The bitter feud between Seth "Freakin" Rollins and "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes will conclude in a trilogy match in Hell in a Cell this Sunday. Despite losing the first two matches to Rhodes, Rollins has continued his focus on Rhodes at every turn, blindsiding him during matches, and cutting scathing promos to get under his skin and force his hand. Ultimately it worked; Rhodes willingly accepted a trilogy with Rollins in Hell in a Cell despite seemingly winning the feud and preparing to move onto championship contention. Now WWE is in a pickle where they run the risk of hurting both top superstars with this third match that has forced the feud to stretch on past its expiration date. Even worse, most fans are expecting the obvious outcome; Rhodes will defeat Rollins clean yet again (unless WWE plans on extending this feud further with a fourth match). Instead of going with the obvious outcome, WWE should consider the possibility of having Cody lose.
Related: Why Is WWE Continuing The Seth Rollins/Cody Rhodes Feud?
Cody Needs To Look Human
Since returning to WWE at WrestleMania 38, Cody has been on a tear. He is undefeated in matches, is given the best entrance on Raw, ample TV time, and is generally displayed as an untouchable superhero compared to his peers. The problem is that Cody is a human, and he needs to display this at some point to develop his character. He needs to lose a match or show some new emotions to show flaws in his character, or just reveal a new layer to the "American Nightmare" character. Why not use Rollins as the foil to draw out that human essence? After all, Rollins has used Dusty Rhodes to break the composure of Cody and force him to act out of emotion, something that has led to Cody making mistakes. If Rollins can use these same mind games paired with the Hell in a Cell for assistance, it can lead to Cody making a fatal human error resulting in his first loss since returning to WWE.
Rollins Is A Top Guy... And A Top Heel
Let's not forget how good Rollins is; former MITB winner, WWE Champion, Universal Champion, Tag Team Champion, Royal Rumble winner, the list goes on and on of his accomplishments. He is a WWE veteran who is superb in the ring, great on the mic, can play both babyface and heel, and is currently killing it with his latest character. Related: Paul Heyman Comments On Potential Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns Feud While some would argue that Rollins' credibility is not hurt by losing three matches in a row to Cody, the reality is he needs to get the upper hand once in the feud to show that Rollins is still one of the top guys in WWE. As a former protégé of Triple H, Rollins is one of the best at mind games and this why he is the perfect person to give Cody his first loss. Rollins needs to be the first guy to put a chink in Cody's impenetrable armor to show that despite all the hype Cody is still a human and can be pinned or submitted in a wrestling ring, just like anyone else on the WWE roster.
A Small Hurdle in Destiny
When Cody returned and started talking about championships, it became evident that he could be the one to eventually dethrone Roman Reigns. The problem is that might be a bit a long while, so in the meantime, Cody needs to stay relevant through meaningful feuds. If the plan is for him to defeat Reigns sometime later this year or early 2023, then he will have to somehow maintain his aura for months, and facing some hurdles on his journey towards the top is necessary to tell a rich story. The loss to Rollins due to a tactical error... or even a clean loss to Rollins could be the start to Cody's true destiny; to prove that he has what it takes to return to WWE, the top wrestling promotion in the world, and claim the WWE Championship to prove to himself, his father, and the WWE Universe that the American Nightmare is the top guy. Similar to how AEW booked Hangman Page, Cody's loss to Rollins at Hell in a Cell can lead to a bumpy road of ups and down that leads to moments of self-doubt, teasings of heel turns, questions of retirement and more, before ultimately going on a hot streak that leads to his destiny, a match with Reigns.
