Cody Rhodes was fantastic when he worked heel in AEW but ever since returning to WWE as a true blue babyface, he’s maintained he won’t be going back to the dark side. He just can’t do it, he’s said. To be fair to him, he’s had one hell of a run since his comeback at WrestleMania 38, becoming arguably the top babyface in the entire industry while headlining WrestleMania 39, 40, and 41.
He hasn’t even really had the need to think about turning heel.
But now might be a bit of a different story, as he
explained on The Rich Eisen Show:
“You can look at this year and say ‘hey, here’s Pat McAfee’, you could look at the year before and say ‘here’s Travis Scott’, you can look at the year before and say ‘here’s The Rock.’ If you are a Cody Rhodes fan during WrestleMania season, it’s a choice. We deal with outside forces, we deal with ‘hey, they want to be part’, we’re about it, and I can say this, it’s a spot I always wanted. If you’re gonna be in the big moments you have to be ready for the big jobs. Pat being part of ESPN and WWE WrestleMania is on ESPN for the first time ever, it’s actually a natural fit. Does it fit in a 20 year wrestler-wrestler, student-teacher mentor, all that, does it fit in there? No, but Pat sure thinks it does, and now Pat has the title. So we can tell that story another time. That story’s also already been told, lets figure out how this unfolds.
“Listen, Pat McAfee, Randy Orton, that’s one thing, but we’re getting to this point now where you go through so much as a wrestler, I mentioned the previous WrestleManias, maybe it’s time for me to change. That’s a new layer of paint for Randy Orton, he’s associated with Pat, he doesn’t need that by any means, but that’s what he’s doing. Maybe I change? Maybe you walk that other side. I’ve been saying for so long I don’t think I can do heel stuff. I don’t… After a while it feels like it’s almost expected that I’m gonna lose it at some point, you know? ‘He’s gonna snap, and how does that look?‘”
I’m sure Drew McIntyre is somewhere violently nodding his head, fully appreciating exactly what Rhodes is saying at the end there.
I don’t know that this is a set up for Rhodes losing the title to Orton and taking a turn to the dark side in response to it, but my initial reaction is that it could salvage this ridiculous story they’ve been telling with McAfee. Then again, rumors suggest Rhodes will team with Jelly Roll to face Orton & McAfee at Backlash on May 9 in Tampa. The turn, if it is happening, would have to wait until after that.
But it may finally be time for it.
You in?
