Mapping Out Cody Rhodes' Potentially Great Feud With Sidelined WWE Superstar

The return of Cody Rhodes to WWE has been highly talked about, and his first feud could be with a superstar who has been on the sidelines for quite some time.

The official Twitter account of WWE wanted to get a feel for the fans’ pulse on who they could match him up with, and Mustafa Ali had a blunt response.

“The American Nightmare (Cody Rhodes) vs. a real American nightmare,” wrote Ali in a retweet.

It can be understood that Ali is referencing a scrapped gimmick that gave off vibes similar to that of the popular dystopian action horror thriller franchise The Purge.

In the vignette that he eventually released, Ali was dressed like a politician and revealed that he was aiming to tackle racial profiling by creating a “new America” where it would be, as Ali put it, “you who looks suspicious.”

If WWE were to suddenly give the green light for Ali to do this gimmick, putting him in a feud with a high-energy and charismatic performer like Rhodes would allow both men to shine.

To start the feud off, Rhodes could be giving a promo in the ring addressing why he changed his nickname to what it is today with Ali interrupting him and explaining to him what a real American nightmare was.

Both sides would be kept from facing each other in an official match, while they interrupt one another’s respective matches and produce even more vignettes to further build tension.

At a pay-per-view event, the two would come to a head where both Ali and Rhodes can flex their high in-ring work rates as they battle for what an American nightmare truly was: a riches-to-riches brat, as Rhodes said back in 2021, or someone who has experienced being put down just for his how he looks.

It is an extremely bold storyline for WWE to pursue because of how deep the wounds could potentially cut on either side of the fence, but the interest that this storyline will surely generate is going to be a breath of fresh air in the industry.

The “new America” gimmick drew comparisons from the ill-fated Muhammad Hassan angle in 2005, but WWE has surely learned from that experience and will do better to not let it happen this time around with Ali.

Rhodes and Ali being able to bounce off each other for however long WWE would decide to drag their storyline out is easy to see since both men ooze charisma based on how they project themselves.

This is a golden storyline waiting to happen that has very little odds to happen, but the company may just surprise everyone if they decide to pull the trigger.