Finishing Cody's Story (pre-emptive rewrite?, WWE)

So, fun fact, I was able to predict every Royal Rumble winner except Cody, because I was under the assumption that they'd botch the landing and let Shiny New Toy Punk win it. I still call half a cookie for the fallout. Cody/Roman at 40 should have been a lock, and now we're getting Rock/Reigns instead (shades of Rumble `15's shilling). How are the `E going to pull this off?

Well, I don't know. But I know how I would.

In the run-up to WM40, have the egos of Reigns and Rock dominate. Make sure that everyone hates both their guts, Roman more than Rocky, but make sure that Rock is stepping into the Evil Authority Figure role that Vince left vacant; William Regal, ironically, becomes his right hand and counterweight, the Reasonable (if roguish) Authority Figure that balances out Rock's ego, and keeps him from going Full Vince. You never go Full Vince.

At the same time, have Cody embrace the "working man's champion" title hard in his run up to his match with Rollins, and have a growing respect and understanding between the two. Seth is an asshole and loves his mind games, but Cody is no stranger to that (*COUGH*Stardust and Goldust*COUGH*). At 40, Cody/Seth is the night one semi-main event (beneath Bayley winning her match, heck yeah), and is a technical masterclass, working around any limitations that Seth might be facing from his injury, a match that focuses on psychology, storytelling, and the fact that both Cody and Seth are genuinely enjoying themselves. At the end, Cody wins, and the two shake hands. It's not quite a friendship, but it's close. Roman/Rock is by the numbers bullshit with Solo winning for Rock via Samoan Spike. It isn't satisfying at all - until Cody gets on the mic. And tells Roman that every weakness he has... he's just put on display for the audience at home. Cody won't have his belt at the end of the year - hell, he won't have it come summer - but Roman's just planted all the seeds for his downfall that he needs. And he walks out grinning.

No one's quite sure what that means.

The next night on RAW, Cody announces he's going to have an OPEN TITLE DEFENSE next week on RAW, and another one on Smackdown. And he's going to keep up the open defense until someone wins it... and then whoever has the belt next is going to do the same. Because he's just spoken with management, and they've added a stipulation to the Heavyweight Championship - it must be defended 15 times in 12 month period, minimum. And then he promises to the WWE universe that he's going to do the same thing to the Undisputed Championship when he wins that.

Roman is unavailable for comment. He isn't in the building, after all.

Cody's defenses only last a few weeks before he loses it to Jey Uso. And something like his match with Seth, this ends with an understanding, the seeds of a friendship - not an alliance, nothing like that, but an understanding. Jey retains at Backlash, despite heelish antics from Jimmy, and Roman has an unsatisfying squash match against someone. Solo Sikoa is visibly starting to lose patience with the Tribal Chief, but he still acts as his loyal hatchetman - irritation, but no hints of treachery. And as the crowd turns against him, a more and more deranged Reigns starts to interfere with the matches of anyone he considers a threat - Owens, Zayn, Jey, Rhodes, and Rollins. The contrast between Roman burning bridges and attacking everyone and Cody building bridges and pulling the old shonen manga trope of "defeat = friendship" is stark. However at the same time, Reigns does pick up two additional members for the Bloodline - Gallows and Anderson, who have turned their backs on old Bullet Club friend A.J. Styles over a losing streak that they consider interminable. They see the winning side, and they're going to it. Jimmy, for what it's worth, doesn't like it, but rolls with it temporarily, while chafing off the two "New Samis".

This comes to a head at Money in the Bank, where most of these men are in the MITB match. Again, there's no alliance, but there's this general feel that despite the bangers they're putting on against each other that these five are genuinely having a blast. Cody wins it, and the five endure a Bloodline beatdown in the aftermath. They do end up running the heels off, but it's an ending that sees our heroes bruised and hurting. As Roman is pushed up the ramp by 30-ish security guys, Cody gets on the mic and calls for the GM. Regal and Rock show up, and Cody lifts his case. He's calling his shot now, but he needs their approval. Him. Roman. SummerSlam. Hell in a Cell.

The powers that be agree.

At SummerSlam, Cody has cut off Roman's support. It's just him and Reigns, and he exploits his weaknesses with absolute precision. Roman's a juggernaut, he hits like a truck, but he's gotten lazy and has a limited move pool. Cody on the other hand is the wrestling equivalent of Mega Man, and he shifts from one grappler's style to another, anyone he's had long feuds with over the last decade. Halfway into the match, the Bloodline rushes the ring with bolt cutters, intent on getting in, only to be repelled by Cody's makeshift quartet of faces (and security). And in the end, it's Cody that gets the big 1-2-3.

But it's not quite over.

You see, the bad blood with the Bloodline has expanded, and now Cody's quasi-faction and Roman's hardened group are damn near dominating the air - until William Regal calls it. This has to end, and it has to end definitively. And there's only one way to do that right.

The blowoff match happens there, which sees both groups fracture, but Cody's team coming out on top. Gallows, Anderson, and Sikoa turn on Roman near the end of the match, obliterating Roman, who they see as a liability. Jimmy and Jey don't quite mend fences, but there seems to be an understanding between them as they go their separate ways. Seth and Cody's vitriolic friendship gets a little more vitriol, as Sami and Kevin announce they're coming for the titles next.

But that's exactly what Cody wanted. The titles are always in play. No more part-time champions. The Workhorses rule.

And in the aftermath, we have a new trio to menace the tag division, Roman set up to take a hiatus before returning to be the mouthpiece/coach for a new stable, and Paul Heyman quietly slinking away to become the backer for the next big thing. That Bron Breakker kid looks promising... but Breakker? What's wrong with his real name? No, Bronson Steiner will work just fine. That's a name that sounds right with a title around his waist...