Cody Rhodes was at the premiere of his upcoming Peacock documentary, “American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes,” which will be released on July 31st.
Rhodes discussed whether his WWE return was what he had envisioned with Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture.
“Oh, I think it’s been fun too, and this is gonna sound, maybe it sounds odd, just be a wrestler. I was really shell-shocked by my experience as, as much as I had taken pride in executive elements and being a manager of some sort, it just was different. And it’s not something that I woke up passionate about. Like I woke up being, wanting to be a wrestler. So for me the time here has been not so much what I envisioned, but so far larger than I envisioned because you forget until you show back up again at a WrestleMania in Dallas, you forget the magnitude, the audience, the penetration that WWE has, and the next thing you know to see your face everywhere and not be politicking for your face to just, hey, they, they’re into this. And and to see it genuinely. That’s something I’ve tried to follow, seen as a kind of guide on if you’ll know if they’re into you and you’ll know if they’re not. And you have to really be honest. And I have. I know this isn’t fully really answering your question. It’s more of a ramble. I have just been lucky. I’ve been very lucky, and I’m very blessed that it’s, that it’s gone this way. I had no clue how it would go. I told Randy [Orton] before I went out in Dallas [WrestleMania 38] that I thought they were gonna boo. I did. I thought they were gonna boo. Seth had carried the whole story to mania and I was the other guy and they didn’t. I just told your partner this, but they got it. I didn’t have to say belt. I didn’t have to do this thing, which I, of course, loved doing, but I didn’t have to do it. They got it. They realized, ‘Oh, that’s what he came back for.’ And in the process of coming back for that, I’ve received so much more than I could have ever, ever asked for. So that’s been a blessing.”
Rhodes was also asked about the most difficult part of his wrestling career, as well as his rivalry with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins on RAW.
“The toughest part is, we’re in a generation now, and one of the reasons why this has become one of the most successful and healthy time for pro wrestling or sports entertainment, one of the biggest challenges is you’re flanked by other guys and girls who could be in your spot and maybe are in your spot, and then you get it back. It’s not a negative thing. Politics are involved in any type of entertainment, but they’re really, I feel like, since removed because we have a bunch of grown men and women who are there now. Charlotte Flair is not NXT Charlotte. Seth Rollins is not The Shield Seth. Kevin Owens is not ROH Kevin Owens. They’ve experienced it. They’ve felt live crowds. They’ve understood booking. They’ve understood turning over money, everything, they’ve understood it, and now we’re all together. One of my favorite things, and I think one of the reasons why I have been in the best position I’ve been in my career is because on the same show I compete with a guy, the World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, every week, and it’s not negative. He would like to be the Raw face, and I would like to be the Raw face. I don’t know, some weeks, maybe we trade it off, but that is what makes this good. Competition is what makes this good, and I needed to compete against the very best. Seth, I say he’s top three, one of the very best, Roman being one of the very best. That’s what has been able to bring out the very best in me.”
