Cody Rhodes has formed a partnership with Roman Reigns over the last few weeks, and not everybody on the WWE roster is happy about it. Though Reigns was absent, the drama continued to play out on the most recent “WWE SmackDown,” with tension developing between Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens.

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During the show’s main event, Rhodes attempted to prevent Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa from interfering in a tag match pitting Orton and Owens against Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. However, Fatu seized on an opportune moment to throw Rhodes into the referee, allowing Sikoa to cheat and get the win. Speaking on “Busted Open Radio,” Bully Ray shared his belief that Rhodes should have injected more drama into the situation.

“I would’ve loved to have seen Cody come out and then hit the brakes at the bottom of the ramp,” Bully said. “He’s running out like Randy told him to, but then he’s pumping the brakes like Kevin told him to. ‘What do I do? What do I do?’ And for a brief moment in time, Kevin looks at Cody, Randy looks at Cody, Cody looks at the both of them, they both get hit from behind [by] the Bloodline, then Cody slides in to be the hero.”

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If the company had booked the segment that way, Bully argued that the conflict playing out internally inside Rhodes would have been outwardly presented to the audience. The WWE Hall of Famer believes the crowd would have audibly reacted to such a move, but instead, the angle played out in a relatively straightforward manner. For now, the story is portraying Rhodes as a tried-and-true babyface, with Orton and Owens questioning the champion over his decision to trust Reigns.

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.