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Cody Rhodes defends his Undisputed WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event next weekend against Kevin Owens. There has been a push from many fans for the title to change hands.
Rhodes is approaching 300 days as world champion after taking the title from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 and defeating every enemy in his path since. That being said, there are many fans who would argue that his championship reign hasn't been on the same level as Roman Reigns, and someone like Kevin Owens should be allowed to take over to head into WrestleMania.
Let's take a look at a few causes for the same below:
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4. Kevin Owens is on the run of his career and has shown Cody Rhodes up several times
Kevin Owens has stepped out of the shadows in recent months and has finally proven he has what it takes to lead the company. Owens believes he is the champion already and after being beaten by Rhodes in their previous title matches, it could finally be time for the result to be different.
Rhodes is a leader both on and off screen, but Owens has shown over the past few weeks while being a fake champion that he can step up and lead if needed as well.
3. Cody Rhodes can't seem to stay on his own brand
Cody has been on WWE RAW more than he has been on SmackDown as of late and as the SmackDown champion, he is expected to represent his brand better. There is no real reason why Rhodes needs to be on RAW for his feud with Kevin Owens since they are both SmackDown stars, but it seems that WWE keeps pushing him to be on the red brand.
If he does retain the gold at Royal Rumble, it could be time for him to head to SmackDown and focus on his own brand.
2. Roman Reigns has overshadowed his entire reign
Roman Reigns dropped the title to Cody Rhodes but even without a title, the whole brand points towards Reigns. The Bloodline story even dragged Rhodes back into it so that he could team with Roman late last year and that's what has kickstarted his issues with Kevin Owens.
Rhodes' championship reign will always be overshadowed by Roman Reigns because he has an aura that is still pervasive on screen, even when he isn't there physically.
1. It has become stale and predictable
There's no denying Rhodes has had a fantastic run but it seems that WWE is dangerously toeing the line which makes Cody Rhodes' reign on the same level as John Cena's back in 2006.
The last thing WWE wants is for Rhodes to become a predictable champion and Triple H is very good at storytelling, so, even he must know that a change would be good to shake up the company ahead of the WrestleMania season.
