WWE Shut Down The Rock’s Idea to Turn Cody Rhodes Heel

Cody Rhodes won’t be turning heel anytime soon—despite internal talks and even a strong push from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE has no current plans to shift Rhodes’ character away from his babyface role. The report notes that Johnson had advocated behind the scenes for Rhodes to turn heel, but WWE leadership ultimately rejected that idea and decided to stick with the current direction.

Internal data reportedly played a key role in the decision. Rhodes remains one of WWE’s top performers in merchandise sales, live event attendance, and fan engagement, all of which support keeping him as a heroic figure on television.

The conversation around a heel turn intensified earlier this year after Rhodes received a mixed crowd reaction during his on-screen segments with John Cena in the WrestleMania build. While that led to speculation about a character shift, WWE reportedly made the call months ago to keep Rhodes on the babyface side—and that hasn’t changed.

Rhodes is currently scheduled to face Jey Uso in the King of the Ring semifinals on Monday’s episode of WWE Raw. If he wins, he’ll face Randy Orton in the finals at WWE Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia. The winner of that match earns a world title shot at SummerSlam.

Even with pressure from big names and pockets of fan criticism, WWE seems locked in on Rhodes as a top babyface.