Cody Rhodes has surprising reaction to recent criticism; reveals goal for WWE SummerSlam

Cody Rhodes shared a surprising reaction to recent criticism from WWE fans and disclosed an interesting goal for SummerSlam 2025. The former AEW EVP lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 41.

Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Rhodes addressed the fan criticism of his loss to Cena at The Show of Shows. John Cena captured the title from Rhodes after popular rapper Travis Scott got involved, and it left many wrestling fans feeling underwhelmed.

Rhodes took the blame for fans not being satisfied with the conclusion of WrestleMania 41 and noted that the goal at WWE SummerSlam was to bring fans to the finish line for his rivalry with Cena.

"SummerSlam, I don’t wanna go as far as making any promises, but I can tell you the goal with SummerSlam is if people felt a certain way about WrestleMania, I will put that all on my back and take all the credit and responsibility for perhaps not feeling satisfied. I’d like to get ‘em to the finish line with SummerSlam. Very much looking forward to doing this dance again," said Cody Rhodes. [H/T: Ringside News]

The American Nightmare won the finals of the King of the Ring Tournament at Night of Champions to earn a title match against John Cena at SummerSlam. This year's Biggest Party of the Summer will be a two-night event, taking place on August 2 & 3 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Bill Apter comments on Cody Rhodes potentially turning heel in WWE

Legendary wrestling journalist Bill Apter recently shared his thoughts on a potential heel turn for Cody Rhodes on WWE television.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's UnSKripted show, Apter stated that fans would not remain on Cody Rhodes' side if he were to turn heel. He noted that many fans still cheer John Cena but suggested that would not be the case if the former AEW star were to turn to the dark side.

"You know Cody, if he turns heel, he would not be a heel that fans would cheer for like John Cena and Jacob Fatu. You have heels that are being cheered, but I think Cody, if he turned heel, would actually be a heel. He'd be booed." [From 15:33 onwards]

You can check out Apter's comments in the video below:

It will be interesting to see if Cody Rhodes can defeat John Cena at SummerSlam to become the Undisputed WWE Champion once again.

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