You could make the argument that Cody Rhodes is WWE’s most successful babyface since Hulk Hogan.
All good things, however, must come to an end.
While he’s been WWE’s top good guy since returning to the company in 2022, recent whispers have suggested that “The American Nightmare” could soon be making a turn to the dark side. And when asked if he ever gets tired of being a babyface by Kay Adams at Fanatics Fest over the weekend, Rhodes certainly implied that a heel turn could be coming sooner rather than later.
“I’m a Cowboys fan because my sister cheered for the Cowboys. I’m an Eagles fan [because] I won in their stadium at WrestleMania and they hosted me and treated me like family. And I’m a Falcons fan because I grew up in Georgia and that’s a hard fandom to be a part of,” Rhodes said. “So I really don’t have an allegiance. I’m open for business.
“That helps with the being a good guy aspect of it. I don’t ever get tired of it because you get to have all of this and these moments. I do think we’re probably at the tail end of it though. Because there’s only so much someone can like you. I would love to do it until the end of my career. But there’s only so much — it’s like, ‘alright, we do his woah. We cheer for him.’ At a certain point, they want to see somebody else. I get that. And that’s where you have to change as a character.”
Rhodes went on to state that if/when he turns heel, he’ll be all in and not the “cool” kind of bad guy that the fans still cheer for. Yet despite initially saying that he believed he was at the tail end of his good guy run, he also added that he doesn’t foresee a heel turn happening for at least another 1-3 years, noting, “I’m not changing until I’m changed.”
“If The Rock had it his way, I already would have been changed already,” Rhodes said, referring to the storyline that ultimately led to John Cena’s shocking heel turn earlier this year. “I think he sees something that maybe I don’t see. And that’s a very smart individual, so maybe I follow his lead. Maybe not.”
There’s a bit of pro wrestling irony in there being so much speculation about a potential Rhodes heel turn as he was repeatedly booed by fans throughout his previous run in AEW despite predominantly being presented as a good guy. But after making the jump to WWE three years ago, he’s become one of the most popular wrestlers in the entire world, with the height of his run coming with his win over Roman Reigns to win the WWE championship at WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia last year.
As Rhodes alluded to, there was a tease that he could turn heel and join forces with The Rock earlier this year, although the storyline ultimately resulted in Cena being the one to break bad. But with that storyline run having since grown stale to many fans, perhaps there is now an opportunity for the two to trade places, giving Cena one last run as a good guy before he retires and Rhodes the chance to make the change before anyone sees it coming.