The John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes SummerSlam Booking Decision That Will Change Everything

The long-anticipated, predictable John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes rematch at SummerSlam should have a predictable finish, too. 

But predictable doesn’t mean the booking decision can’t change everything. 

To their credit, fans called this a long time ago. Once Cena went heel, it was obvious he’d be taking over as top dog, at least for a little bit. WWE would then put the title back on Rhodes, likely at SummerSlam. 

Most everything after Cena’s shocking heel turn has been as predictable as it gets. So it goes, especially when the promotion and man himself have put a very public expiration date on this retirement tour. 

Understandably, this has led what we can call a big majority of onlookers to project that Cena will indeed lose to Rhodes at SummerSlam, putting him back on the path of the good guys so that he can go out as a babyface hero one last time later in the year. 

The mental image is easy enough: Rhodes, the 2020s version of Cena himself, never gives up, unabashedly remains a superhero role model for the kids, and in doing so, inspires Cena to come back to the light on his way out the proverbial door. Hugs and applause all around, right? 

There’s always a but, though. 

But, there’s this whispered-and-wished-for idea of Rhodes turning heel at some point in the future. Never mind the speculation that his refusal to do so played a part in his AEW exit. The allure of a Homelander-styled, corporate Rhodes is just too good not to explore. 

Rhodes going heel, heeler than Cena to steal the title right back at SummerSlam could have so many fun implications. 

Right now, hindsight shows Cena going heel, then just shrugging at the error of his ways back to babyface like it was some sort of dorky mid-life crisis. There’s messy Travis Scott and R-Truth storytelling in there somewhere, too, making it all the worse. 

But Cena emerging a victim of something even worse than him and nudging him back to the good side? That’s compelling stuff. 

WWE could, after all, play it off like Rhodes has indeed sold his soul to The Rock. That he’s a corporate lackey of TKO and it’s time for Cena to be on his way so that he can run roughshod on the roster. 

This blend of kayfabe-real life that WWE wants to achieve while moving closer to a real sport that has celebrities in the front rows for those Netflix audiences seems like a perfect fit. 

It also gives WWE more options on the build to Survivor Series and even next year’s WrestleMania than simply Cena getting a random retirement match and Rhodes going right back into a middling babyface title run that is mostly rehashes of past feuds. 

Rhodes going big bad on the roster right now would position names like CM Punk, Seth Rollins and a sort-of-babyface Roman Reigns to go right after him. His going heel would be the perfect refresher on so many feuds, giving the top babyfaces in the company something meaningful to do. And there’s quite the story to be told from this angle if he encounters the happy-go-lucky Randy Orton, given all the history there and the way things could spiral out of control for both characters. 

There’s also that Rock detail. Maybe, in time, this egotistical, corporate Rhodes then clashes with The Rock, which sets up some sort of match. Sure, fans should be super hesitant about that idea because the last time everyone thought something along those lines would happen, a musician showed up instead and ruined what should have been an all-timer of a moment. 

While Rhodes is off doing this, perhaps Cean gets retired at the aforementioned Survivor Series or around the end of the year by one of his main rivals, perhaps an Orton. Or perhaps he’ll go out on his back in a passing-of-the-torch moment for someone like Bron Breakker. 

Even so, point is, Rhodes going heel while otherwise predictably getting the title back off Cena would provide droves of interesting story threads for WWE to pull over the long run.

In pro wrestling, predictability is almost a must. If there weren’t eventual desired payoffs, fans wouldn’t have much reason to invest emotions and time into it. But predictability doesn’t have to be predictable. 

With Cena and Rhodes, there’s a super-predictable result on the way, but the road to get there and the many, many branching paths from that point can contain swerves and unknown destinations worth watching.