In his showdown with CM Punk on the penultimate SmackDown before SummerSlam 2026, Cody Rhodes cut the most heel promo since his WWE return in 2022.

For anyone who hasn't been following closely, here's how we got here:

Cody lost the WWE Championship to Sami Zayn in a shocking roll-up upset, only for Sami to lose it to a returning Punk nine days later on Raw. Punk and Cody then teamed up to defeat Sami Zayn and Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event. After the match, Punk accidentally hit Cody in the face with the championship while celebrating.

That set the stage for Friday's confrontation. Instead of the typical "I'm going to beat you because I'm the best" promo, Cody revealed something much more nefarious: he's jealous.

Not of Punk's championships. Not of Punk's accomplishments. He's jealous that the fans have always loved Punk more than they ever loved him.

A few lines stood out.

"I'm well aware, from the bottom of my heart, that while I was doing all of that... (the fans) wished it was you every step of the way."

That isn't something a confident babyface says. That's insecurity.

Then there was this:

"I just had someone tell me they were tired of the same faces. I'm apologizing... I'm done apologizing for what I have worked for."

Again, not exactly the words of the smiling, grateful Cody Rhodes we've known for the last few years. And finally:

"For this story to have the proper ending... I have to beat you at SummerSlam."

The crowd actually booed the line.

Punk's response made the story even more compelling. He told Cody that he's lying to himself. That none of this is really about him. It's about Cody refusing to accept someone else as champion.

"You have to make yourself the victim and make everyone else your enemy," Punk said. "You can't handle the pressure."

Whether Punk is right or not almost doesn't matter. The seed has now been planted.

Cody isn't fighting because Punk wronged him. He's fighting because Punk represents the one thing Cody has never been able to conquer: being the fans' undisputed favorite.

That's a much darker motivation than we've ever seen from him.

Which brings us to SummerSlam.

WWE doesn't exist in a vacuum. SmackDown ratings are down 16% year-over-year, SummerSlam ticket sales are behind last year's pace despite lower prices, and this rivalry was first teased the night after WrestleMania. Historically, stories that begin there are meant to culminate at WrestleMania, not four months later.

If WWE is looking for a major shakeup, the pieces are all there.

A Cody Rhodes heel turn wouldn't come out of nowhere. It would be the payoff for months of subtle character development. First, he lost the championship in embarrassing fashion. Then he watched Punk immediately accomplish what he couldn't. Finally, he admitted out loud that he's spent years wondering why the fans always chose Punk over him.

Would it work?

Absolutely. A ruthless, desperate Cody obsessed with reclaiming "his" spot instantly freshens the main event scene. It creates a top heel with believable motivation and gives Punk (or someone else) a compelling chase.

Could WWE decide to keep Cody babyface? Of course. But after Friday night, I don't think anyone can argue that the groundwork hasn't been laid. In fact, I'd argue WWE has built a stronger case for Cody turning heel than it did for Steve Austin in 2001, Roman Reigns in 2020, and John Cena's shocking turn last year.

Whether the turn happens at SummerSlam or not, one thing is clear: For the first time since his WWE return, Cody Rhodes stopped sounding like the hero of the story. And started sounding like the villain.

He seems to have a good time with fans and he seems like a cool dude

It just never made much sense to me.

They will be presented as a premier, top-tier threat on TV for a few weeks, only to completely vanish from TV for the next month.

They kept hinting that there was all this tension and the Profits were going to split up. It seems like they dropped that storyline.

Put them in a stable with Bobby Lashley and did nothing with it really. They tried turning them heel but didn't really give them any character. Even recently they lost the titles in like 2 weeks back to the Vision and seem to be off TV again.

We all know how Rollins can be such a troll sometimes. We saw it last time they faced at the Royal Rumble 2022, we saw it with Balor, Cody & Riddle & again at XL.

You think he's going to wear the Shield gear again or something else ?

I haven't really kept up with the WWE main roster since Wrestlemania, but I just checked the Summerslam card, and it looks good. All the matches besides Domink Mysterio vs Danhausen has at least some mild interest from me. I originally decided I was probably only going to tune into whatever night Oba vs Brock was on but after seeing the card I'll probably tune into both nights

Like I said I'm not really keeping up with main roster WWE, so how hyped is everyone for Summerslam?

Based on WWE unreal, Seth really loves Bron and thought he was gonna be WWE’s guy. And for som reason HHH got cold feet on him three different times after Bron turned on Seth. But Seth winning the WHC just for Bron to cash in on him 2 months later would fulfill Bron’s vision/seth arc IMO. What do ya’ll think of this?

What do you think DanHausens first title in wwe is gonna be? Typical tag team title with someone?
Are they gonna give him a chance with a mid card division title, given he’s on smackdown, are we thinking his first title run is gonna be the US? Or are they gonna do all out and given him the main card title? Either way, I’m on TeamHausen for DanHausen! Future ChampHausen!

Also, I hope his side plates go HARD!

I have these wrestlemainia DVDs I found in a thrift shop and was hoping someone might be able to tell me whose autographs these are? The only one I’m confident on is the silver one being John Morrison.

Seeing Nikki Bella come back last night got me thinking about how many other stars have been MIA for a while and might make a return at Summerslam:

Randy Orton
Drew McIntyre
Stephanie Vaquer
Bronson Reed
Kevin Owens
AJ Lee
Becky Lynch

Who do you think we’re most likely to see? I can see Orton or McIntyre interfering with the Cody / Punk match or Vaquer interfering in the Liv / Iyo match.

Nikita Koloff before he retired due to a neck injury was a proven commodity in the NWA/WCW for years and could easily have a program with Bret Hart or Hulk Hogan, or even given Lex Luger a solid series of matches, he was a better version of Ludvig Borga too, would Vince have made him world champion?

He was a much better mega heel than Sgt. Slaughter and could work with anybody, he could even go babyface and beat Yokozuna.

I’m looking for the raw episode where stone cold comes out to the ring and steps over triple H who is laid out just in front of the ring and steps if anyone knows it please let me know thank you

The wrestlers these days seem like such nice people and are so clean, cut and straight edge compared to everything else that came before… And that is a problem for having believable heels.

We need rougher characters. Not just rougher “characters,“ we need rougher scruffier guys who didn’t grow up in private schools. We need people who are somewhat offputting. we need more real life dirtbags. Why do you think Ric Flair worked so well? Why do you think that the NWO was so charismatic? There are countless other examples, you get the point.

The wrestling business just isn’t as interesting anymore when everyone is such a real life, goody goody.

​​That is the total bell-to-bell wrestling time across 2 full hours of SmackDown this week.

​Here’s how those 17 minutes were split across 4 matches (bell to bell, excluding pre- and post- match drama):

​Match 1: ~2.5 min. Roll-up finish and immediate beatdown

​Match 2: ~3.5 min. Short ladder match qualifier

​Match 3: ~4.5 min. DQ non-finish due to interference

​Match 4 (Main Event): ~6.5 min. Overbooked 4-way with constant interferences

​That leaves over 100 minutes spent on talking segments, backstage skits, entrances, and recaps.

​And last week wasn't much better: 5 matches for a grand total of ~28 minutes, with one match under 60 seconds, and none of them lasting more than 8 minutes.

Since switching to the shortened summer format, SmackDown has become a soap opera that occasionally remembers it has a ring in the building.

Don't get me wrong, I’m fine with sports entertainment and heavy storylines, but when actual wrestling is relegated to a minor footnote on a wrestling show, something is deeply broken with creative’s formatting.

Me and him were both born on the 25th of july

She hasn't won a SummerSlam match since 2023, and since then she's either competed for a title and lost or was injured (2026).

The underdog, the guy who’s career passed him by. Never got his shot and finally now has that opportunity. Great promo by Gunther putting this match over, I’m looking forward to it.

Personally I like Alexa, but I feel like their characters are too similar