{"id":219690,"date":"2026-07-23T11:56:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=219690"},"modified":"2026-07-23T11:56:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:56:56","slug":"wwe-rising-stars-fading-stars-babyface-edition-rhodes-rules-rollins-rubs-us-wrong-femi-the-hero-king-the-bloodline-bleeds-goodwill-good-knight-tricks-on-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/07\/23\/wwe-rising-stars-fading-stars-babyface-edition-rhodes-rules-rollins-rubs-us-wrong-femi-the-hero-king-the-bloodline-bleeds-goodwill-good-knight-tricks-on-us\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE RISING STARS &#038; FADING STARS &#8211; BABYFACE EDITION: Rhodes Rules, Rollins Rubs Us Wrong, Femi the Hero King, the Bloodline Bleeds Goodwill, Good Knight, Trick\u2019s on Us"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2425723747\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>From Odysseus to Luke Skywalker to Harry Potter, a great hero is timeless.<\/p>\n<p>A &#8220;baby face&#8221; refers to facial features that resemble those of a child, creating an appearance of youth and innocence. In professional wrestling, a \u201cbabyface\u201d or \u201cface\u201d refers to the hero, the storyline protagonist whom fans are meant to rally behind.<\/p>\n<p>Wrestling babyfaces show respect to other faces, fans, and neutral parties such as the referee. Babyfaces are pitted against villainous, cheating heels and overcome them while still following the rules. Often, faces stand for something other than their personal interests and can embody a larger virtue.<\/p>\n<p>Dusty Rhodes stood for the working-class everyman. John Cena stood for hustle, loyalty, and respect. Bret Hart stood for excellence and integrity. Even the occasional anti-hero babyface such as \u201cStone Cold\u201d Steve Austin had a strong moral code and stood for rebellion against corrupt and oppressive authority.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s WWE features a mix of transitional babyfaces and heels as well as characters who break the mold by representing something of a mix. It\u2019s easy to get behind traditional babyfaces who represent timeless values.<\/p>\n<p>Increasingly, however, several WWE wrestlers positioned as heroes act in morally ambiguous or inconsistent ways, leaving fans unsure whether to fully invest in them.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we look at babyfaces in the men\u2019s division and evaluate who is effectively embracing time-honored roles\u2014and who is falling short.<\/p>\n<h3>Rising Star of the Week: Cody Rhodes<\/h3>\n<p>Cody Rhodes is the most successful traditional babyface of the current generation. Cody\u2018s return to WWE told a compelling story of redemption, overcoming past failures in an honorable and admirable way. Cody is easy to like and get behind. His earnest love of wrestling and the fans is palpable. He succeeds in wrestling without taking shortcuts, shows respect to others who deserve it, and embodies everything that is admirable in athletic competition. Cody comes off as personable, the kind of guy you\u2019d like to have a beer with.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3439826038\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Cody has not been perfect in his adherence to these principles. When facing off against the cheating Randy Orton at WrestleMania, briefly stooped to bending the rules himself.<\/p>\n<p>When CM Punk flipped his belt over his shoulder at last weekend\u2019s Fanatics fest, it brushed Cody in the face. Cody took offense and assumed Punk\u2019s intention was to slight him, coming across as self-centered and thin-skinned.<\/p>\n<p>The ultimate judge of Cody\u2019s success is his crowd responses. They have been the most consistently positive of any wrestler in the past decade.<\/p>\n<p>Fans are always interested in change, and many have clamored for Cody to turn heel. That could work\u2014but there should be no urgency to pull the trigger.<\/p>\n<p>As the saying goes, \u201cIf it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cody as a babyface just works far too well to mess with.<\/p>\n<h3>Runner-up: Oba Femi<\/h3>\n<p>The Ruler stands for greatness and integrity. He never lies, treats fans and fellow competitors with respect unless their actions disqualify them, and he is earnest in his desire to be the best. He doesn\u2019t take shortcuts, cheap shots, or interfere in others\u2019 matches. He doesn\u2019t cheat or look for the easy way out. He takes on all challengers and does not duck competition. When wronged, he pursues justice without going overboard in vengeance.<\/p>\n<p>Femi has almost always been pitted against heel opponents, allowing fans to wholeheartedly root for him in nearly every encounter.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3455482266\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>His success as a top babyface has been remarkable\u2014if not flawless. Femi has taken a few ill-advised detours from the hero\u2019s path. His apparent unprovoked assault on police officers protecting Brock Lesnar on last week\u2019s Raw came off as reckless and callous. His later explanation that they were impostors felt confusing and only partially repaired the damage.<\/p>\n<p>Still early in his career, there are many ways things could go wrong in the year ahead. Oba could be portrayed as petty or jealous, could break the rules, or come off as overly proud in his promos. However, if he stays the course, Oba has the potential to eclipse Cody as WWE\u2019s top babyface of this era.<\/p>\n<h3>Second Runner-up: LA Knight<\/h3>\n<p>LA Knight embodies confidence without being overbearing. He is the ultimate truth-teller, even when it is unpopular calling out top stars like Roman Reigns and Jay Uso for hypocrisy and rule breaking.<\/p>\n<p>He is brave without being reckless, boldly facing daunting odds in his pursuit of victory and justice. He is fiercely proud without being overbearing.<\/p>\n<p>What really sets night apart is his delivery on the mic. Nobody cuts a babyface promo like he does. Never at a loss for words, Knight speaks with conviction, blending sharp humor with infectious catchphrases that ignite the audience.<\/p>\n<p>For these reasons, Knight has consistently outperformed his push &#8211; and the crowd response reflects it. Only poor booking holds him back. Being booked to lose so often punishes fans for investing in him and conditions them to pull back emotionally. Pitting Knight against The Bloodline &#8211; some of the most popular stars in the company &#8211; forces fans to choose between favorites or leaves them conflicted.<\/p>\n<p>Although many see him as best suited for the upper mid-card, Knight has all the tools of a main event star. If he keeps performing at this level, WWE creative may have no choice but to give him that opportunity.<\/p>\n<p><em>ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Raw: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/wwe-raw-post-show-7-27-keller-hubbard-discuss-how-lower-card-formula-is-working-and-the-main-event-formula-is-not-in-summerslam-build--73081616\">CLICK HERE<\/a> to stream (or search \u201cwade keller\u201d on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WWE RAW POST-SHOW (7\/27): Keller &amp; Hubbard discuss how lower-card formula is working and the main event formula is not in Summerslam build\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=73081616&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Fading Star of the Week: Seth Rollins<\/h3>\n<p>Seth Rollins is the WWE\u2019s greatest in-ring performer of the last ten years. He consistently delivers exciting, athletic, hard-hitting matches, more than any other performer. Only his struggles to project an effective, coherent persona have kept him from being the company\u2019s top star.<\/p>\n<p>Rollins has particularly struggled in the hero\u2019s role ever since returning from injury.<\/p>\n<p>His promos often come off as uninspired, relying on tired, catchphrases, and gimmick-heavy buzzwords that don\u2019t quite land such as calling himself a &#8220;visionary&#8221; and &#8220;revolutionary&#8221; without presenting a clear vision or cause.<\/p>\n<p>Thrust into SummerSlam\u2019s main event scene, Rollins has failed to generate strong excitement. Being cast opposite the ultra-popular Roman Reigns hasn\u2019t helped, nor has the fact that fans have seen this matchup multiple times over the past decade. Breaking narrative immersion by suggesting Reigns was gifted championships and lacks wrestling ability only made matters worse.<\/p>\n<p>More than anyone in WWE, Rollins would benefit from tighter promo scripting and a clearer character direction. If he is to succeed as a babyface, he needs to tap into what fans really like about him while viewing away from meta nonsense and failed catchphrases.<\/p>\n<h3>First Runner-Up: The Bloodline<\/h3>\n<p>Undermining the support they enjoy for being cool, bad-ass stars, The Bloodline largely behave like heels. They regularly bully their opponents, cheat to gain unfair advantage in matches, and come off as disrespectful and arrogant.<\/p>\n<p>Roman Reigns acts as if he is superior everyone he interacts with. Jimmy and Jay have played the role of remorseless lackeys. Even Jacob Fatu, honor-bound to serve against his wishes, betrayed his supposed long-time friend, Royce Keys. The Bloodline are regularly pitted against fan-favorite babyfaces.<\/p>\n<p>If the plan is to have the group complete a turn to become heels at SummerSlam, this presentation could work out in the end and all will be forgiven.<\/p>\n<p>Until then, it leaves fans, feeling confused and uninvested in storylines even as they raise their index finger and chant \u201cOTC.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Second Runner-Up: Trick Williams<\/h3>\n<p>Trick Williams is a paradox.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s talk about it.<\/p>\n<p>Debuting on the main roster in winter, Trick was portrayed as a heel, but was cheered by fans who admire his cool, stylish presentation.<\/p>\n<p>During WrestleMania season, he began leaning into babyface behavior in response to crowd reactions. Since then, however, Trick has been booked against both heels and faces while reverting to heel-like tactics and inconsistent character beats.<\/p>\n<p>With these mixed signals, fan enthusiasm has noticeably cooled. It\u2019s unclear whether WWE wants fans to support Trick or root against him. Whether he\u2019s meant to be hero or villain, the current lack of clarity is undermining his momentum\u2014and it isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wade Keller Post-show (7\/20) - WWE Raw w\/Keller &amp; Hubbard\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6iwnWCnJjT0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2821953062\"><div id=\"pwtor-2878298505\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>From Odysseus to Luke Skywalker to Harry Potter, a great hero is timeless. A &#8220;baby face&#8221; refers to facial features that resemble those of a child, creating an appearance of youth and innocence. In professional <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/07\/23\/wwe-rising-stars-fading-stars-babyface-edition-rhodes-rules-rollins-rubs-us-wrong-femi-the-hero-king-the-bloodline-bleeds-goodwill-good-knight-tricks-on-us\/\" title=\"WWE RISING STARS &#038; FADING STARS &#8211; BABYFACE EDITION: Rhodes Rules, Rollins Rubs Us Wrong, Femi the Hero King, the Bloodline Bleeds Goodwill, Good Knight, Trick\u2019s on Us\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,4309,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-219690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-rising-star-fading-star","category-specialists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/10\/DrakeEli_TeschJoel3x2_600-1.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":219691,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219690\/revisions\/219691"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}