WWE And Cody Rhodes Reportedly Dabbled In Misdirection Ahead Of SummerSlam

More of the professional wrestling industry may be 'exposed' than at any other point in history, but that doesn't mean WWE will shy away from trying to keep fans on their toes.
We all witnessed this first hand when Seth Rollins cashed-in his Money in the Bank contract on CM Punk to become the new World Heavyweight Champion Saturday night at SummerSlam.
It was the culmination of a three week long ruse that saw The Visionary fully commit to a kayfabe knee injury.
Following the angle with Rollins, speculation ran wild that something major was in the works for Sunday night's main event between John Cena and Cody Rhodes, which was further fueled by reports that the WWE creative team was keeping the finish of their Street Fight closely guarded.
It turns out that the "Spidey sense" of most fans was tingling for a reason, just perhaps not the one they were anticipating.
WWE reportedly has no plans to turn Cody Rhodes heel any time soon

Heading into SummerSlam there was a fair amount of online discussion about a potential Cody Rhodes heel turn. Which was amplified by comments The American Nightmare made himself while doing media rounds and then Cena's abrupt babyface turn a week ago on SmackDown.
As Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque would say, it was all part of the show. At least according to those behind the latest edition of WrestleVotes Radio.
"There are currently no plans in the foreseeable future to turn Cody Rhodes heel. The recent wave of online speculation, some of which was intentionally fueled by Cody himself, was a strategic bit of misdirection aimed at the more hardcore audience."
As we all know by now, the surprise at the end of the night turned out to be the shocking return of Brock Lesnar. The Beast is back for the first time in two years and appears to be in line to be the final big bad of John Cena's retirement tour.
When it comes to the new two-time WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes is not about to step away from the responsibility of being the company's top babyface any time soon.
"We are told WWE has little interest in turning their biggest babyface into a bad guy," WrestleVotes said in their report. "One source even joked with us it would be awkward to see a smiling Cody Rhodes on Minute Maid packaging throughout thousands of grocery stores and gas stations here in North America whilst playing a villain on TV."

WWE did discuss the potentially turning Cody Rhodes heel ahead of his first match with John Cena at WrestleMania 41, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, the choice was made to turn Cena heel at Elimination Chamber and the angle was put together with The Rock and Travis Scott.
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Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com