The Monday Night Raw nostalgia play

Eric Bischoff dropped a take this week that felt like it was ripped straight from a 1996 Nitro script. He told anyone listening that he would turn Cody Rhodes heel immediately. It is the classic booker impulse to fix what isn't broken because the shiny toy stopped making that specific high-pitched noise.

Why the babyface run still prints money

Cody is currently the most bankable asset in professional wrestling. He moves merch, sells out arenas, and commands a reaction that hasn't been seen since the mid-2000s height of John Cena. Bischoff argues that he would change the dynamic to keep it fresh, as reported by WrestlingNews.co recently.

The issue with turning Cody right now is that the audience has collectively decided they aren't going to let him turn. They have seen his cross-branding, his charity work, and his post-match interactions. Fans are invested because he is the rare babyface who actually feels like a genuine person rather than a suit-wearing caricature.

The booking trap of constant shifts

Bischoff loves a swerve. He built his career on them, for better or arguably worse when the finger poke of doom happened. However, modern 2026 booking requires a steady hand. If you yank the rug out from under the audience every time a character hits a ceiling, you stop building stars and start building plot devices.

Cody is doing the hard work. He consistently enters the ring at the 15-minute mark of main events to deliver that final momentum shift. He takes the bumps because the fans expect him to be the man. Turning him now would just be a cynical attempt to pop a single rating at the expense of a five-year strategy.

The danger of ignoring the crowd pulse

Sometimes the most veteran minds in the room are the ones most disconnected from the modern rhythm. Bischoff’s philosophy assumes the audience is bored. The ticket sales and merchandise figures suggest the audience is actually in the middle of a love affair with the current version of the American Nightmare.

The risk of forcing a heel turn is creating a 'cool' villain people want to cheer for anyway. We have seen this movie. You end up with a character who is neither a credible threat nor a sympathetic hero. It leaves the show rudderless while everyone waits for the inevitable turn back.

Bischoff is chasing a reaction that he thinks he knows how to manipulate. He is forgetting that modern wrestling is about creating an emotional connection that lasts longer than a single pay-per-view cycle. Cody is a lighthouse right now, and you don't dim the lights just to see if the ships still know how to navigate in the dark.

The reality of the 2026 roster

Look at the rest of the show. There are plenty of heels who can do the heavy lifting of being detestable. We don't need the top dog to start cutting promos about how much he hates the city he is currently standing in. That trope is older than the Internet.

The current booking strategy is about momentum. You build, you peak, you rotate, but you do not burn your best house down just to see if you can build a shed in the ashes. Cody is the bridge between the younger audience and the diehards. Keep him upright, keep him winning, and let the heels work for their heat.

If WWE management takes this advice, they are looking at a 30 percent drop in merchandise movement within the first quarter. Sometimes doing nothing and letting the talent work is the most genius move of all. Bischoff is a legend, but his map for the business hasn't been updated for the current terrain.