Don't hate on Cody Rhodes vs. Logan Paul
By: Zack Heydorn
If you were busy with activities for Mother’s Day over the weekend, or simply decided to stay away from the television on Friday night, Cody Rhodes vs. Logan Paul in a Champion vs. Champion match is official for the WWE King and Queen of the Ring PLE in Saudi Arabia on May 23. Rhodes kicked off this week’s episode of Smackdown after a successful title defense against AJ Styles at Backlash and was immediately awarded a new opponent for King and Queen of the Ring by Smackdown General Manager, Nick Aldis. The opponent was Paul, who sauntered out to the ring and confronted Cody with his United States Championship on his shoulder.
Rhodes vs. Paul … Good or Bad?
So, what do we think of this move? Are you excited for Rhodes vs. Paul? Are you rolling your eyes because of Paul’s celebrity status? Maybe you aren’t watching because the show is taking place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?
I can’t do much about the Blood Money factor here, but I can tell you not to hate on Rhodes vs. Paul as a PLE main event. If Friday’s interaction was any indication of things to come, the match should be well built with meaning and executed in a fascinatingly entertaining way in the ring.
The eye rolls were out in abundance in 2022 when Logan Paul wrestled Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Universal Championship in Saudi Arabia at Crown Jewel. People felt it was too much too soon for the social media star turned pro wrestler, sure, but that wasn’t the real reason the match didn’t work. The reason it was one of Reigns’ flatter title defenses was because it was a bout in which both guys were hated heels. The Paul schtick didn’t work as a wrestle from underneath act and Reigns was unable to get real heat because the audience loved him beating Paul up around the ring for 20 minutes.
Not the same Cody Rhodes and not the same Logan Paul
Fast forward to right now and things are drastically different. WWE is ready for this match. Cody Rhodes is the the most over babyface world champion that they’ve had in decades. Logan Paul has embraced his real personality and leveraged it for top level heel heat. When you break it down, it’s one of the bigger matches WWE can put on and it will deliver when called upon.
Why? Well, first off, Rhodes and Paul can play into their real life WWE journeys when building the match. They started this Friday on Smackdown and it resonated with fans because their WWE paths were polar opposites from the other. Paul was the privileged celebrity who got the red carpet rolled out for him because of his fame and notoriety. Cody had to hit rock bottom of irrelevance in WWE before leaving the company only to reinvent himself, get over, and start a new company before returning to WWE as a new star and new person.