline” solidifying its strength once more as well as makes it even darker times of the Roman Empire. Jey playing the long con as all part of the plan. Making it seem absolutely impossible to bring down the tribal chief. Milk this thing one more year.
I don’t understand why they’re doing the Nakamura story. It isn’t going to elevate either one of the wrestlers. Nakamura hasn’t beaten anyone that would make beating him a big deal for Rhodes. If Nakamura wins, then it kind of makes everything they’ve been doing with Cody pointless, but I suppose it would make Nakamura seem more dangerous. I don’t think that’s going to happen though, because as I previously stated, it would completely derail Cody’s arc to this point. I hope they don’t draw it out and make it some kind of “premium live event” match. Cody has beaten Seth, Lesnar, The Judgement Day, etc. all of whom are presented as a bigger challenge than Nakamura.
When not even the most charismatic and likeable person on RUclips manages to show people how Cody losing at Mania not only isn't a crime against humanity as some people were treating the situation, but also absolutely the right call, you know we're lost
The vast majority of what you said could've been done with Cody winning at 39. If the plan was for him to win at 40 all along, then having him lose at 39 was relatively pointless. Now, when/if he wins at 40, we're all gonna say, "ok, well, it finally happened." Instead of him winning at 39, which would've been, "yes, this makes so much sense. It's the perfect story." Hell, you could've had him lose to Roman at SS, then have your "redemption arc" with Cody winning it back at 40. Even that would've made more sense than what we got. The only thing that will make a Cody win at 40 even remotely as hot as it would've been at 39 is if Roman and Solo and Jimmy brutalize the hell out of Randy at Rumble, making Randy's old friend, Cody, have something even more personal to go after Roman for. But short of that, there's absolutely no way the hype for a 40 win would come close to a 39 win
WWE has always preferred baby faces chasing the title being held by a long term heel champion. If you look back Austin held the titles for far less time then he chased it once he won it.
Shakespeare not best analogy if you want Hollywood ending. You better hoping your laughing during one of his comedies at the middle part or the ending is probably going to be the worst part for you no matter how bad you thought middle was 😮😮😮
Nothing of what Simon described makes Roman holding on to that title worth it. It's good for Reigns as a person and a wrestler, it doesn't nothing for WWE and fanbase as a whole. - Bloodline story could still be told and get huge reactions without those belts; - Cody still would be a big babyface with a belt; - you wouldn't need to "feed" LA to Reigns just "because" it's a PPV. The only thing it achieves - YES, there will be a bigger pop from fans in attendance, when he (Roman) is finally pined for the belt. So it will be a short boost of "OMG!" with no real long-term benefits (other than a belt itself). - the guy already got pinned, so it's not like he's undefeated; - the guy who pined him won't be a "bigger star" because by that time (99% sure) Bloodline would already dissolve, so instead of a win "1 vs whole faction" it would be "1 vs 1"; - the new champ would still get the same boost because... well, he's a champ now! So you CAN'T say that Roman holding those belts, having those records and so on is any good and beneficial for everyone (but himself). But you can say, that considering that it is what it is, WWE did good job pivoting around this problem. It's still a problem though, and Miller being positive Pete doesn't change that.
I'm glad you believe you know more about the wrestling business than a professional wrestler. Its always great to see Main character syndrome in play. Too many people want the pay off now not later. Makes sense, you want what you want. My opinion (I won't say its fact like you believe your opinions are) is Cody should wait till 41 to win it. Obviously though you'd rather see LA Knight as the heel losing to Cody.
@@blitzofchaosgaming6737nice one! Started with passive-agressive insults and ended up putting words in my mouth that I didn't even say xD Anyway, if you were talking about fantasy booking I would have rather seen Drew going over Roman as far back as Clash at the Castle - Reign's reign and title defenses were already copy-and-paste level even back then. But in case of "right now", if Cody wins those belts at WM-40, I will actually say that LA should go over him, maybe after 1 or 2 successful title defenses (so they won't hop-potato the title). Just like Reigns, Rhodes doesn't need those belts to tell stories. In his case it's more of an "achievement unlocked". And with returning Randy you can easily spin it like Viper cost Cody his title, put it on LA/Gunther/Solo/CM...even Bron Breakker, if they wanted to call him up, and go into Orton vs Rhodes feud, while new title-holder does his own thing. But that's just fantasy booking, as I said before, an opinion. Unlike statements that Roman losing and Cody wining back at WM-39 wouldn't make any of those 2 less of a star or detriment WWE-booking whatsoever. It can't be called "a fact" (and I didn't do it - you did), because it's a "what-if" scenario we will never see. But it is as good as one can be in this kind of situations.
I think Cody is a great choice for champion. And to me personally his story is about the American dream, you can set out on your own, do it your own way, and make it to the top despite big evil corpo America pushing you down. It’s time WWE acknowledges Cody.
Also this is probably an unpopular opinion but I'd like to see Randy Orton actually win the Undisputed Championship at the Royal Rumble. Roman holding the title until Wrestlemania and then dropping it to Cody is very predictable.
I look forward to Roman Reigns Revenge Tour which will happen when he drops the title... Roman will be without a leash and then he will show he is The Head of thr Table... With or without the title...
roman v randy at rumble roman wins, later on randy enters rumble at 30 and wins, roman v solo at wm for solo to win... cm punk v seth at rumble punk wins dirty another match at mania for seth to win cause of ref count holds it till next year mania for seth to retain it and cm punk link back up with paul hayman ( i would like to see paul do what he does but for 2 guys like punk and brock ect)
Two things you said: hindsight… your hindsight should tell you that the WWE had better foresight than you thought. And the other, you don’t know anything. None of us fans do. We just want things and don’t realize that we might end up with something better. There are more credible winners than Cody now and now you have more than one player in the title picture than Cody and Roman once Cody wins. It’s not just a bunch of lovable underdogs. You have real momentum on an actual main event scene
I honestly think they should be doing orton vs reigns at mania !! I love Cody but ortons been there been loyal turns up every week when he’s not injured and for him to get number 15 maybe 16 is just reward !! Or if we don’t wanna leave Cody out make it a triple threat !
I DONT CARE HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE TO SAY THIS PEOPLE. Cody winning this year won’t compare to if he would’ve won last year. there has been no meaningful interactions between them in the past few months and the start of their feud would be abrupt but would ultimately be accepted because he “never finished the story” BECAUSE THEY DIDNT LET HIM. it’s such ridiculous patronizing towards roman i sincerely hope roman retires after he loses the title. just because they want roman to be the longest reigning champ ever they sacrifice the career of others nothing under triple h has changed fundamentally except dragging out a story ala bloodline and cody v judgement day
When you have all the cards in place and then drop the ball at the last minute it really ruins the feeling that someone has earned it. Cody was on a warpath in 2022. Now it seems that his momentum has slowed because of his loss against Roman Reigns. If he beats Roman this time it will feel like a pity rub as opposed to the how winning the first time would've felt like.
I disagree Simon You say this because that's the scenario we have been presented with But there's nothing to suggest it wouldn't be just as good if not better if Cody was the champ after mania 39
I wouldn't call it a mistake at all. The story seemed to be "I should win because my dad's Dusty Rhodes." The sudden Rumble win made me root for Roman because it all felt... forced? I think having all the momentum and failing is a cool story, and Cody had to go regroup. It'd be hilarious if he lost at Mania again, but at least now it makes sense to win after all his trials and tribulations.
Ok but now to whom is he going to lose to ? I think codey story is boring to me if he wins it but would be better and if he losses to Roman again. I think the whole fans are to attached to codey.
I am one of those who thought Cody should have won the title when he had the chance. But all we can do now is hope for next time. Great video Simon. F punk! 😂
I agree. Cody's challenge last Wrestlemania didn't really feel earned. Sure he won the Rumble, but he came in at #30. It seemed handed to him. And at the time the Bloodline storyline was really focused around Sami and how hot he was at the time, and then he lost and was scuttled aside in favour of Cody challenging at Mania, as if Cody was shoehorned into the story. So now, with Cody having to run through a best of three series with Brock, to every other challenge he's faced and overcome throughout the year, now it truly feels like he's earned the win over Roman (and not just because he was an AEW guy that they enticed to switch over). It makes perfect sense.
I want CM Punks return to drive Seth and Roman back together. Form the SWORD this time instead of the shield. Team up against Punk and Cody as WWE lifers versus prodigal sons. I don't even care who the heels and faces are, just make. both their sides justifiable and you have the greatest tag match of all time.
Another thing people don't realize is Roman vs Cody WM40 will actually be more unpredictable than the previous one because Roman will be much closer to breaking Hulk's record, and becoming 2nd longest reigning champ of all time. Plus Triple H has already made us believe that the good guy may not always win.
I was of the opinion at the time that Cody should have won. I’m still of that opinion. The bloodline thing has jumped the shark for me. Did some months ago. Yes Cody is still over, but I honestly think he would have been even more if they pulled the trigger on him then.
The WWE talks about the title has to be defended once every 30 days. Roman has held the title for about 1200 days, that would be 40 matches. but he has only defended it 28 times. How many times did he have a clean win? Maybe ten. It was over 3 months before the Crown Jewel match. L.A. Knight had close to 28 matches in that 3 month time. Roman gets all upset at the "part time" wrestlers coming back, when he is gone almost as much as the retired ones are.
ROMAN REIGNS FOREVER!!! Roman deserves all of this and YES so does Cody! He needs this but I am so happy for Roman because everyone has been crapping on him and now he is our Tribal Chief!!! Roman is the man now and Cody is great but I honestly want Roman to beat Hogan's run but that means he wins at WM40 so I could handle it if he did but Cody MUST beat Roman. WWE is on fire and I hope the sign Kamille to the amazing Womans Division ASAP. Storylines NEED to breath and grow and the WWE is finally on the right track. Next move is to elevate the Tag Team Division AND the Womans Tag Team Division and WWE would be perfect! The mid card is on fire right now and they need to finish the job.
I view the "WWE doesn't make stars" comment the same I view the irrational Roman hatred from 2014-cancer retirement: it's silly, and no amount of rational thought would pass it. When WWE takes someone like Finn or AJ and makes WWE audiences hot for them, that's not WWE making top stars, because they had indy cred. If a guy like Roman becomes a top star, that doesn't count because he didn't "pay his dues in the indies", he was "shoved down our throats because Vince likes big muscly men," or worst of all, because "he's a nepo baby legacy wrestler." All that runs counter to the fact that for every AJ Styles, we've had a KENTA/Hideo Itami. Or that for every Batista, we've had a Nathan Jones or Ahmed Johnson. Or that for every Randy Orton, you have a Ted Dibiase Jr, Teddy Hart, David Flair, or Bo Dallas. Hell, looks like Lexis King/Pillman Jr will be added to the latter group very, very soon.
i actually don't think it was a success. He wasn't even on tv, camera, etc. Roman could have been a bigger deal losing that championship, like an ultimate boss that was beyond the championship. I think the fact he hogs the championship makes it difficult to relate to.
I think Simon that because your a wrestler, and you know the busniess little more then most, I do enjoy your takes, level headed and logical sir. So I guess I will throw this in here.. Roman has match a 4-way, Orton, Knight and AJ. He gets buy that. Because lets think gow much a can Ortons body can take.. Seth faces Punk. But Damien priest shows up and cashes in giving said the taste of his own medicine from WrestleMania past. Fron there you can Have, Punk Win the Rumble..and Cody when a star-studded Elimination Chamber match to get a shot at Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania.. The thing with Damian priest and the Money in the Bank briefcase is it's really complicated because you don't want to make the dude of transitional champion because they're going to do this match with Punk and Seth for that title. Do you have Damian priest add himself into the main event of night one with Punk with that briefcase? Do you have him win it in the elimination chamber? Or after it.. or Damien can still be very patient because he's got up until the next year's money in the bank to cash that in
Hard disagree. Roman has defended the belt, what, 3 times in 8 months? The bloodline more stagnant than ever? If Reigns appeared more than once every two months, then maybe I'd agree, but he's an even worse part timer than Lesnar was. Hes sort of elevated LA knight, but Gunther and Rollins can do the same. He could have elevated 4 other wrestlers too, and none of the Bloodline feud needs the belt. Most boring its been in years.
I don't agree with your position. Specifically, pointing to a wrestling boom in 2023 as an indicator of how Reigns' is spearheading that success, just seems wrong. That very well could just be plain correlation and you know what we say about that. It feels more like wrestling is booming in spite of the stale Reigns' title reign. I feel people are returning to wrestling for the nostalgia while a large chunk of western media is sh*tting the bed. I'd attribute that and a triple H taking control of creative as two of the main reasons behind the success you're using to justify most of your claim. As for all of the ways the reign has gone rotten: did we forget that Summerslam was a thing that happened? Tribal combat. They establish no one can interfere with the match and yet... not only did we see Solo, we also had Jimmy Uso have one of the worst heel turns in recent memory. They still haven't really explained that, btw. It was kinda overshadowed by Jey leaving the WWE only to come back a few weeks later on Raw. When you're having to write stuff like this, you know you're grasping at straws. Speaking of match interference, that pretty much sums up all of Roman's title defenses in the past year. It's gotten so darn formulaic that they don't even try to make you guess how things will go. The downside of this is that Roman doesn't really come off as this intimidating big boss that you make him out to be. No, if we had to base it on what we've seen this year, Roman just seems like an incompetent champion who would fall over if he didn't have someone there to bail him out. They've done it so many times now that I don't even know what to make of the most recent defense he had against LA Knight. Did that match even elevate Knight at all? Honestly, I've already forgotten it. It just blends in with every other match. It really seems like anyone can take Roman to his limit. While we're on that Crown Jewel match, do you think it's a good thing that you and everyone else knew that there was no way LA Knight would win? Yes, this is wrestling. Things flow a certain way and results are telegraphed, but it should never get so bad that you can only expect big things to happen once a year at Wrestlemania. It also muddies all storylines that are tied to the Bloodline. Cody's been all over the place after clearing Lesnar. LA Knight had to sit an entire PPV out while he's one of the leading babyfaces. We have an entire line-up of babyfaces waiting in the wings and somehow, we're still adding Randy and potentially Punk to it. I think this going long is serving them well, but this storyline has gone way past long. It could desperately use some spice. Something unexpected.
I love you Simon, but no, it was a mistake. Sure, he’s held the belt for over a thousand years days now. But he’s defended the belt 5 times this year. How is 1000 days impressive if he doesn’t defend the thing? Just look at the person everyone is comparing his title reign to, Hulk Hogan. With Hogan’s title reign, he defended the belt all the time, so a massive reign was much more impressive. Same goes for Gunther, he defends the IC belt on Raw. I know people are saying that Roman is going to hold the belt for more days than Hogan, but you really need to think of the consequences of that. He’s not dropping it at Summerslam, it needs to be at a Wrestlemania. And if holds the belt until Wrestlemania 41, I think the likelihood that people just feel apathetic about the entire thing is very high.
Cody, Seth, and Sami are all great at chasing belts, where Gunther and Drew are both great at holding the belts. Once Roman's belt is freed up, the amount of different championship level feuds we can have is going to be insane.
Cody said it best: the babyfaces have "equity." With the top star being the unstoppable heel boss Roman Reigns, all the babyfaces are at the same level of overness as each other. War Games was proof of that. As Team Cody filtered out one by one, they all had enormous chants and singalongs. They popped for Kingdom. They popped for Sami's song. They bounced along with Jey. They sang along with Seth. And when the Viper arrived, they all lost their goddamned minds.
Powerlevels might still be different -- Randy, Seth and Cody would still be "stronger" than Sami or Jey -- but they're treated equal in the eyes of the audience. They're all our heroes, who will one day liberate us from Roman Reigns' tyrannical grip on the titles.
When has Drew been good at holding the belt? He is also good at chasing a belt
Shout out to Simon for rockin' the Shad Gaspard T-shirt 👍🏼👏🏼👏🏼. RIP Shad Gaspard 🕊️🌹🙏🏼.
As disappointing as Cody's loss to Roman was, one things people forget is that there was some doubt/hate by the fans to Cody cause they felt it was happening so fast and he had not done enough to deserve it(even though in my mind he had because of his entire career). But those matches with Brock elevated him to a whole other level, his story with Jey Uso and the judgement day, though sometimes repetitive has been cool, and now a new story with Shin and he has managed to keep fans invested all the way. Now everyone is truly rooting for him to win. Oh and, he's the only wrestler ever to top merch sales for the year without being a world champion.
That's just crazy.
daniel bryan?
When you want level headed critique and analysis of pro wrestling, Simon Miller is the go to guy. No emotional outbursts or bs, just reasonable opinions. Great as always👍
R.I.P Shad Gaspard, I love that shirt so much
Honestly I’m tired of expectations ruining everything with media nowadays. So im glad to see WWE is just going with the flow as of late !
It's so refreshing, the same reason I actually enjoyed CM Punks return promo
I really like long term story telling. I really like HHH. So I am more than willing to sit back, not watch any of the wrestling leaks videos all over RUclips, and just enjoy the story as it unfolds. It really has allowed me to like wrestling again so when Cody lost to Roman, I was shocked, but I was also excited to see what was coming next. That's how I look at the product now. I think it's the most healthy way to watch it and I wish more people would do it too.
That's how it use to be in the late 80s and 90s ..there wasn't any way to find out stuff ..and we had to wait a week for the next tv show and every 3 months for a ppv so u just followed the story and they would drop bread crumbs ..like when hbk began to turn on jannetty ..at first they made a mistake and Shawn was off his game but they still won and jannetty gives him the let's get it together next time..then another mistake costs the match ..now cracks are appearing and your wondering whats going on then Shawn is blatantly ignoring martys tag while he talks to ladies in the front row and now we're beginning to get frustrated with Shawn and why is he doing this then boom hes throwing jannetty through the barber shop window and hes turned and everyone was furious with him like why Shawn why!! lol and it's still a memorable moment that gets talked about 30 years later because it was allowed to happen naturally at its own pace ..but today we would of already known he was turning before Shawn did and then we just go through the motions waiting for the pay off it takes the fun out of it and the magic
@@DarkLordofTheSith69 Exactly! :)
my only issue with Triple H's booking is that he seems to have fallen in love with how NJPW does false hope spots: kickout at 2, competitor tries to fight back, but vainly and clearly on his last legs. Champion rears back, delivers one last blow, and picks up the pin.
I prefer false hope spots where the "fighting back" part seems credible and might actually work.
@@romxxii I kind of feel like the hope spots are working like you said you want them to work... At least that's the effect they have had on me for the most part. I mean I didn't think LA Knight was going to beat Roman until his fight back stage and they somehow got me to believe it might happen!
But if it's not working for you then I'd get how that'd be something to pick at.
It finally got me to truly boo Roman lmao. In hindsight it was the fight right move.
I think Cody winning back to back rumbles is fine.
Last time it happened was Austin in 1997-98.
About time we did it again.
He’s the guy. Underline it here and he can beat Roman at Mania.
I love the idea that Randy gets demolished by Roman, only to come back and find his protege has taken the title and is the man.
Jealousy, resentment, all perfect Orton emotions.
Cody is gonna be champion a while so Orton would be my big Summerslam main event and have Gunther win the Rumble 2025 to challenge Cody at Mania 41.
I think this is a pretty good sounding plan!
Especially if the odds are stacked against him, have him come in first, second or third. Make it brutal for him, have him and Orton at the end, Cody to throw him over.
as an "American Nightmare Cody" hater (bring back Stardust!) even I have to agree that Cody is white hot and booked strongly enough to be in that position. But please, be Stardust again, this "American Nightmare" gimmick makes no sense to me.
@@romxxiiIt’s not about the name “American Nightmare” it’s about finally coming out of the shadow of his father. He’s struggled his entire life to get out of his fathers shadow, Cody and Dustin. They both found there way out and the monicker came about whenever he was playing a Heel character in New Japan. So that’s why it’s kinda named like a heel
Simon, your enthusiasm is absolutely infectious. I love how you can analyze things from different angles while still giving your personal opinion as a fan. And putting your opinion on RUclips for all to see? That takes guts. Cheers to you, sir! Hope you had a happy Hanukkah!
Also, they needed to build up the actual downfall of Roman in the Bloodline (which I hope we'll start tonsee reallybegt rolling soon) so that when Roman comes back after taking another break after he loses everything he can be a badass baby face
RIP to that great man LLSG
Still want L.A.Knight to hold the belt. Over naturally, not part of some story, not a part of some plan. He got over on his own, he didnt need the Roman rub for stardom he was there already. That deserves a championshio, that style of success shoukd be rewarded with a main event title.
I always thought the easiest, most believable way for LA to get the belt is if Damien Priest cashes in, more likely on Seth. It sets up a perfect storyline with Damien being the guy to take the briefcase from LA at the last moment. It also adds Judgment Day for LA to deal with which would make it that much more entertaining. Imagine LA insulting every member of the Judgment Day in one promo.
@@L7Sfilmsthe crowd just absolutely on the edge of there seats as they realize he has insulted Rhea, Damien, Finn, Jd and now he has set his eyes onto Dominick.
Was thinking about this yesterday: If there's one thing i gotta credit Triple H and creative for, it's having BOTH a long term champion w/ a compelling story (wish the matches were as compelling), AND making tons of new stars out of it without them feeling like they're just fodder for Roman. Couldn't have said that 10 years ago, and if they can keep it up, with the depth of the main event scene, this era is gonna be something truly special.
love the journey and level of insight you bring Simon. I was literally watching some cm punk documentary and was like Punk does have a bone to pick with Roman, especially because of Paul Heyman... Punk Vs Steve Austin does have backstage history also from those wrestling nerds who actually watch the product and Cody vs Randy Orton should happen because Randy isn't going to just let Cody be the Champ after having him as a stablemate in Legacy either is he?
THE CODY/BLOODLINE/JUDGEMENT DAY CAROUSEL MADE ME TAP OUT WATCHING WWE WEEKLY TV SINCE SPRING
You remember what they did @ Mania 6? Warrior v Hogan. Warrior IC Champ v Hogan WWF champ. They can do that w/Gunther. Have him relinquish the IC belt for the World Title belt.
If we get Cody challenging Roman at WrestleMania 40, then it needs to be a match that sees the Tribal Chief standing on his own against the American Nightmare... no Bloodline, no Paul Heyman, no shenanigans. Rhodes must beat Reigns one on one.
Completely agree. I give that take an up!
God, I haven’t seen such a stacked main event level talent since the attitude era! Cody, Seth, Gunther, Sami, Jey, LA Knight, Randy, Friggin CM Punk! Hell, I’ll even throw Rhea Ripley in there!
When you look at the amount of matches that could be done at Mania 40.. wow...
The combinations are incredibel. Id have Randy vs Knight vs Roman at the rumble have Randy take the L after Solo interference and then you can protect Knight and set up Solo vs Randy at Mania.
For that rematch at mania call me crazy but I think adding some color to the match could be a really good exclamation on the story.
2:13 Could argue the loss at MITB was more wasted. It was meant to be a big thing that Roman hadn't been pinned in years. But since then, Jey hasn't won a singles match in 4 months and Jimmy just got Ctrl-Z back into being a henchman
I’m a huge fan of the Bloodline with Roman as champ still. Same reasons you’ve mentioned. It has increased the stock of the players against him. Created that end boss feel.
So simon, i had to come back to this video to leave this comment. I watched this video a few hours ago, and then just now i saw something that reminded me that NXT deadline is this saturday.
And when i saw that i saw your video about how WWE doesnt have any PPV (PPE 🙄) in december or january, and how much faith they have in their product to go that long, but what if that just means they want to give NXT a spotlight for a couple months before WrestleMania season truly begins.
Damian Priest cashing in on Seth at Wrestlemania during his match with Punk would be epic
HHH's record of booking NXT title chases with emotional payoffs - Sami Zayn, Bayley, Johnny Gargano - earned him my trust with handling these sorts of decisions. Cody is still the top face in the company and every possible story's a bigger deal now than it would've been 12 months ago.
Also 100% agree with Simon here about how Austin was at his best when chasing titles and the obvious role Gunther is being groomed for down the line - expect more premature 'WWE has made a terrible mistake' takes if he then beats Cody for the title at Summerslam or wherever.
Sad to hear that you’re leaving WhatCulture. I hope you continue Ups & Downs on this channel.
Cody HAS to win at WM 40. It is what it is. No need to “subvert expectations” with this one.
Lincoln Financial Field is going to erupt when Cody pins Roman at WrestleMania 40.
I can see Bron Breakker beat Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania.
I will always support Cody but I was there at mania. That feeling after the match was unforgettable. In my opinion any show that can do that is a success
I forgot all about Omos until just now!
Great video and take! As always Simon gets it.
Cody has had the most matches/apperances in the WWE this year at both live/tv shows. He should be the champion he is the face of the company.
That literally means nothing
Roman is the heel of the company
@@BlaxkSun so your main guy has only had 11 matches in a year and thats ok?
@@cosmicvcosmic uh yeah. Cause every time he comes around it’s a celebration. Case and point if Cody was really the guy, and the man made the belt. Why not go after Seth and the WH title? If the amount of matches and appearances were what dictated a good champion or good wrestler why dod they Boo Roman when he was here every night, why are people saying that MJF needs to drop the belt?
@@cosmicvcosmic Iets be real, take away house shows and just talk about stuff on TV. Every match Roman has been in this year has been a big match feel. Even the ones when the title isn’t one the line…
Firstly, Simon you’re the best and so awesome. Secondly, I really hope by Mania they can have that sense of momentum built again in Cody because man at 39 it felt like the whole world was coming to him. I know we’ve got some time till then but doesn’t have that feeling just yet. Hopefully 🙏
He’s saying this now, and then in a month, they’re gonna announce Roman vs. Rock and all this will be null and void.
Roman will hold on that championship until, like 2043 or 2044; probably dropping the title to Brooks Jensen or whoever hasn't already retired by then
Hello 2007 Christopher Daniels
I can’t unsee it😂
My gut tells me HHH is trying to make a WrestleMania trilogy with Roman and Cody imo. But who knows we'll have to wait and see.
What mistake did WWE make? Y'all calling it a mistake because it's not what YALL WANTED to happen. WWE knew what they was doing and even if they didn't, they definitely made the right call
This is the truth many aren’t grasping…
Now how much would the world burn if Cody wins at Mania but Damian cashes in and wins immediately as well...
Babyfaces should never have long reigns in my opinion. Look what happened to CM Punk. He lost a whole bunch of momentum with the belt, he had to turn heel. If Cody wins the belt it shouldn’t be longer than 9 months. The good guys need hurdles to overcome.
I just hope WWE starts spreading the belt around. Yeah there’s the whole thing about “the belts not mattering as much” but the era where WWE was most popular was the era where belts moved and guys could feel like stars because they didn’t have to hit a “I won but the only other thing I can do is lose” ceiling.
@@LeeBrown-pz7tc sure, but what’s the point of being the “finally beat the guy” guy if you don’t get to do anything after that first reign? Tho k about how long it’ll be until Seth is champ again, or even has the chance to fight for it? Im the other hand, since everybody can’t win and you’re building one new guy every what, 8-14 months??? How many guys are stalling doing nothing in the middle of that time? Sami Zayn Drew McIntyre Jey Uso Cody Rhodes Damian Priest Shinske Nakamura Finn Balor ALL guys that are waiting for their big title reign. And I’m counting Drew here because his was in front of nobody. If the title changes hands at the rate it’s going it would be basically 5 years for those guys to all get ONE title reign and for the rest of those 5 years they’d be hitting the ceiling. And that’s without anybody having a Gunther/Rhea Ripley type reign. Long title reigns aren’t special when you’re just one of 4 8 month title holders in the company.
Also: Who beat CM Punk after his 434 day reign? The Rock. No star built.
Who beat AJ styles and his 371 day reign? Daniel Bryan. Again, no new star.
Who beat Cena after his year long reign in 06? Randy Orton.
Who beat Dean Ambrose after his year long US title reign? Shaemus. In 2014. Seeing a trend?
Who beat MVP after his year long reign with the same belt, it was 08 Matt Hardy.
Every year long title reign with a belt that still exists today in the last 20 years and not once has it built up a *NEW* guy. Every single time it was an established star who beat them. You want to go to the longest reign of all time? Ivan Koloff toppled Bruno. Who??? Exactly. It doesn’t garuntee a star built, what it does garuntee is other guys missing opportunities and THAT guy going through a major champtionship drought afterwards
@@LeeBrown-pz7tc It has everything to do with it. As much as the idea is to get somebody over, you’re not going to give Roman Reigns to somebody who’s not an established superstar. . Plus Sami Cody and Jey aren’t bigger because Roman was the longest reigning champ, they’re bigger because they were part of the greatest storyline since…the Mega Powers??? Wanna see the alternative? Gunther. Who has Gunther faced that’s still a big star because of that feud? The last guy was Chad Gable, and Chad was hot but what did it lead to? Nothing. Because the belt is still on Gunther. Did Ricochet get bigger? No. Now he has to be built entirely over again. The same way Fin Balor isn’t really even a singles star anymore. The same way Drew lost his momentum and had to build it back up. The fact of the matter is, if everybody’s holding the belt for 8+ months, guys miss their moments constantly. Sami Zayn himself isn’t a big as he was this time last year. Not close. Cody spinning the block will NOT be as big as him winning the belt at Mania 39 would’ve been, and the Roman feud isn’t what made him where he is. Neither is that the case with LA Knight. No the title shouldn’t just bounce around like the 90’s-but this isn’t a good way to go either. As I said, not ONCE has a year long reign began a brand new superstar. Every single time it has been somebody who either didn’t become or already was a superstar. The greatest wins and payoffs of all time come from great stories, not toppling big reigns. Because toppling the reign doesn’t garuntee you anything. You know what does? Being in a title feud where it actually feels like you could win or lose. A once every year and a half payoff isn’t just going to be bigger than the 3-5 payoffs you could’ve had in that same timeframe. WWE is all about capitalizing on moments, and if you can’t do that if every crowning moment is locked up for the next 400 days.
while Cody not winning at mania was disappointing, it did give us the rise of Jey Uso.
The problem for me is that when Jimmy turned on Jey, it ended the "cinema" of the Bloodline for me. I've stopped being invested.
If not Cody, then Jey. You could have Jimmy turn on Jey after winning the title, let that storyline go there.
It feels like Roman Reigns' record is more important now. They needed to hit a 1,000 days, they needed to beat this record and that record.
And the problem here is that the reign means little because he needs help at every defense. When he isnt defending the title, he disappears for months at a time now. How does that add prestige?
He can't win on his own, and he's not appearing for weeks and weeks. How can we say Roman is the biggest star?
I know thats the narrative they want to give us. I just don't buy into it.
Jey should have been the guy if not Cody.
I will end with this. What will we tell ourselves if Mania 40 comes and goes and Roman is still champion?
What will we tell ourselves then?
Now for obvious reasons, it can’t happen just this moment. But there is absolutely no reason why Dexter Lumis can’t be pushed as the new supernatural main roster star. Have him feud against Shinsuke or something and it would be a blast in the mid-card.
How dare you call L.A Knight one of the biggest superstars.
He's the megastar
Hello Simon, I agree with what you are saying and would like to add my perspective on the Cody Rhodes situation. I believe that there are 2 reasons why Cody will beat Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 40. The first being that WWE did not crown him as champion at Wrestlemania 39 because they wanted him to earn more sympathy from the fans after failing to win and WWE wanted to test him physically and make sure he could stay healthy for more than a year before he becomes champion. Secondly, if you remember Wrestlemania 30, of course we all do, I remember reading that Vince McMahon wanted something memorable to mark that Wrestlemania and that ended up being The end of the Undertaker's Streak. We all know where we were when thst happened. I believe Wrestlemania 40 will be marked by Roman Reigns historic title reign being ended. We will find out in 4 months. Keep up the good work.
Call me crazy but I feel Cody should be the one to beat Roman, yet not yet. Not at mania this year. Earn his rematch, get the big day. Get to the pin 1,2, Jey betrays Cody to rejoin the “falling Bloodline” solidifying its strength once more as well as makes it even darker times of the Roman Empire.
Jey playing the long con as all part of the plan. Making it seem absolutely impossible to bring down the tribal chief. Milk this thing one more year.
I don’t understand why they’re doing the Nakamura story. It isn’t going to elevate either one of the wrestlers. Nakamura hasn’t beaten anyone that would make beating him a big deal for Rhodes. If Nakamura wins, then it kind of makes everything they’ve been doing with Cody pointless, but I suppose it would make Nakamura seem more dangerous. I don’t think that’s going to happen though, because as I previously stated, it would completely derail Cody’s arc to this point. I hope they don’t draw it out and make it some kind of “premium live event” match. Cody has beaten Seth, Lesnar, The Judgement Day, etc. all of whom are presented as a bigger challenge than Nakamura.
Absolutely spot on. Wrestling fans are eating good
Is your background a green screen or is it real? If it is real, I gotta say that's the best working spot of all time.
Would cody turn heel eventually as champion after a bit of lengthy reign?
When not even the most charismatic and likeable person on RUclips manages to show people how Cody losing at Mania not only isn't a crime against humanity as some people were treating the situation, but also absolutely the right call, you know we're lost
The vast majority of what you said could've been done with Cody winning at 39.
If the plan was for him to win at 40 all along, then having him lose at 39 was relatively pointless.
Now, when/if he wins at 40, we're all gonna say, "ok, well, it finally happened." Instead of him winning at 39, which would've been, "yes, this makes so much sense. It's the perfect story."
Hell, you could've had him lose to Roman at SS, then have your "redemption arc" with Cody winning it back at 40. Even that would've made more sense than what we got.
The only thing that will make a Cody win at 40 even remotely as hot as it would've been at 39 is if Roman and Solo and Jimmy brutalize the hell out of Randy at Rumble, making Randy's old friend, Cody, have something even more personal to go after Roman for.
But short of that, there's absolutely no way the hype for a 40 win would come close to a 39 win
We also still have the Brock Lesnar aspect and where WWE will fill him in
WWE has always preferred baby faces chasing the title being held by a long term heel champion. If you look back Austin held the titles for far less time then he chased it once he won it.
Shakespeare not best analogy if you want Hollywood ending. You better hoping your laughing during one of his comedies at the middle part or the ending is probably going to be the worst part for you no matter how bad you thought middle was 😮😮😮
Nothing of what Simon described makes Roman holding on to that title worth it. It's good for Reigns as a person and a wrestler, it doesn't nothing for WWE and fanbase as a whole.
- Bloodline story could still be told and get huge reactions without those belts;
- Cody still would be a big babyface with a belt;
- you wouldn't need to "feed" LA to Reigns just "because" it's a PPV.
The only thing it achieves - YES, there will be a bigger pop from fans in attendance, when he (Roman) is finally pined for the belt. So it will be a short boost of "OMG!" with no real long-term benefits (other than a belt itself).
- the guy already got pinned, so it's not like he's undefeated;
- the guy who pined him won't be a "bigger star" because by that time (99% sure) Bloodline would already dissolve, so instead of a win "1 vs whole faction" it would be "1 vs 1";
- the new champ would still get the same boost because... well, he's a champ now!
So you CAN'T say that Roman holding those belts, having those records and so on is any good and beneficial for everyone (but himself). But you can say, that considering that it is what it is, WWE did good job pivoting around this problem. It's still a problem though, and Miller being positive Pete doesn't change that.
I'm glad you believe you know more about the wrestling business than a professional wrestler. Its always great to see Main character syndrome in play. Too many people want the pay off now not later. Makes sense, you want what you want. My opinion (I won't say its fact like you believe your opinions are) is Cody should wait till 41 to win it. Obviously though you'd rather see LA Knight as the heel losing to Cody.
@@blitzofchaosgaming6737nice one! Started with passive-agressive insults and ended up putting words in my mouth that I didn't even say xD
Anyway, if you were talking about fantasy booking I would have rather seen Drew going over Roman as far back as Clash at the Castle - Reign's reign and title defenses were already copy-and-paste level even back then. But in case of "right now", if Cody wins those belts at WM-40, I will actually say that LA should go over him, maybe after 1 or 2 successful title defenses (so they won't hop-potato the title). Just like Reigns, Rhodes doesn't need those belts to tell stories. In his case it's more of an "achievement unlocked". And with returning Randy you can easily spin it like Viper cost Cody his title, put it on LA/Gunther/Solo/CM...even Bron Breakker, if they wanted to call him up, and go into Orton vs Rhodes feud, while new title-holder does his own thing.
But that's just fantasy booking, as I said before, an opinion. Unlike statements that Roman losing and Cody wining back at WM-39 wouldn't make any of those 2 less of a star or detriment WWE-booking whatsoever. It can't be called "a fact" (and I didn't do it - you did), because it's a "what-if" scenario we will never see. But it is as good as one can be in this kind of situations.
Good Gawd Almighty, I have to say, WWE definitely turned a negative into a positive. I hope there can be peace and more fun matches to look forward to
I think Cody is a great choice for champion. And to me personally his story is about the American dream, you can set out on your own, do it your own way, and make it to the top despite big evil corpo America pushing you down. It’s time WWE acknowledges Cody.
Also this is probably an unpopular opinion but I'd like to see Randy Orton actually win the Undisputed Championship at the Royal Rumble. Roman holding the title until Wrestlemania and then dropping it to Cody is very predictable.
You're not an old man, Simon. I'm almost 58 and I'm not old.
I look forward to Roman Reigns Revenge Tour which will happen when he drops the title...
Roman will be without a leash and then he will show he is The Head of thr Table... With or without the title...
Where did you left Lesly Bestington?
Absolute scenes when Cody finally finishes the story and beats Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 and then Damian Priest cashes in MITB. 😂
What do we do with Roman next? A year off? I think that he has to loose at mania.
roman v randy at rumble roman wins, later on randy enters rumble at 30 and wins, roman v solo at wm for solo to win...
cm punk v seth at rumble punk wins dirty another match at mania for seth to win cause of ref count holds it till next year mania for seth to retain it
and cm punk link back up with paul hayman
( i would like to see paul do what he does but for 2 guys like punk and brock ect)
Two things you said: hindsight… your hindsight should tell you that the WWE had better foresight than you thought. And the other, you don’t know anything. None of us fans do. We just want things and don’t realize that we might end up with something better. There are more credible winners than Cody now and now you have more than one player in the title picture than Cody and Roman once Cody wins. It’s not just a bunch of lovable underdogs. You have real momentum on an actual main event scene
I honestly think they should be doing orton vs reigns at mania !! I love Cody but ortons been there been loyal turns up every week when he’s not injured and for him to get number 15 maybe 16 is just reward !! Or if we don’t wanna leave Cody out make it a triple threat !
I DONT CARE HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE TO SAY THIS PEOPLE. Cody winning this year won’t compare to if he would’ve won last year. there has been no meaningful interactions between them in the past few months and the start of their feud would be abrupt but would ultimately be accepted because he “never finished the story” BECAUSE THEY DIDNT LET HIM. it’s such ridiculous patronizing towards roman i sincerely hope roman retires after he loses the title. just because they want roman to be the longest reigning champ ever they sacrifice the career of others nothing under triple h has changed fundamentally except dragging out a story ala bloodline and cody v judgement day
When you have all the cards in place and then drop the ball at the last minute it really ruins the feeling that someone has earned it. Cody was on a warpath in 2022. Now it seems that his momentum has slowed because of his loss against Roman Reigns. If he beats Roman this time it will feel like a pity rub as opposed to the how winning the first time would've felt like.
Nope
I disagree Simon
You say this because that's the scenario we have been presented with
But there's nothing to suggest it wouldn't be just as good if not better if Cody was the champ after mania 39
heavy night simon ?
The mistake was not putting Sami Zain over Roman for the title. Cody shouldn’t have been allowed anywhere near it.
I wouldn't call it a mistake at all. The story seemed to be "I should win because my dad's Dusty Rhodes." The sudden Rumble win made me root for Roman because it all felt... forced? I think having all the momentum and failing is a cool story, and Cody had to go regroup. It'd be hilarious if he lost at Mania again, but at least now it makes sense to win after all his trials and tribulations.
I hope simon is a dlc in wwe w2k
Ok but now to whom is he going to lose to ? I think codey story is boring to me if he wins it but would be better and if he losses to Roman again. I think the whole fans are to attached to codey.
CM Punk should win the Royal Rumble, and Cody should win the elimination chamber
I am one of those who thought Cody should have won the title when he had the chance. But all we can do now is hope for next time. Great video Simon. F punk! 😂
I agree. Cody's challenge last Wrestlemania didn't really feel earned. Sure he won the Rumble, but he came in at #30. It seemed handed to him. And at the time the Bloodline storyline was really focused around Sami and how hot he was at the time, and then he lost and was scuttled aside in favour of Cody challenging at Mania, as if Cody was shoehorned into the story. So now, with Cody having to run through a best of three series with Brock, to every other challenge he's faced and overcome throughout the year, now it truly feels like he's earned the win over Roman (and not just because he was an AEW guy that they enticed to switch over). It makes perfect sense.
The only man who is going to beat Roman at Wrestlemania 40 will be CM Punk, who will then proceed to reign for even longer than Roman is reigning now.
I want CM Punks return to drive Seth and Roman back together. Form the SWORD this time instead of the shield. Team up against Punk and Cody as WWE lifers versus prodigal sons. I don't even care who the heels and faces are, just make. both their sides justifiable and you have the greatest tag match of all time.
Another thing people don't realize is Roman vs Cody WM40 will actually be more unpredictable than the previous one because Roman will be much closer to breaking Hulk's record, and becoming 2nd longest reigning champ of all time. Plus Triple H has already made us believe that the good guy may not always win.
God no, that is already mind numbing. Screw that Roman will just be the next hulk. A hypocrite
If Cody loses WM40 it's because they're beating Hogan's streak. SummerSlam would be the next spot. Have to see I hope not but I can see that happening
How are you enjoying NYC from the comfort of your home?
Trying to get used to bearded Simon.
I was of the opinion at the time that Cody should have won. I’m still of that opinion. The bloodline thing has jumped the shark for me. Did some months ago. Yes Cody is still over, but I honestly think he would have been even more if they pulled the trigger on him then.
When is Edge gonna bring down Judgment Day like he said he would?
When they join AEW
How is it a good thing when Roman isnt even around? I mean literally not around.
The WWE talks about the title has to be defended once every 30 days. Roman has held the title for about 1200 days, that would be 40 matches. but he has only defended it 28 times. How many times did he have a clean win? Maybe ten. It was over 3 months before the Crown Jewel match. L.A. Knight had close to 28 matches in that 3 month time. Roman gets all upset at the "part time" wrestlers coming back, when he is gone almost as much as the retired ones are.
Always right simon lol
ROMAN REIGNS FOREVER!!! Roman deserves all of this and YES so does Cody! He needs this but I am so happy for Roman because everyone has been crapping on him and now he is our Tribal Chief!!! Roman is the man now and Cody is great but I honestly want Roman to beat Hogan's run but that means he wins at WM40 so I could handle it if he did but Cody MUST beat Roman. WWE is on fire and I hope the sign Kamille to the amazing Womans Division ASAP. Storylines NEED to breath and grow and the WWE is finally on the right track. Next move is to elevate the Tag Team Division AND the Womans Tag Team Division and WWE would be perfect! The mid card is on fire right now and they need to finish the job.
I think Orton will interfere and cost Roman the belt, because that is his M/O
Like you Simon but strongly disagree
Cody should have dethroned part time 1000yr belt hog Roman at mania
I view the "WWE doesn't make stars" comment the same I view the irrational Roman hatred from 2014-cancer retirement: it's silly, and no amount of rational thought would pass it. When WWE takes someone like Finn or AJ and makes WWE audiences hot for them, that's not WWE making top stars, because they had indy cred. If a guy like Roman becomes a top star, that doesn't count because he didn't "pay his dues in the indies", he was "shoved down our throats because Vince likes big muscly men," or worst of all, because "he's a nepo baby legacy wrestler."
All that runs counter to the fact that for every AJ Styles, we've had a KENTA/Hideo Itami. Or that for every Batista, we've had a Nathan Jones or Ahmed Johnson. Or that for every Randy Orton, you have a Ted Dibiase Jr, Teddy Hart, David Flair, or Bo Dallas. Hell, looks like Lexis King/Pillman Jr will be added to the latter group very, very soon.
i actually don't think it was a success. He wasn't even on tv, camera, etc. Roman could have been a bigger deal losing that championship, like an ultimate boss that was beyond the championship. I think the fact he hogs the championship makes it difficult to relate to.
What they did with Cody was very good, however Reigns must be dethroned asap, he has become boring.
I think Simon that because your a wrestler, and you know the busniess little more then most, I do enjoy your takes, level headed and logical sir.
So I guess I will throw this in here..
Roman has match a 4-way, Orton, Knight and AJ. He gets buy that. Because lets think gow much a can Ortons body can take..
Seth faces Punk. But Damien priest shows up and cashes in giving said the taste of his own medicine from WrestleMania past.
Fron there you can Have, Punk Win the Rumble..and Cody when a star-studded Elimination Chamber match to get a shot at Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania..
The thing with Damian priest and the Money in the Bank briefcase is it's really complicated because you don't want to make the dude of transitional champion because they're going to do this match with Punk and Seth for that title.
Do you have Damian priest add himself into the main event of night one with Punk with that briefcase?
Do you have him win it in the elimination chamber? Or after it.. or Damien can still be very patient because he's got up until the next year's money in the bank to cash that in
Hard disagree. Roman has defended the belt, what, 3 times in 8 months? The bloodline more stagnant than ever? If Reigns appeared more than once every two months, then maybe I'd agree, but he's an even worse part timer than Lesnar was. Hes sort of elevated LA knight, but Gunther and Rollins can do the same. He could have elevated 4 other wrestlers too, and none of the Bloodline feud needs the belt. Most boring its been in years.
I don't agree with your position. Specifically, pointing to a wrestling boom in 2023 as an indicator of how Reigns' is spearheading that success, just seems wrong. That very well could just be plain correlation and you know what we say about that. It feels more like wrestling is booming in spite of the stale Reigns' title reign. I feel people are returning to wrestling for the nostalgia while a large chunk of western media is sh*tting the bed. I'd attribute that and a triple H taking control of creative as two of the main reasons behind the success you're using to justify most of your claim.
As for all of the ways the reign has gone rotten: did we forget that Summerslam was a thing that happened? Tribal combat. They establish no one can interfere with the match and yet... not only did we see Solo, we also had Jimmy Uso have one of the worst heel turns in recent memory. They still haven't really explained that, btw. It was kinda overshadowed by Jey leaving the WWE only to come back a few weeks later on Raw. When you're having to write stuff like this, you know you're grasping at straws. Speaking of match interference, that pretty much sums up all of Roman's title defenses in the past year. It's gotten so darn formulaic that they don't even try to make you guess how things will go. The downside of this is that Roman doesn't really come off as this intimidating big boss that you make him out to be. No, if we had to base it on what we've seen this year, Roman just seems like an incompetent champion who would fall over if he didn't have someone there to bail him out. They've done it so many times now that I don't even know what to make of the most recent defense he had against LA Knight. Did that match even elevate Knight at all? Honestly, I've already forgotten it. It just blends in with every other match. It really seems like anyone can take Roman to his limit. While we're on that Crown Jewel match, do you think it's a good thing that you and everyone else knew that there was no way LA Knight would win? Yes, this is wrestling. Things flow a certain way and results are telegraphed, but it should never get so bad that you can only expect big things to happen once a year at Wrestlemania. It also muddies all storylines that are tied to the Bloodline. Cody's been all over the place after clearing Lesnar. LA Knight had to sit an entire PPV out while he's one of the leading babyfaces. We have an entire line-up of babyfaces waiting in the wings and somehow, we're still adding Randy and potentially Punk to it.
I think this going long is serving them well, but this storyline has gone way past long. It could desperately use some spice. Something unexpected.
I love you Simon, but no, it was a mistake. Sure, he’s held the belt for over a thousand years days now. But he’s defended the belt 5 times this year. How is 1000 days impressive if he doesn’t defend the thing? Just look at the person everyone is comparing his title reign to, Hulk Hogan. With Hogan’s title reign, he defended the belt all the time, so a massive reign was much more impressive. Same goes for Gunther, he defends the IC belt on Raw.
I know people are saying that Roman is going to hold the belt for more days than Hogan, but you really need to think of the consequences of that. He’s not dropping it at Summerslam, it needs to be at a Wrestlemania. And if holds the belt until Wrestlemania 41, I think the likelihood that people just feel apathetic about the entire thing is very high.