Cody Rhodes Addresses Prior Rumors of Turning Heel at SummerSlam 2025

After regaining the Undisputed WWE Championship, Cody Rhodes has set the record straight on fans presuming he was turning heel at SummerSlam.

Cody Rhodes Addresses Prior Rumors of Turning Heel at SummerSlam 2025

John Cena and Cody Rhodes [via- Post Wrestling]

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There was a ton of noise regarding Cody Rhodes‘ potential heel turn heading into Night 2 of SummerSlam. But the online speculation didn’t translate into reality. Moreover, neither John Cena, whose promo on SmackDown appeared to some as a ruse to trap Rhodes, came out of ‘The Biggest Party of the Summer’ as a full-blown babyface. However, the 17-time World title holder lost his Undisputed WWE title to the ex-AEW EVP.

The two of them embraced afterwards, and Cena raised Rhodes’ hand in a spectacular passing of the torch gesture. During the SummerSlam post-show, ‘The American Nightmare’ addressed that section of the fans who thought he was going to ditch his heroic persona sooner rather than later. Rhodes, while keeping his response short and crisp, said it’d take everything against his body to channel his dark side.

I mean it with the utmost respect. A lot of people have thought about maybe I changed my attitude a little bit. Maybe I’d take a different direction. I’m going to tell you it goes against everything in my body to do that.

Cody Rhodes during SummerSlam post-show

Right before SummerSlam, ‘The Prodigal Son’ stated in an interview that it’d be detrimental for WWE to turn him heel at this point. He alluded to the company’s business taking a hit by allowing him to portray an on-screen villain. The North Carolina-born wrestler admitted that not every live crowd is going to be kind to him, which has been the case quite a few times this year.

Why roll into the past when a prime example of it was the New Jersey crowd last night that was booing Rhodes against Cena? It’d be interesting to see if that pattern continues in the weeks to come. ‘The QB1’ has been a red-hot fan favorite ever since returning to WWE at WrestleMania 38. It’s been over three years since that point, and he’s still going strong.

What did it mean for Cody Rhodes to have his father featured during his SummerSlam entrance?

Cody Rhodes had a special entrance for his showdown against John Cena at SummerSlam. WWE incorporated his late father, Dusty Rhodes‘ iconic “the view never changes” from 1994 into The American Nightmare’s entrance prologue. It was beautifully highlighted with The American Dream’s iconic polka dots as the background to the lines that were coming up on the giant LED screens.

Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes (via WWE)

‘The Prodigal Son’ was asked about how much that meant to him during the SummerSlam post-show. He credited Brian Fadem, a member of the WWE production truck crew, and also WWE CCO Triple H, for making that happen. Rhodes said that he wanted to describe his journey through his legendary dad’s words.

By doing so, Rhodes felt as if he was being accompanied to the ring by the late, great Hall of Famer. The former AEW EVP’s sister, Teil Rhodes, hit back at the critics of that entrance by posting on X that those who claim to be wrestling fans should watch more of it. She affirmed that the audio of her dad was taken from a couple of his real in-ring promos that he cut back in the day.

Triple H hails Cody Rhodes as a future GOAT after SummerSlam

After reclaiming the Undisputed WWE title at SummerSlam, Cody Rhodes is once again at the top of the food chain. Reacting to it, Triple H noted on X that the fans saw the greatest of all time going up against a future GOAT in the making on Sunday night, giving their absolute all.

Cody Rhodes and Triple H
Cody Rhodes and Triple H [via- Triple H/@X]

‘The Cerebral Assassin’ did his signature finger-point gesture, highlighting Rhodes as the man of the moment. Now that ‘The American Nightmare’ is a two-time world champion in WWE, it’d be interesting to see who’d step up to him to take it off of the 40-year-old.

Drew McIntyre said a few weeks ago that he’ll be the first in line to go after ‘The Prodigal Son’ if he does beat John Cena at ‘The Biggest Party of the Summer’. The Scot is fresh off a win as well. On Saturday, he and Logan Paul dispatched Randy Orton and Jelly Roll in a tag team match.

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