Cody Rhodes Needs A New Creative Direction After WrestleMania 42

This shouldn’t be surprising given that Orton wasted no time in hitting Rhodes with an RKO at Elimination Chamber when McIntyre interfered in the match. From someone who hesitated when it came to hitting a punt kick on his former ally, that guy is now gone.

There’s no doubt that these actions heated up the main event. With that being said, there needs to be a bigger outlook on what is happening with Rhodes. For the third consecutive Road to WrestleMania, the WWE is continuing to follow the same pattern with Rhodes.

Orton’s Beatdown Of Rhodes Looks Awfully Similar To Previous Confrontations

Rewinding the clock back to 2024, the most brutal segment of the year happened when The Rock brutally beat up Cody Rhodes outside his bus.

This was at a time when it was originally supposed to be The Rock vs Roman Reigns. That all changed once everyone was rooting for Rhodes to finish his story, and the noise became too loud to ignore. Once this segment occurred, the wave grew even bigger as people rooted for Rhodes to dethrone Reigns and finally achieve glory.

Fast forward to a year later, and Rhodes finds himself once again on the receiving end of an ass-whooping. In this instance, it came at the hands of not only The Rock, but also John Cena, who shocked everyone and turned heel.

Does this look familiar? Here we are again, where Rhodes is blindsided and beaten to a bloody pulp. That now makes it three years in a row that this has happened, and two years where it’s come from someone he was initially on good terms with. What makes it interesting is that the crowd reaction during the show makes it seem like the tides are turning.

There Seems To Be A Growing Crowd Who’s Getting Tired Of This

When Orton continued to assault Rhodes, you can hear the crowd chanting “Randy! Randy!” as things became worse.

Part of that can be attributed to people finally getting an unhinged Orton after years and being excited for it. Nevertheless, when Rhodes showed up to talk to SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis, boos could be heard from the crowd.

This is not the only reaction that was negative for Rhodes. When he regained the championship last week, the WWE universe made it clear that they were displeased with this result. On a video that was uploaded showing Rhodes victorious, this received over 100,00 dislikes. Granted, this is not to say that the entire fanbase has turned on him, but it’s clear there’s a growing number of fans who are fed up with Rhodes coming out on top.

Analyzing what’s next to come, it would be hard to see the crowd still not rooting for Orton despite his actions. With one championship away from earning title number 15, coupled with his iconic theme, this won’t be a typical heel vs babyface clear distinction. As we saw last year, fans still rooted for Cena against Rhodes at Mania when Cena not only betrayed Rhodes but took shots at the fans.

This needs to force WWE to take a different direction when WrestleMania rolls around next year.

The Long-Awaited Rhodes Heel Turn Needs To Happen By Next Year

A Rhodes heel turn has often been discussed on when it will finally take place. In an interview with Kay Adams at Fanatics Fest in June 2025, Rhodes made it known that his time as the top babyface might be coming to an end.

“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… At a certain point, they wanna see somebody else. I get that, and that’s where you have to change as a character.”

What no one wants to see unfold is the same story over and over again. Everyone understands this is happening with different opponents, but it’s still playing out the same when someone faces Rhodes.

It would be very refreshing to see Rhodes going into Mania as someone who was once universally loved to someone whom no one can stand, and he fully embraces that. The possibility of Rhodes being a ruthless heel would shake the company up, and the trigger should be pulled soon.

End Of My Cody Rhodes Rant

The outlook of WrestleMania honestly looks cloudy. In spite of that, this main event is now something fans can look forward to. With the history Rhodes and Orton have and the avenues they can take when it comes to taking shots at each other, it should be fireworks.

Even with that, Triple H and the Creative team must mix it up with Rhodes next go around. The fans have a big influence on what takes place when it comes to decision-making, and these recent reactions cannot go unnoticed.

Rhodes has had a phenomenal run as the face of the company. He can still be regarded as a top superstar, but no longer as the top babyface come 2027.