"It was never about his father" - Ex-WWE star thinks unexpected twist in Cody Rhodes' story could happen

Former Intercontinental Champion Ryback recently discussed how Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes could turn heel.

Since returning to the Stamford-based company in 2022, The American Nightmare has been considered the top babyface. He recently defeated WWE's biggest heel, Roman Reigns to win the Undisputed WWE Championship. Nevertheless, Ryback believes the 38-year-old should ditch his babyface character and turn heel down the line.

On his Ryback TV podcast, the former WWE Superstar suggested how Rhodes' heel turn could gradually happen, enabling The American Nightmare to become the biggest heel in the company after Reigns.

"The way to do this then is keep the title on him and let that story start unfolding within the story of him being champion, where, like, they have little little moments where he like, and you don't do this right away but you just keep like where it's like there's a backstage thing and he snubs a little kid. But it's not that direct. It's something where it gets people kinda like: 'That was a a little...' Like: 'Did he do that on purpose?'" The Big Guy said.

He felt it would be a great storyline and everyone would eventually realize it never had anything to do with The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes. The WWE Universe would see how selfish Cody is, elevating him to be the top heel in the company.

"You gotta start creating, like: 'Hey, that was kinda a little bit...' Like, because that to me where essentially the championship goes to his head, the fame, the money, the success. He now, he used everybody to get what he wanted. It was never about his father. It was about him. (...) So, if you could then do that, he could be the number one heel after this," said Ryback. [1:16:09 - 1:17:12]

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Will the WWE Universe turn on Cody Rhodes?

After winning the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania XL, Cody Rhodes is currently considered the new face of the Stamford-based company. Triple H even introduced him on RAW as the man leading the company into the new era.

On his Ryback TV podcast, the former Intercontinental Champion pointed out that The American Nightmare could sometimes come off as fake while being "ultra-political." The Big Guy warned that fans could turn on him for that.

"He's got that really political, he toes the company line. He's ultra political, like, you know, babyface, says all the right things, that can come off fake at times as well because you know he's towing the company line and fans could turn on that really quickly," he said.

Although Ryback hopes Rhodes has a lengthy title reign, the former WWE Superstar predicted that The American Nightmare could lose his championship before the end of this year. It would be interesting to see if his prediction comes true.

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