Bully Ray On Cody Rhodes' Latest WWE SmackDown Segment: 'Polished And Soulless'

After Cody Rhodes backed down from an opportunity to punt his friend-turned-enemy Randy Orton in the head at Sunday Night's Main Event, many wrestling fans and pundits expected "The American Nightmare" to rectify it by cranking up the heat, or in WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray's words, "go[ing] off the deep end." Instead, Rhodes appeared cool as a cucumber on last Friday's "WWE SmackDown," indicating that he'd stay "uncompromised" moving forward.

In Ray's eyes, Rhodes' poise in the aftermath of an otherwise blood battle with Orton may have been more of a detriment than a benefit to his on-screen character.

"What we just heard, to me, everything about it was polished and soulless," Ray said on "Busted Open Radio," referencing Rhodes' four-minute interview with Michael Cole from "SmackDown." "There was nothing believable about it. I did not buy into it. I did not feel it. Nothing made me go, 'Yeah, good!' I'm going into this with complete benefit of the doubt, but when I see the perfect lighting, when I see the cufflinks perfect, when I see the fold in the tie perfect, when I see the chain on the tie perfect, and when I see the way the cuff comes up above his ankle and the socks and the shoes. Please give me something that ruins your appearance a little bit."

Unlike Cody's glossy appearance, Ray recalled that his late father, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, presented himself as a "disheveled mess" when put in similar wrestling storylines. In his case, Dusty often developed circles under his eyes and could barely string words together to say because an in-ring foe, whoever it may be, angered him so much. In Cody's case, Ray would have liked to have seen something mirroring that.

"If Cody would have gotten upset, if he would have actually came out of himself for a minute and took it out on Michael," Ray suggested. "'What the hell, Michael. What's going on around here? I've done this and I've done this.' If he would have undid his tie a little bit like, 'Come on, Michael, give me some answers. What am I doing wrong? What am I not seeing?' If he would have got up and then maybe sat back down and been like, 'Dude, I'm sorry, but I'm heated over this.' If there would have been some more passion, some more p*** and vinegar, some more salt, some more life than sitting there cool, calm, and collected." 

Ray further noted that he didn't expect nor wanted to see Rhodes completely change his outward look; he was actually okay with Rhodes wearing his traditional suit over a jeans and t-shirt. He wished he saw a glimmer of raw emotion from the former Undisputed WWE Champion, however.

"I wanted to see him being a human being that was questioning what the hell was going on," Ray said.

In the closing moments of what made it to air on "SmackDown," viewers saw Rhodes calmly promise that when he came face-to-face with "The Viper" again, he'd make a decision different from that at Sunday Night's Main Event. Once the cameras stopped rolling, Rhodes then whispered to Cole that he'd specifically "kick his f***ing head off."

Rhodes' lack of punt kick at SNME provided Orton with an opening to deliver a low blow and an RKO to defeat his former Legacy mentee. On the fallout episode of "SmackDown," Orton then said Rhodes' actions proved he was a good man, rather than a "killer."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.