The whole basis of being a good babyface is based on relateability. Thats why Hogan in the 80s was so loved. He was just a physical embodyment of patriotism, and being so passionate to defend your country that you rip off your shirt.

Dusty Rhodes was popular because he was an everyman. He wasn’t perfect looking. He was overweight, but he still lived his dream and stood up to guys like Ric Flair, who was the embodyment of the corporate prick bully.

Steve Austin was a great babyface because everybody wanted to get drunk and punch their boss.

John Cena got cheered by kids, because they related to his childlike character development. Men boo’d him because they didn’t relate to his childlike writting, and he stopped doing the adult themed raps that got him popular.

But then there’s Cody Rhodes.

He’s a plastic surgury perfection embodyment with a perfect life, perfect wife, perfect dog, and no hardship to speak of.

He started his career in WWE.

STARTED his career in WWE. How many wrestlers can say that? How many wrestlers have to go through training, and indies with no pay, traveling towns on your own dime, losing money on a dream that statistically speaking isn’t likely to even happen, much less pay off? How many guys are 10+ years into wrestling before they’re even given a chance in developmental in a WWE system?

And here Cody is, starting day 1 in FCW, which is basically just modern day NXT without national exposure.

And why? Because his dad. He was born into this business. Never having the risk of failure. Even The Rock had a RISK of failure. Rock may have been born into wrestling, but his family never was the booker. Rocky Johnson never had the level of stroke that Dusty Rhodes had, even AFTER he was no longer the booker. It’s like walking a very thick tightrope 6 inches off the ground, while everyone else is doing it with a thin tightrope 30 stories above ground with no net.

Even if Cody fails, it’s not much of a failure. He just brushes it off, and steps 6 inches back up.

He wasn’t even fired from WWE. He voluntarily left because of creative differences. If any other wrestler leaves WWE for that, they go to TNA, and their career rots. Cody says “I WANT to go there, and I WANT to try the indies.”

Anyone else on the indies is there because they started on the bottom and are climbing up. Cody is like “I’m going to try this, and if I hate it, my dad can get me back into WWE”.

Then he helps in the creation of AEW, but again is frustrated in his spot, because he’s placed his life in the fans hands…and the fans are booing.

Rather than showing why he belongs, he instead just goes back to WWE. An option he ALWAYS had. He was NEVER in danger. His dad could talk about hard times. He can’t. His entire adult life there has been a net. A net nobody else gets to have, save for maybe Shane McMahon.

So now he’s this plastic perfect ken doll. With a perfect wife. A perfect dog. No chance of failure. And even MORE safety nets. If WWE ever pisses him off, he can go back to AEW and get a high paid contract there because of his relationship with the bucks.

There is no reason to relate to this man. He’s just a ken doll, perfect model with a perfect life.