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At The Cross Rhodes: The Latest On Cody Rhodes' Potential WWE Heel Turn

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Blake Lovell | Last updated May 16, 2025 1:48 PM ET

Is WWE thinking about a Cody Rhodes heel turn?

Rhodes has not appeared on WWE television since WrestleMania 41, where he lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to John Cena to end a year-long reign with the title.

The road to the match became interesting when Rhodes heard some boos from the crowd on the go-home edition of SmackDown prior to WrestleMania, with many speculating whether the company could consider turning him heel at some point.

That speculation was fueled even more by The Rock’s comments on The Pat McAfee Show several days after the show, which featured “The Final Boss” hinting at WWE likely going back to Rhodes selling his soul for a future storyline.

However, it does not appear that is WWE’s mindset.

According to an update from Fightful Select, there were no plans as of WrestleMania 41 to turn Rhodes heel, with creative ideas in place for him as a babyface throughout the rest of the year.

The report mentions that WWE sources stated that “a number of people” opposed the idea to turn Rhodes heel due to his impact on ticket and merchandise sales.

WWE has regularly set all-time gate records since the TKO merger, with WrestleMania 41 drawing the largest gate of any event in WWE history with 124,693 fans - an increase of 114 percent from the previous record the previous year at WrestleMania 40.

Rhodes is currently advertised on WWE.com for Friday’s SmackDown in Greenville, South Carolina, but the company has yet to announce him for the show.

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This article first appeared on Wrestling on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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