Cody Rhodes' first title match after beating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania has a major flaw, says WWE veteran (Exclusive)

Cody Rhodes is all set for his title defense since beating Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania XL.

However, Vince Russo believes the creative team made a massive mistake of ignoring a major element in the American Nightmare's title reign. He stated that WWE should have used the opportunity to build a hot heel who could immediately go after Cody Rhodes post-WrestleMania.

The former WWE writer called out the creative team for booking their plans regarding the American Nightmare's first title defense at Backlash 2024. Vince Russo believes that despite the appeal of Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles, the match's predictable outcome takes away the interest. He discussed the title match at the latest edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW and said:

"See, this is why they had to have a hot heel ready. Because the fact of the matter is that Cody, for a year, we are waiting for him to finish his story. He finally finishes his story at WrestleMania. Bro, is he really going to lose to AJ Styles in his first title defense? Oh, come on, bro. That's the part about it that I hate. Because what they are doing there is they are pleasing the marks because, 'Oh my god, Cody and AJ can have a great match.' I don't care about great matches, bro." [4:425:20 onwards]

He added:

"I don't care about great matches, bro," continued Russo. "I am not going to waste my time watching this because no matter how great the fake fight is, the outcome is 100% predictable. Whereas they would have been building a heel, building a heel, building a heel, and that heel was immediately on Cody's heels. Now you got something, but, come on, AJ Styles is gonna beat Cody Rhodes? I just hate predictability." [5:21 - 5:47]

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Vince Russo also insisted that WWE did an incredible job with Solo Sikoa's revamped presentation as the new Tribal Chief. He argued that it would have made sense for Sikoa to go after Cody Rhodes, especially if he had been built as a credible threat before Roman Reigns lost the title.

AJ Styles prepared to address Cody Rhodes on WWE SmackDown

AJ Styles defeated LA Knight with a thumb in the eye to pick up a controversial win and become the No. 1 contender for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. The Phenomenal One was sore from his loss against Knight at WrestleMania, determined not to lose another title opportunity to the latter no matter what.

Despite being a heel, AJ Styles stated that he has a lot of respect for Cody Rhodes. He only expressed his displeasure with Knight before claiming that the WWE Universe will find out what he has to say this week on SmackDown, where he is expected to cross paths with the champion.