Toward the end of his time in AEW, as he was being booed in roughly half of the buildings the company ran, Cody Rhodes said he’d retire before he turned heel.
It was an AEW-specific promise, tied to the storyline that prevented him from challenging for the World title there. Rhodes has since admitted he was making a “meta” heel turn before leaving AEW, but he again seemed to reject the idea after WWE audiences embraced his return.
Cody’s begun to get more of the 50/50 reactions he was getting in AEW,
and that John Cena got for much of his career. His initial reaction to those was back to denying he was interested in turning heel, again using his daughters as a reason he wouldn’t want to play a villain on television. But lately the American Nightmare has begun to offer glimpses of his dark side, and in a new interview on ESPN Unsportsmanlike he says he’s “open” to the idea.
The conversation comes up around a question about Cody becoming a Paul Heyman Guy on-screen. Rhodes seems intrigued based on his personal connection to Heyman, but a kayfabe alliance could be unlikely. Because QB1 says if he does turn, it won’t look the way fans expect it too. The reactions Rhodes got after breaking bad recently are a reason why:
“I’m really open. That’s the biggest thing that I tell people all the time with, you’re going to make that shift and you’re going to go heel or you stay babyface, whatever it is, whatever is best for WWE.
“But we are starting to get into an area where if you think I’m a heel, then I’m already a heel. I’m not trying to make it so that you can’t get what you want. But if you think I’m a heel, I might already be a heel because we have a whole other side of it that doesn’t think that. Prime example: I went out there the other night, wherever we were, and I said, ‘I loved punting Randy Orton. I loved it.’ I tried to put a little growl in it: ‘I loved it.’ And they just cheered. And I thought, ‘Oh, I thought they were going to boo. So that’s the beautiful thing about our fans. There’s no wrong way to be a fan. You can’t guess which direction.”
Rumors have said that the face/heel call is Cody’s to make, but he says it’s a decision that he’ll make with WWE Creative:
“I’m very open to it. I think everyone in creative always — Triple H is the one guiding the ship here. I think when something like that, when it’s time, we won’t miss that opportunity. But if it’s never time, I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
Is now the time for a Cody Rhodes heel turn? Is one already underway? Let us know what you think below, Cagesiders.
