WWE made a big mistake with Cody Rhodes on SmackDown before WrestleMania 41, veteran explains (Exclusive)

Cody Rhodes got the better of John Cena once again as he laid out the 16-time world champion on the final WWE SmackDown before WrestleMania 41. However, the ending did not sit well with wrestling veteran Vince Russo.

Cena and Rhodes are set to collide at WrestleMania 41 for the Undisputed WWE Championship. The two came face-to-face on SmackDown for yet another war of words. While the Cenation Leader tried to take out the champion with an Attitude Adjustment, the American Nightmare once again got the better of Cena as he laid him out with a Cross Rhodes. Many believe that this is a sign that John Cena will be victorious at WrestleMania, as Cody Rhodes has gotten the better of him on two occasions.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's BroDown, Vince Russo noted that the heel should be booked to stand tall on the go-home shows, and WWE has not been doing that often:

"The three different companies I wrote for, there was never one discussion like, ‘This guy gotta be up because he’s losing at the pay-per-view. It always was heat on the heel, heat on every heel going into the event; it didn’t matter who was going over. Never once did we say, ‘Well Cody is going to do the job at WrestleMania, so he’s gotta be strong at the end of the go-home show.’ There was never that conversation. Now, it just feels like they do it all the time." [36:55 onwards]

John Cena has not been able to get his hands on Cody Rhodes since Elimination Chamber. The 16-time world champion tried to sneak attack the American Nightmare on his last RAW appearance as well, but Cody got the better of him.