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Cody Rhodes Finally Shows His Dark Side on WWE SmackDown: Heel Turn Getting Closer

Cody Rhodes showed another side of himself on WWE SmackDown after his loss to Randy Orton. Is WWE building toward a major heel turn?

20.09.2026

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Harsh Chopra

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Cody Rhodes speaks to Michael Cole on WWE SmackDown following his loss to Randy Orton.

WWE SmackDown this week saw a lot of important things happen, but perhaps the most interesting thing that happened was an interview segment between Cody Rhodes and Michael Cole. This was the first time Cody Rhodes was speaking following his loss to Randy Orton at Sunday Night’s Main Event in Atlanta. This segment was another innovative way by WWE to further the storyline.

Let’s talk more about this interview segment and what happened.

Cody Rhodes’s Descent to the Dark Side

Cody Rhodes, since the last 2 months, has been slowly moving towards the dark side. That means he is getting closer to being a heel in WWE, which the majority of WWE fans want to see. Cody Rhodes has been feuding with Randy Orton, and Randy has said that Cody Rhodes is such a good guy that he would never punt Randy Orton in the Head. In their match at Sunday Night’s Main Event, this was the storyline of whether Cody Rhodes is willing to do anything to win. During the match there was an opportunity to punt Randy Orton in the head, but he hesitated, and Orton won the match. This was shocking because the WWE fans were convinced this was the night that Cody Rhodes would turn heel.

However, WWE wants to build more for the eventual moment. This is one of the biggest turns that WWE could do in the modern era. Cody Rhodes has been a babyface for the last 4 and a half years ever since WrestleMania 38. That is a very long run, and he has been the guy. During the interview segment on SmackDown, Cody Rhodes was professional and saying his points. However, the true intentions were revealed when the cameras stopped rolling. Cody Rhodes went near the ear of Michael Cole and said that next time he will rip the head off Randy Orton. And he used non-professional language. This was another innovative way by WWE to further the storyline.

Following this WWE will show more of this side of Cody Rhodes in front of the camera. The time is not far when Cody Rhodes completely snaps and WWE will have its biggest heel. Cody recently said the line by Paul Heynan about spoilers. Cody Rhodes doesn’t need Paul Heynan, but he could use Paul Heynan to get heat. The partnership between Paul Heynan and Cody Rhodes could be as significant as when Paul Heynan aligned himself with Roman Reigns in 2020. All roads seem to be leading towards Survivor Series in November. There will be over 40,000 fans at that show. The next 2 months across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT will be important.

Cody Rhodes Randy Orton