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Ryback recently gave his thoughts on the latest developments in Cody Rhodes' Undisputed WWE Championship storyline.
On May 4, Rhodes defeated AJ Styles at Backlash France in his first televised title defense since dethroning Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL. His next title bout will take place on May 25 at the King and Queen of the Ring Premium Live Event against United States Champion Logan Paul.
Many fans believe Rhodes' former Legacy stablemate Randy Orton would be a good opponent for The American Nightmare. However, Ryback said on Ryback TV that a storyline between the one-time allies needs to last several months.
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"I go, 'Oh, that's actually a smart move [Paul vs. Rhodes]. That's a smart move!' They talk about Randy [facing Rhodes]. He needs a long build [with] Randy Orton. That program should really, really mean something, when he and Cody [feud], and you don't wanna do like a two-week turnaround on something like that. I think that was the best thing," he said. [35:43 – 36:02]
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Orton was the leader of the Legacy faction between 2008 and 2010. Members included Manu, Rhodes, Sim Snuka, and Ted DiBiase Jr.
Ryback defends Cody Rhodes' title reign so far
Some fans criticized Roman Reigns' 1,316-day title reign due to his part-time schedule and low number of championship defenses. Cody Rhodes, by contrast, is a full-time wrestler and is keen to defend his title frequently.
Ryback thinks fans should be patient and see what happens next in Rhodes' storylines:
"Cody shouldn't be being judged by any of this yet because I saw some people [complaining]. People are always gonna complain. They were like, 'Oh, his title defenses mean nothing.' It's like, Jesus Christ, you just went from a guy who wasn't defending, and you guys complaining with that, to now this is what happens when you have a champion that's on all the shows all the time." [36:04 – 36:24]
In recent weeks, Rhodes has defended his Undisputed WWE Championship at several untelevised events against Shinsuke Nakamura. He also defeated Dominik Mysterio in a title match after the April 12 episode of SmackDown went off the air.
Please credit Ryback TV and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
