Bully Ray On How WWE Needs To Manage Cody Rhodes, Uses Steve Austin As The Barometer

Cody Rhodes and John Cena have been seeing a lot more of each other since Cena returned to WWE this summer. As Cena heads into WWE Fastlane, the former WWE Champion's bitter war with Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa finds him at a disadvantage. Some have speculated that it could be Rhodes who comes to the aid of WWE's franchise player.

"The Cody and John Cena team is definitely more intriguing to me," Bully Ray said on "Busted Open Radio," noting that it could be a good follow-up to Brock Lesnar raising Cody's hand after their encounter at SummerSlam. Bully believes moments like that will go a long way towards convincing fans that Cody deserves another shot at Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40.

"Since Brock, Cody hasn't had anybody at that level to be in the ring with," Bully said, believing Cena could be an even bigger endorsement than Lesnar. "Cody and Cena doing something along the way definitely keeps his stock up." 

The WWE Hall of Famer thinks it is imperative that WWE keep Cody's stock high in the eyes of fans, as the stars of WWE's past all had a certain amount of unrelenting momentum, which is the responsibility of the creative team.

"I use Austin as the barometer," Bully said. "Watch the rise of Steve Austin. Austin is always in there with guys that keep his stock at a certain level, until he became 'the guy.'"

Bully's advice flies in the face of recent comments from Kevin Sullivan, who believes Cody should never win the WWE Title, saying that Cody needs to avoid any kind of corporate branding, as Sullivan thinks fans are connected to Cody for building his reputation outside of WWE.

If you use any quotes from this podcast, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.