Former AEW champion to turn heel at WWE Money in the Bank and cost Cody Rhodes? Potential explored

Former Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes returned to a thunderous pop this past weekend at Saturday Night's Main Event, neutralizing current champion John Cena while aiding Jey Uso in his World Heavyweight Championship defense against Logan Paul. This marked The American Nightmare's first appearance on WWE TV since losing the title to Cena at WrestleMania 41. The rivals are set to be present on Friday Night SmackDown this week.

While Uso seems to be surrounded by every major star in the industry, from former World Heavyweight Champion Gunther to Seth Rollins and his crew, while being aided by CM Punk, Sami Zayn, and (possibly soon) Roman Reigns on RAW, he now finds himself standing side-by-side with Cody Rhodes as they deal with John Cena and Logan Paul at MITB 2025. However, Cody's goals remain unclear ahead of his SmackDown return. In all likelihood, The American Nightmare will look to get his revenge on Cena and win back the Undisputed WWE Championship as he attempts to stamp his moniker: The Quarterback.

But what if his road to redemption is made tougher by a familiar foe/friend, someone whom Rhodes was instrumental in getting signed to WWE in the first place? During his excursion, The American Nightmare brought Ricky Saints (AKA Ricky Starks) over to All Elite Wrestling, with the two becoming good friends off-screen to the point that Cody Rhodes, alongside CM Punk, was instrumental in the former AEW World Tag Team Champion jumping ship to WWE earlier this year.

Given their on-screen history and how close they are in their personal lives, it seems as though featuring in a story involving Cody Rhodes or CM Punk seems like the perfect way to establish the former FTW Champion as a major player in WWE going forward. While joining forces with either or both of his mentors could give Saints a massive rub, one could argue that being slotted in a secondary role might water down his charisma.

Considering that he would probably turn heel somewhere down the road, given his effectiveness as a bad guy, a shocking heel turn upon his main roster debut at a show like Money in the Bank could instantly catapult Saints into the main event picture of SmackDown. With Cena's limited schedule, a feud between Cody Rhodes and Ricky Saints could be the story SmackDown is anchored around for weeks to follow.

Losing the NXT North American Championship on last night's edition of the developmental brand seems like a clear sign that WWE thinks he is ready to be called up, especially given his years of experience in AEW and potential box-office stories waiting for him on RAW and SmackDown. However, this is mere conjecture at this point.

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What has Ricky Saints been up to in WWE NXT?

Within weeks of his shocking arrival in NXT, just one day after his AEW release, Ricky Saints sent shockwaves through the locker room as he defeated Shawn Spears to win the North American Title. Since then, Saints has been involved in a feud with "All Ego" Ethan Page.

Saints retained the title against Page at NXT Stand & Deliver. However, All Ego eventually won the North American Championship on the May 27 edition of the developmental brand. With several NXT call-ups expected in the coming weeks, if Ricky indeed appears at Money in the Bank and turns on Cody Rhodes, his main roster debut could be the most impactful one that the company has seen in years.