Let’s be entirely honest with ourselves. We all knew Cody Rhodes wasn’t losing the Undisputed WWE Championship in February on a secondary premium live event. But for thirty-five minutes at Elimination Chamber 2026, Gunther made us believe in miracles, or at least in the therapeutic value of a chest chopped into raw ribeye steak.

It was a physical masterclass. It also highlighted the exact moment the Cody Rhodes babyface train started running out of steam.

The Ring General takes the American Nightmare to school

The atmosphere inside the dome was electric, but it wasn't the usual clean, heroic roar Cody is used to. There was a distinct, gritty undercurrent of fans who wanted to see the American Nightmare get his teeth kicked in. Gunther walked out with the cold, silent confidence of an assassin who bills by the hour.

No fancy jackets, no rising elevator, just a man ready to do violence. Cody, on the other hand, had the full superhero production, complete with enough pyro to trigger car alarms three blocks away. The contrast was stark, and it set the stage for the most physically demanding match of Cody's title reign.

From the opening bell, Gunther wrestled like a man who hates theatricality. He bypassed the usual feeling-out process and immediately went to work on Cody’s left shoulder, grounding the champion with a series of brutal, grinding keylocks. Every time Cody tried to build momentum, Gunther shut it down with a simple, devastating strike.

The chops were not just loud; they were destructive. By the ten-minute mark, Cody’s chest was a deep shade of crimson, looking like he had spent the afternoon wrestling a lawnmower. It was beautiful, old-school professional wrestling that made the champion look incredibly vulnerable.

The first real hiccup came at the fifteen-minute mark. Cody went for a Disaster Kick, but Gunther caught him mid-air into a sleeper hold. It should have been a dramatic turn, but Cody’s selling of his injured left leg completely evaporated.

He stood straight up and walked around the ring carrying Gunther's massive frame as if his knee hadn't just been twisted into a pretzel. This is the modern WWE superhero formula at its worst. We are supposed to believe the champion is in agonizing pain, yet he can instantly carry a 250-pound Austrian like a backpack.

It completely kills the immersion Gunther worked so hard to build. If you want us to buy into the struggle, you have to sell the struggle. Turning the pain off when it is time to hit your signature spots is lazy.

The high-stakes drama of the final ten minutes

It is a recurring issue that makes Cody’s matches feel more like scripted choreography than physical athletic contests. Let’s talk about the near-falls, because this is where the match peaked. Gunther hit a thunderous lariat and a devastating release powerbomb.

The arena went dead silent, expecting the three-count. But the referee took three full seconds to slide into position and begin the count. It was a painfully slow motion that ruined what should have been the most dramatic near-fall of the night.

By the time the ref’s hand hit the mat, the tension had evaporated because the crowd could see the delay from the cheap seats. Despite the referee's sluggishness, the final ten minutes were pure drama. Cody survived a second powerbomb, kicking out at the absolute last microsecond.

He then began a desperate, frantic rally, hitting a Cody Cutter off the second rope that Gunther barely sold before retaliating with a brutal boot to the face. The resilience on display from both men was remarkable, but it also started to feel a bit repetitive. We have seen Cody survive the absolute kitchen sink in every single title defense.

At some point, the survival stops being inspiring and starts being predictable. The finish itself was a masterclass in desperation booking. Cody, unable to hit his normal offense on the towering Austrian, had to resort to raw survival tactics.

He escaped a rear naked choke, hit a quick jawbreaker, and then chained together three consecutive Cross Rhodes. The third one required Cody to roll through with all his remaining weight, barely keeping Gunther’s shoulders down for the three-count at the 35-minute mark. It was a clean, decisive victory that kept the belt on the franchise player.

The cheers were there, sure, but they were accompanied by a very loud chorus of boos. The fans are smart. They know when they are being fed the same story over and over again.

Cody has finished his story, started a sequel, and now we are on volume three of a book that should have ended three chapters ago. Gunther was the perfect guy to take the strap and inject some cold, hard reality into the main event scene. Instead, he gets sent back to the drawing board while Cody continues his never-ending victory tour.

Why WWE is playing with fire by keeping the belt on Cody

Keeping the championship on Cody Rhodes at this point feels like WWE is playing a dangerous game of chicken with its own audience. We have seen this movie before, and it usually ends with the fans hijacking the show. Think back to John Cena in 2006 or Roman Reigns in 2015.

When a babyface champion becomes too bulletproof, the audience starts to feel like their intelligence is being insulted. They want struggle, they want stakes, and most importantly, they want change. By denying them that change, WWE is risking the very popularity that made Cody the top guy in the first place.

Let's look at the three major booking mistakes WWE is making right now with this endless title run:

  • Treating every single Cody defense like a historic struggle when the outcome is never in doubt.
  • Cooling off legitimate main event heels like Gunther just to protect Cody's record.
  • Ignoring the very real, audible groans in the arena whenever the pyro starts going off.

Gunther did everything he could to make Cody look like a million bucks. He chopped him red, stretched him, and put on a physical clinic. But by having Cody overcome the odds yet again, WWE has painted themselves into a corner.

The roster is running thin on credible challengers. The fans are running thin on patience. Compare this to SummerSlam 1993, when Lex Luger won by countout against Yokozuna.

The balloons fell, the babyfaces celebrated, but the fans felt empty. Obviously, Cody actually won the match, but the emotional result feels remarkably similar. It was a celebration of a status quo that nobody wanted to see continue.

The WWE creative team seems terrified of taking the belt off Cody because they don't know who they are without him. The truth is, Gunther is ready. He has been ready since his record-breaking Intercontinental Championship reign.

He represents a physical style entirely devoid of the corporate-approved superhero antics Cody embodies. When Gunther is on screen, the match feels real. When Cody is on screen, it feels like a highly polished television show.

Right now, the audience is craving the grit only the Ring General can provide. Instead of a historic title change that would have set the wrestling world on fire, we got a status quo victory. It was a brilliant, thrilling status quo victory, but a status quo victory nonetheless.

As we head into a very busy summer for the industry, with AEW Double or Nothing just twenty-four hours away, WWE had a chance to make a statement. They chose the safe path instead. And in professional wrestling, the safe path is often the fastest way to get your top star booed out of the building.