While Cody Rhodes is arguably the most beloved babyface in WWE at the moment, a veteran believes he was really close to turning heel on Smackdown. The veteran in question, Bill Apter, also admitted that it would be unlikely at this point.

Cody Rhodes was recently called to the ring by AJ Styles, who seemed to be teasing his retirement. However, this turned out to be a ruse, as he attacked Rhodes almost immediately to lay him out. While this seems to hint at a showdown between them at WWE Clash at the Castle, it is yet to be seen how the American Nightmare will handle the situation.

Speaking on Sportskeeda’s UnSKripted, Bill Apter stated that he was expecting Cody to turn heel and attack AJ instead.

“Now I thought there was a heel turn coming last week. When AJ styles did the whole retirement thing, and Cody kept holding AJ’s arms up and having people cheer, I was waiting for the unexpected. I was waiting, and his merchandise would have gone in the toilet, but I was waiting for Cody to clothesline AJ styles. I’ve talked to people and they say everybody was thinking the same thing.” [6:37 onwards]

As of now, it remains to be seen whether AJ Styles will be the one to break Cody Rhodes for the first time since the latter’s win over Roman Reigns in WWE.