It took him a while, but Kevin Owens has finally snapped. His patience with Cody Rhodes officially ran out at Bad Blood. It seems an explanation from Owens is due for tonight. How will he explain his actions? What does this mean for him and Randy Orton moving forward? What will this mean for Cody Rhodes? This written edition of Creative Control Card will explore all those, as well as the potential genesis of a Cody Rhodes heel turn.
Lead-up to Crown Jewel
Kevin Owens kicks off SmackDown and is showered with boos from the Greenville crowd. He says that he’s been told to come out and apologize for his actions… but he says apologizing and sucking up to authority has never gotten him anywhere. He’s here to explain himself.
He says that Cody Rhodes ran out of chances. He didn’t listen when Owens specifically said he didn’t want the title match at Bash In Berlin. He also didn’t listen when Owens warned him about teaming up with Roman Reigns. Reigns tormented Owens and his best friend Sami Zayn for years, why suddenly align with him?
Owens explains to the crowd he thinks they’re backing the wrong horse. He claims that Rhodes has only had his personal interests in mind since he won the title, calling him a liar among other things. Rhodes interrupts him and begins to tell him off. He says he can take a lot of things, but one thing he will not stand is being called “selfish” and “a liar.” The two nearly come to blows before Owens storms off.
Each week, Owens interferes with Rhodes’ affairs one way or another. This includes backstage attacks, ambushing him during a promo with Gunther, and the like. Meanwhile, Rhodes asks Randy Orton for assistance and an explanation. Orton declares neutrality, lamenting things had to get to this point. Finally, It is revealed on the go-home SmackDown that Kevin Owens was taken out by a mystery assailant, therefore he could not make the flight to Saudi Arabia.
Crown Jewel
Cody Rhodes and Gunther put on a show. Without any interference to worry about, the two go for a whole half hour. Rhodes picks up the win again, as he did in the 2023 Royal Rumble. He wins the newly-created belt that is supposedly meant for Saudi Arabia shows only. This begins a phase where Cody sees himself as a belt collector. He’s got gold on his mind.
Lead-up to Survivor Series
Kevin Owens wants to know who his mystery attacker was and will go through anyone and everyone to find out. His suspicion is that Rhodes ordered a member of The Bloodline to take him out. Rhodes emphatically denies this and, on the way, wins the WWE Tag Team Championships from The Bloodline with… Jimmy Uso?! What’s the meaning of this?
Just when it seems Rhodes is ready to help Roman Reigns take out the new Bloodline in WarGames, Owens comes out to the ring and tells Cody “if I were you, I’d back out of WarGames and defend the title against me… because if you don’t I’ll reveal your secret.” Cody, seemingly unfazed by this, accepts this challenge and tells him “if you wanted a fight, I thought you would’ve said so. I thought you were the prizefighter, Kevin.” The match at Survivor Series is on.
Survivor Series
Before the show, Nick Aldis confronts Cody Rhodes backstage. He tells him “I want to talk for a second. I’ve learned something… disturbing from Kevin Owens and he gave me a good idea. Since we already have two steel cages on hand, why don’t we use one of them for your match tonight?” Suddenly, Rhodes is nervous. The secret may have spread.
He still appears poised and confident going into his match with Owens, but he’s uncharacteristically violent. Even for a match without disqualification, he’s much more violent with Owens than he has any reason to be. He escapes the cage and leaves Owens a bloody mess. It seems all too familiar for some reason. Was Cody Rhodes in fact the person who assaulted Kevin Owens before Crown Jewel?
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