Cody Rhodes returned to WWE in 2022, and ever since then he’s been one of the top babyfaces in the company. Despite the success that Cody has achieved as a face, some fans have called for him to turn heel, and he recently showed off a darker side of himself throughout his feud with Randy Orton.
While talking about a potential heel turn on Unsportsmanlike, The American Nightmare made it clear that he’s open to the idea, but either way he simply wants to do what’s best for WWE.
“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.”
Is @CodyRhodes gearing up for a heel turn?
– @EvCoRadio raises the possibility of Cody and @HeymanHustle teaming up.
– Cody as a heel may look different from what people expect… https://t.co/f73hKEVTen— UNSPORTSMANLIKE (@UnSportsESPN) November 11, 2026
Now that Cody’s feud with Randy Orton is seemingly over he’s focused on the John Cena Classic as he was announced as the first invitee. More invitees were confirmed during this week’s episode of NXT, and you can get more details on that here.