Ahead of its release in March,WWE 2K24has been slowly but surely revealing the overall ratings for its various superstars. This ceremonial series of reveals every year has seen plenty of funny moments, plenty of fan interaction, and plenty of discussion. This year, that has manifested in confusion over some odd choices. For example,Logan Paul has a 90 inWWE 2K24which would be more justifiable if that wasn’t the same rating as the Ring General Gunther. Logan Paul’s talent in the ring and on the mic is undeniable, but he’s still a pretty fresh face in the WWE as opposed to Gunther, who has been a dominant force ever since his days in NXT. Another one that stands out as odd is cover star Cody Rhodes getting a 93 overall rating.
It’s worth mentioning that the exact decision-making process behind overall ratings has never been discussed, nor will it ever probably be. It’s really a fun time to discuss all these choices, nonetheless, but every year has a couple of headscratchers. Practically everyWWE 2K24ratings reveal has been accompanied by Greg Miller reiterating that publisher 2K and developer Visual Concepts didn’t simply make adjustments to last year’s score, instead starting fresh. That’s fair and makes plenty enough sense; however, it’s just hard to imagine how someone like Cody Rhodes isn’t at the tippy top of ratings when it comes toWWE 2K24.
Why Cody Rhodes' 93 Overall Rating Doesn’t Add Up
There are a few reasons for this, depending on how you look at it. It’s possible that these new ratings only take into consideration the past year leading into its release or the past two years. Either way, Cody has been a dominant face in the industry. He’s thecover star ofWWE 2K24, alongside both Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley who both have higher overall ratings than him at 95 and 96 respectively. While the decision-making for their ratings seems more than fair and accurate, it could be looked at from a different perspective. Bianca has been much less present over the past year, and since beating Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39, Ripley’s title defenses have been more selective. She does manage Judgment Day, she does deserve a high score, and she’s incredibly popular. She just hasn’t done as much as Cody Rhodes, and somehow, she jumped from 90 inWWE 2K23to 96 inWWE 2K24.
Meanwhile, Cody has been an ever-present force in the WWE. There’s a reason he’s called the top babyface in the business, engaging with fans constantly on social media, inviting and paying for fans to attend events, and even agreeing to be a fan’s Best Man at his wedding. His interactions with fans are unrivaled, his work on the mic is top-notch, and he always leaves everything he has in the ring. There’s a reason he won theRoyal Rumble in 2023 and 2024, becoming the first person to do so back-to-back since Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1997 and 1998. In 2023, Cody Rhodes would wrestle 113 matches and only lose five of those, meaning he won 95.6% of his matches. That percentage is higher than his current rating inWWE 2K24.
The Case for Cody Rhodes to Have a 96 Overall Rating
WWE 2K24’s tagline “Finish Your Story” is directly pulled from Cody Rhodes, while simultaneously putting his losing match againstRoman Reigns at WrestleMania 39as the final match of the WWE 2K24 showcase.WWE 2K24also recentlyconfirmed that Roman Reigns has a 97 Overall Rating. Even though Reigns' story has grown stale since WM39, as has that of The Bloodline prior to The Rock’s return, a 97 makes sense. He is The Tribal Chief, and he has been the WWE Undisputed Universal Champion for over 1200 days too. It’s still a drop from Reigns’WWE 2K23rating of 99, but that’s a fair rating given his role in the industry balanced with his part-time appearances. However, in his handful of title defenses since WM39, no one has come as close to beating him as Cody Rhodes. And to be fair, Cody didn’t just lose to Roman Reigns but Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, and Solo Sikoa too.
Many will argue that Roman Reigns isn’t an integral part of Cody’s story; that it’s whoever is wearing the belt his father, The American Dream Dusty Rhodes, did. That’s true to the extent of the story’s premise, yet Reigns has squarely positioned himself as the antagonist of Cody’s story, one Cody has come closer to beating than anyone else. Cody shouldn’t have a 97 with this key loss, but he should be much closer than his current standing. Indeed, if the#WeWantCody movementdid anything, it proved how iconic and synonymous he is with the WWE right now–more so than even The Rock. A 93 does not do that justice, though this decision probably pre-dates anything that has happened thus far in 2024.
While it’s unlikely to change at this point, it’s not impossible. Last year, the fan outrage overRhea Ripley’sWWE 2K23overall ratingled to an increase from 87 to 90, which in a game like this is monumental. Her leap from 90 to 96 is entirely astounding. Cody, meanwhile, just goes from 91 inWWE 2K23to 93 in the game with his face on the box. It remains to be seen if anything happens to raise Cody’s overall rating, though nothing short of a real-world equivalent trend in #WeWantCodyToHaveA96 is likely to do it.
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