Kevin Owens has reached his breaking point. The former WWE Universal Champion attacked Cody Rhodes in the parking lot after WWE Bad Blood went off the air, leaving the American Nightmare laid out by his tour bus before speeding off in his car. Owens and Rhodes previously did battle at WWE Bash in Berlin, as Rhodes granted Owens a WWE Championship match for the overseas premium live event. Owens had the title won but refused to tap into his ruthless side, ultimately allowing Rhodes to capitalize and leave Germany with his championship reign still intact. It’s unclear as to when Owens vs. Rhodes will pick up again, but based on what transpired at WWE Bad Blood, it shouldn’t be much longer before the next chapter in their singles rivalry is written.
Backstage Details on Kevin Owens’s Cody Rhodes Attack
Kayfabe is alive and well in 2024.
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As reported by PWInsider, WWE’s decision to have Kevin Owens turn heel on WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in an “off-camera” segment was done in an effort to make it a viral moment. WWE went into the angle knowing that fans would film the confrontation and share it on social media, not unlike Seth Rollins’s explicit reaction to CM Punk’s WWE Survivor Series 2023 return.
WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque played up the angle on social media the following day.
“We are aware of the incident outside of the arena last night between Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens,” Triple H wrote. “The matter will be dealt with internally.”
Tensions between Owens and Rhodes have been high for over one year now, as the two has previously operated as a united front to battle The Bloodline over the years. When Jey Uso defected from The Bloodline, Rhodes, ever the babyface, welcomed him with open arms to the WWE Monday Night Raw roster. This rubbed Owens the wrong way, as Jey led many attacks on him over the years, and Owens left for WWE SmackDown as a result. Going back to the blue brand meant more of the same for Owens, as he found himself battling The Bloodline’s new ranks of Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Jacob Fatu before long.
Rhodes rejoined Owens on WWE SmackDown in April. After a couple of successful defenses against AJ Styles and Logan Paul, Rhodes was roped right back into The Bloodline’s business by WWE SummerSlam. Owens willingly served as Rhodes’s backup, fending off The Bloodline during his WWE SummerSlam defense against Sikoa. Two months later, Rhodes teamed up with Roman Reigns, the former leader of The Bloodline, to fight Sikoa and Fatu. Like his reaction to Jey being welcomed to WWE Monday Night Raw, Owens did not take kindly to Rhodes aligning with the longtime enemy. He had choice words for Rhodes on episodes of WWE SmackDown leading up to WWE Bad Blood, and finally snapped after the premium live event ended.
Rhodes is expected to face WWE World Heavyweight Champion Gunther at WWE Crown Jewel. Stay tuned to ComicBook for updates on when and where WWE is planning on running Rhodes vs. Owens.
