Cody Rhodes wrote his name in the WWE history books after beating Roman Reigns in one of the biggest WrestleMania main events of all time. “The American Nightmare” not only fought to finish his story but also to end the longest reign in recent decades. Thus ushering in a new era at the company.
And in this new era, he is already playing his part to perfection. The American Nightmare has become the crowd favorite, and kids adore this real-life superhero. But do you know where he might’ve got this inspiration from? Well, it’s none other than Super Cena. At least, that is what a pro wrestling legend thinks.
Cody Rhodes follows the path of John Cena in cultivating a young fanbase
In the latest edition of The Busted Open podcast, Dave LaGreca and Bully Ray sat together to talk about all things WWE. And it was during this conversation that they could not help but praise Cody Rhodes for borrowing a positive trait. According to several reports, the former AEW star is giving his all to be the fan favorite. He stays on for hours meeting fans and signing autographs backstage. Something that Bully Ray believes Rhodes learned from John Cena. He said, “Let’s not forget that Cody admittedly borrowed the John Cena handbook. Because Cody was smart enough. Cody learned as we spoke about at the beginning of the show, learned in this business. Cody learned that the John Cena way of building a fan base worked.”
He further added Hulk Hogan as an example, as he, too, like Cena and Rhodes, was a fan favorite for being the ultimate good guy. Bully said, “Hulkamania was all about the kids and training and say your prayers and take your vitamins and yada yada. John Cena these guys, Hulk catered to the kids. John Cena catered to the kids.” The way #wewantCody trended pre-WrestleMania, it is no wonder the WWE wants him to be the next John Cena. While the push they earlier gave to ‘Big Dog’ Roman Reigns as a babyface failed miserably, the WWE finally seems to be playing their cards right with the former AEw star. And it is surely paying off.
Rhodes continues to break records
Winning the Universal Champion doesn’t seem to be the only milestone Cody Rhodes has achieved, as ‘The American Nightmare’, managed to break all personal records for merchandizing during WrestleMania 40.
WWE sent out an internal memo stating that between WWE World and Shop, Cody Rhodes sold over $1 million worth of merchandise during WrestleMania weekend. Notably, Cody Rhodes broke his WrestleMania weekend record from last year. Without a doubt, the fans are in love with ‘The American Nightmare’. Now it would be fun to see how long Rhodes manages to keep the fans on his side. What do you think of the American Nightmare? Do you see him being the next John Cena? Let us know in the comments.
