Is Cody Rhodes' star power fading, or is something else at play? The recent WWE viewership numbers paint a potentially misleading picture, suggesting Roman Reigns remains the undisputed king of drawing power. But here's the twist: the issue might not be Cody Rhodes' popularity at all, but rather, WWE's own booking decisions. Let's break down what's really happening.
The return of Roman Reigns to Raw on October 6th clearly boosted viewership on Netflix (according to Cageside Seats), especially compared to the historically low numbers seen on the October 3rd SmackDown, where Cody Rhodes, the Undisputed WWE Champion, was the headliner. The SmackDown drop also happened right when Nielsen rolled out its new audience measurement system, adding another layer of complexity. Attendance figures tell a similar story: the Crown Jewel go-home show in Dallas, featuring Reigns, nearly sold out, with Wrestlenomics reporting 11,732 tickets distributed for a venue that could hold 11,739. This is a noticeable contrast to the October 3rd SmackDown in Cincinnati, where Wrestlenomics estimated only 7,600 tickets were distributed. That's a whopping 38% decline compared to the 12,286 fans who attended an event at the same venue just eight months prior.
These numbers seem to scream that Reigns is still WWE's biggest draw. But, as the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover!
While Reigns' surprise return on the September 29th Raw didn't immediately translate into a Netflix viewership spike (Cageside Seats), a YouTube clip of him interfering in the main event exploded, racking up over 2 million views on WWE's main channel and nearly 1.8 million on the WWE on Netflix page. This shows the power of a single, impactful moment featuring Reigns. Furthermore, the October 6th Raw benefited from returning to its regular 8 p.m. ET timeslot after a period of airing an hour earlier. WWE heavily promoted Reigns' return that week, even advertising him to kick off the show. And this is the part most people miss: CM Punk also appeared on that Raw, adding even more star power to the equation. So, was it just Reigns, or a combination of factors?
Now, let's talk about the venue difference. Dallas is a larger market with a richer wrestling history. It's hosted major events like WrestleMania and Survivor Series, and a January episode of Raw there drew around 14,000 fans. However, both Dallas and Cincinnati experienced significant attendance drops outside of WrestleMania season. This could be due to less-than-enthusiastic reactions to recent shows (according to Cageside Seats' review of Wrestlepalooza), rising ticket prices (Cageside Seats reported outrageously high prices for WrestleMania 42 combo packages), and the looming holiday season, which tends to impact entertainment spending.
But here's where it gets controversial: the underwhelming turnout for Rhodes sparked questions about his drawing power, especially after a curiously timed message from WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque (Triple H). After SmackDown's poor performance became public, Levesque publicly praised Rhodes for his dedication. Under normal circumstances, this might have gone unnoticed. But given that Rhodes headlined the show in question, it felt like a preemptive defense of WWE's chosen top star. Was this a genuine show of support, or a subtle attempt to deflect blame?
Rhodes has consistently delivered strong in-ring performances and maintained a busy schedule. While crowd reactions have varied, he was well-received at Crown Jewel. The real issue, it seems, lies in how WWE has booked and presented him. Promising storylines, such as the potential feud with The Rock, either fizzled out or led to disappointing outcomes, like his WrestleMania match with a heel John Cena. It seems like WWE hasn't capitalized on the momentum from earlier victories and crowd support for Cody.
Despite high-profile matches against Cena, Rhodes hasn't had a truly breakout feud since defeating Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble. His current title reign, while still young, has been characterized by short, disjointed programs. After starting a rivalry with Drew McIntyre after SummerSlam, Rhodes took time off to film the "Street Fighter" movie and welcome his second child. Their rivalry resumed at Wrestlepalooza, but the match felt anticlimactic and lacked proper follow-up. A short but engaging program with Seth Rollins led into Crown Jewel but didn't seem to have any lasting implications.
In contrast, Reigns is consistently involved in layered, emotionally driven storylines, whether it's teasing future conflicts with Rollins or his cousin Jey Uso. He also appears on Raw, where WWE appears to focus its creative energy on stories featuring LA Knight, CM Punk, Uso, and Rollins and his faction, The Vision. This raises the question: Is Rhodes receiving the same level of creative investment and attention as Reigns? And if not, why?
Interestingly, on the same day as Levesque's supportive post about Rhodes, BodySlam.net reported that WWE was implementing creative changes to improve the product, with SmackDown being a top priority. If this report is accurate, Levesque's public praise of Rhodes reads less like a vote of confidence and more like a quiet acknowledgement that Rhodes is doing his part, and now it's up to WWE to step up.
So, what do you think? Is Cody Rhodes being held back by WWE's booking decisions, or is there more to the story? Is Reigns still the bigger draw, or are we seeing the impact of inconsistent storylines? Sound off in the comments below!
