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Cody Rhodes has been absent since his loss to John Cena at WWE WrestleMania 41. Wrestling veteran Stevie Richards recently claimed the Stamford-based company needed to take The American Nightmare off television for a significant reason.
For nearly two years, Rhodes has appeared on television almost every week and wrestled at most of the premium live events. Last week, The American Nightmare defended the Undisputed WWE Championship against John Cena at WrestleMania 41. However, he failed to retain the title. Since then, the 39-year-old has missed Monday Night RAW and SmackDown. He was also not advertised for tonight's episode of the red brand.
Speaking on his The Stevie Richards Show, the wrestling veteran claimed that taking Rhodes off television after WrestleMania was a correct decision. He pointed out that the company needed to make that move before the fans demand it:
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"I think the fans will start to miss him and that's exactly what you want as a babyface. Like I said the last episode during the special about Cena and other people, Rey when he got hurt, there's such a thing as wrestling too much before something like WrestleMania, and there's something about not wrestling enough. So, right now, Cody has been really featured over a year, maybe two years, counting the chase. But what I look at is, you know, we need to make him go away for a little bit before the fans tell him to go away. And that's why I think it's perfect for him not to be on TV," he said. [From 03:13 to 03:50]
WWE analyst also thinks Cody Rhodes should not return soon
On his Notsam Wrestling podcast, WWE analyst Sam Roberts discussed Cody Rhodes' WrestleMania loss and his future after dropping the championship. He expressed his desire to see The American Nightmare go away for a while before returning "triumphantly."
The 41-year-old also stated that Rhodes would have to win back the fans after he was booed at The Show of Shows:
"So, what about Cody? I don't know. I kind of wouldn't mind seeing Cody Rhodes go away for a while to come back triumphantly. Cody could go away for a while. Cody could be back on SmackDown on Friday. You know, I think that his first promo back is gonna be important. His first story back is gonna be important. Cody has to win everybody back, you know," he said.
Freddie Prinze Jr. recently predicted that Rhodes would recapture the Undisputed WWE Title from Cena at SummerSlam. It would be interesting to see if that would happen.
Please credit The Stevie Richards Show and give an H/T to Sportskeeda if you use the above transcription.
