Cody Rhodes isn’t buying the idea that stacking a wrestling card with dream matches automatically makes it a great show. The WWE Superstar believes throwing big names and exciting matches together without any real structure can actually hurt the audience’s enjoyment. As far as he’s concerned, there’s a lot more to putting on a great wrestling show than giving fans one dream match after another.
During an appearance with Chelsea Green on What Do You Wanna Talk About?, Rhodes explained his philosophy while discussing Ethan Page’s Intercontinental Championship victory. He pointed to the title’s history as WWE’s workhorse championship, where wrestlers like Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect could steal the show without necessarily being in the main event. Rhodes used WrestleMania III as an example, explaining why Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant and Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat worked so well on the same card.
“And you’ll be satisfied with this show as a whole because you get that cool main event. WrestleMania III is a prime example. People don’t realize you’re actually supposed to love both matches. Hogan-Andre is fire. Steamboat-Savage is fire. It’s a matter of what you wanted in that moment.”
That’s where Rhodes got into his biggest problem with modern wrestling cards. He believes an entire show should be structured like one wrestling match, complete with a beginning, rising tension, a comeback, and a big finish. Simply booking dream match after dream match might look great on paper, but Rhodes argues that fans eventually lose interest when there’s no proper build.
“I tried to teach this away and it didn’t work, but a wrestling card should build like a wrestling match. There’s opening, there’s heat in the card, there’s a big comeback, and then there’s a big finish. They’re not just random dream match after dream match because then you lose your interest. That’s just fireworks.”
Rhodes has actually criticized the concept of dream match cards before, previously explaining that independent wrestling shows packed with big matches don’t always deliver the experience fans expect. His latest comments make it clear he hasn’t changed his mind. He isn’t against dream matches themselves, but he believes they need to fit into a larger show that keeps the crowd invested from start to finish.
For Rhodes, a great wrestling card isn’t about seeing how many big matches a promoter can squeeze into one night. It’s about knowing when to give fans something exciting, when to slow things down, and when to deliver the payoff. You can have all the dream matches in the world, but if the crowd is burned out before the main event, what’s the point?
Do you agree with Cody Rhodes that too many dream matches can actually hurt a wrestling show, or would you rather see a card stacked with the biggest matches possible? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
