Roman Reigns placed Cody Rhodes in very exclusive company while discussing who can carry WWE.
In Reigns’ view, winning a title or spending a few months at the top is not enough. He pointed to consistency, durability, ambition and work ethic, noting that the process took about a decade for both John Cena and himself. Reigns then got straight to the point, saying, “There’s only been one who’s been able to carry that banner, and that’s been Cody.”
Five names, however, could change Reigns’ view in the years ahead.
Jacob Fatu
Jacob Fatu has already shown he can hold down a prominent spot, but time is not on his side in this discussion. At 34, he has a narrower window to build the decade of consistency Reigns described.
Still, his rise in WWE has been rapid. He beat LA Knight for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 41, defeated Drew McIntyre in an Unsanctioned Match at WrestleMania 42 and soon after went straight into a World Heavyweight Championship program with Reigns. The missing piece is turning those big moments into several straight years at the top.
Je’Von Evans
Je’Von Evans, who is only 22, is the furthest from Cody Rhodes’ level right now, but he is also one of the names with the most room to grow.
Evans was part of the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match at WrestleMania 42 and reached the semifinals of the King of the Ring tournament after beating Seth Rollins, Talla Tonga and Ricky Saints. In September, he defeated Austin Theory and Big Cass to earn a spot in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
Evans has yet to win a major championship on the main roster, which counts against him on this list. At the same time, few names have as much time to build exactly the kind of long run Reigns described.
Bron Breakker
WWE itself already treats Bron Breakker as part of this conversation. His first singles match against Oba Femi at Sunday Night’s Main Event in September was billed as a true battle for the future of the company.
Breakker is also a two-time Intercontinental Champion and a two-time World Tag Team Champion, and he defeated Seth Rollins at Backlash this year. The problem is that he has yet to face the biggest test.
Breakker has never had to sustain a run at the top of WWE by himself. He already has the talent, the presentation and the company’s trust. Now he has to turn all of that into something lasting, without needing veterans to elevate him the way they have before.
Rhea Ripley
Of the five, Rhea Ripley may have the least to prove about her ability to represent WWE. She is already a multiple-time world champion, and she defeated Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 42. Ripley and Bianca Belair also shared the WWE 2K24 Deluxe Edition cover, the first cover in the franchise’s history to feature two women.
The biggest knock on Ripley is durability, one of the very qualities Reigns cited. She has been out of action since June and underwent knee surgery in August. Even so, her track record shows someone who already holds a spot very close to the one Reigns described.
If Ripley can stay healthy and avoid the frequent injuries she has dealt with lately, she can certainly lead WWE for years.
Oba Femi
Oba Femi poses the biggest challenge to Reigns’ assessment.
In only a few months on the main roster, Femi beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42, won King of the Ring and defeated Lesnar again in a Hell in a Cell Match at SummerSlam. Lesnar himself took the microphone after that second loss and declared Femi the future of WWE.
Before all that, Femi set a record with a 272-day reign as NXT North American Champion and won the NXT Championship twice. He is still missing the decade Reigns talked about, but no other star is building such a strong case in so little time.
Cody Rhodes is still the finished product Reigns is looking for. But that does not mean he will stay the only one. Oba Femi, Rhea Ripley and Bron Breakker, in particular, already have the credentials to make Reigns’ remark look dated in the coming years.