In 2008, Randy Orton was the hottest heel in the WWE. So hot, that during his feud with John Cena, he was getting as many cheers as Cena. Orton would go on to form his own heel faction, and why not? I would. Orton’s Legacy would be made of all second and third generation stars, which at a time included the son of one of the Wild Samoans (not the cookie) and the son of Jimmy Snuka. Their names, like them, aren’t important. Those two would be quickly bounced form the group never to be seen again, and when it was said and done, Legacy consisted of Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted Dibiase Jr. They formed a pretty dominant heel faction from 2008-2010. Orton won the WWE title a couple times, and also won the 2009 Royal Rumble. Rhodes and Dibiase filled the role of the sidekick tag team wonderfully. At Wrestlemania XXVI, the group officially split after a triple threat match, and went their separate ways. Orton became a monster face, Dibiase ended up on Raw, and Rhodes was shipped to Smackdown.
In the first few weeks after the split, it seemed as if Dibiase was destined to get a huge push, leaving Rhodes to be the Jannetty of the team. Dibiase brought back the Million Dollar Title (awesome!) and had the second hottest Diva, Maryse, as his valet. Rhodes however, seemed to flounder on Smackdown. At first he had no gimmick. Then was given what, at the time, seemed to be a generic throw away gimmick. Rhodes won a poll where he was ranked the most handsome WWE wrestler by the Divas. This is where things turned around for Rhodes.
He adopted the moniker of “Dashing” and really took the gimmick to a new level. Like any new wrestler, he had his series of taped promos giving out tips on how to be dashing. And at some point, he was given one of the best and most creative entrances in the WWE today.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I-0iqqK-NY]
He would later attach a mirror to the back of his ring jacket so he could check himself out during matches. Rhodes really amped up his gimmick, and in true heel fashion, really annoyed the crowd.
This may seem like a short summary of two gimmicks, both of them being pretty solid. But we’re a year removed from the break up of Legacy, and the careers of Rhodes and Dibiase are headed in two different directions. Dibiase has been a on a losing streak, is only involved in angles that deal with his perfect 10 of a manager, and was given quite possibly the worst entrance music of all time. Rhodes on the other hand, is in the middle of an angle with Rey Mysterio that has had a great, slow build up. Whether you like it or not, Mysterio is one of the WWE‘s most popular faces, and rumor has it that he handpicked Rhodes to feud with. This is a huge point in Rhodes’ career. If the angle is given some time, and Rhodes has some good matches with Mysterio, this could be the beginning of Rhodes’ main event push. I think his climb to the top begins now.
Plus, Rhodes doesn’t wear knee pads, so he’s cool.
Dude, I really hope this is the beginning of something great for him. Like I said in my piece, Rhodes has the upside and I don’t feel that DiBiase does. It could be a matter of how each guy is being used, but I haven’t given up on him yet.
Apparently, Mysterio hasn’t either.
I kinda think they just ran out of things for Dibiase to do right now. Over the last year, Cody has developed a much better personality. Ted has just been bland and stagnant. If they want to help Ted, ditch the awful theme music first. Then maybe bring in his dad to be his manager. It worked for Randy when they brought in Cowboy Bob.