Cageside Quote: Cody Rhodes wants his mask to be his calling card, like Triple H's sledgehammer

Don't like Cody Rhodes mask gimmick? Too bad, so sad.

That's because he's not only sticking with it, he wants to make it a staple in his career, much like Triple H did with the sledgehammer. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, the Intercontinental champion revealed his plans for it:

"It's funny because things in sports entertainment get misconstrued. What we do is entertainment, but what happened with me was a little bit more than that. My nose was legitimately broken, my septum was horribly deviated, but it was the most lucky break I guess I ever had. I'm definitely not afraid to take it off and I've enjoyed the few times I've gotten away with taking it off and I can see it being around for a while, but not so much a major fixture of myself. I'm trying to make it like Triple H; he's got his sledgehammer and I've got my mask."

It's interesting to hear him talk about his nose actually getting broken, seeing as that was a point of contention for some time as to whether or not that was a work or a shoot. He slipped in and out of kayfabe throughout the interview but he typically remained on the reality side of things.

Personally, I thought the mask gimmick was slick for a while and really helped give him an air of legitimacy as a heel on Smackdown. Winning the Intercontinental title was another step towards that goal, which went even further when the decision was made to switch back to the old white leather classic look (which also is discussed in the full interview).

It's been a long enough time now, though, that it feels like the right time for Rhodes to make his push into the main event. That's not the plan at the moment but Randy Orton has been doing great things with him on the mid-card, which goes an awful long way as far as long term direction.

The plan as it stands right now, according to advertisements for shows in December, is to finally go along with that rumored feud with Booker T. The current color commentator is apparently going to become an active wrestler for a short time to challenge for the Intercontinental strap.

Sound like a good idea to you, Cagesiders? And what of his plans to make his mask a staple of his career like Triple H did with the sledgehammer? Can he pull that off and still reach main event status?