Nic Nemeth Explains How Losing At WWE SNME Benefits Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes lost to Randy Orton at WWE Sunday Night's Main Event, but the loss — and the way he lost — could actually benefit him, as per Nic Nemeth.

Orton used every underhanded trick to beat Rhodes and eventually got down on his knees and begged Rhodes to stop when it seemed like "The American Nightmare" would land a punt — Orton's patented move — against "The Viper." But Orton tricked him, eventually landing a low blow on his way to the win. The image of Orton pleading, Nemeth feels, made Rhodes look like the winner despite losing.

"With Randy being this Apex Predator, he shouldn't be afraid of anybody. He's bigger, stronger, and better. And actually he's putting over Cody's mindset as a wrestler. Because now Randy, who can take anybody, whether he was faking it or not, was begging for his life," he said on "Busted Open."

He equated the storyline between the two to a movie plot where the bad guy is defeated but the final boss comes out, whom the hero seeks revenge from. Nemeth feels Rhodes will benefit hugely from Orton's groveling, with him praising the way in which Orton has told the story through emotion rather than wrestling.

"And then that ties into Cody's struggle mentally that he's having over the course of the last several months, possibly years, and this slow burn and build to it. So Randy is putting over Cody by not doing wrestling moves. He's getting everyone sucked into the story and the emotion. And Randy, it's so hard to see him vulnerable, but it was a beautiful thing to be like, this is pathetic, and it was so great," added Nemeth.

Nemeth isn't sure if Orton's begging was genuine or if it was a ploy to get one over on Rhodes. He, however, commended the way the two pulled off the end of the match, saying that it was a very believable moment.