Cody Rhodes on Judgmental Legends, His Torn Pec, Bloody Footage Shot During Surgery, and More

(Photo Credit: WWE)

Cody Rhodes, the winner of the WWE Royal Rumble, appeared on Logan Paul’s IMPAUSIVE podcast today. You can watch the complete interview below. Here are some highlights:

Rhodes discusses the opinions of some industry legends on today’s wrestling:

“There’s some guys in the industry, legends, who are so judgmental on how we do wrestling because they made money. They did it. They were right. They drew interest. They got heat. They did it all right. They’re committed to the idea that there’s only one way to do it. What I found out is that however you do it, if the people are up, if they’re reacting, if they’re popping, or if they’re on their feet, don’t judge this. This is done right if they’re entertained. Plus the wrestling fan has evolved so much. Most of them are longtime fans. They’ve been sitting watching the same stuff. We’ve got to change. The NFL has changed. Sports have all changed. The game is fast. Then you hear these dudes, you’ll hear people, ‘Oh, I’m old school, man. I’m meat and potatoes.’ Nine times out of 10 that means you’re lazy. Like, buddy, can you do something? I’m all about the moments too. I believe it, but the moments and the moves, it’s both.”

On his torn pec:

“The stupid thing was I’ve been wrestling since I was 15 is when I started pro training. No injuries. I felt bulletproof. Walked in the gym, flip-flops on. Flip-flops in the gym, bad sign. Open cup of coffee. Got on the bench. Put on 295. Didn’t even warm up. Was going for four. The dude on the other side of the gym, you know, testosterone Phil, just me and this other dude. I have no idea who this man is. I don’t know why he’s grimacing at me. I’m grimacing at him now. The plot thickens. He’s doing his full CrossFit routine, like taking up the whole jungle gym. It’s just me and him in there. I’m going to show you dude. I just unrack it and it went right away. I felt it. I didn’t need to kick the weights off. They flew off. Then this dude, who I’ve been having this moment with, runs over, ‘Hey, Man, are you okay?”

His surgery:

“They filmed my surgery for my documentary, like super awkward. I mean, I’m in a gown, It’s on backwards. You don’t want to be filmed in these moments. Like we could fake this later, right? I saw the footage that most people haven’t seen because there’s so much blood. Literally just blood squirting out of my chest. He’s (the doctor) got what looks like kitchen tongs and he’s just yanking the muscle back to the arm, and he’s showing them because he’s like teaching as he goes.”

Wrestling in Hell in a Cell:

“They were really cool and I think it was something that Vince really knew I wasn’t going to take no. I might have had to take a no, but I just didn’t want to get to it. I had a great conversation with him and he was really clear about, ‘Hey man. If you’re struggling out there, we got to call it.’ I said, ‘All right.’ Well, it’s a struggle, always, when you’re wrestling Seth. It’s a struggle when you’re in Hell in the Cell, but I did understand that, and they let me finish. The referee in the ring, Spider, that’s his nickname, he talked to me the whole time because I was just on Planet Z. I was just really, I was in shock still, because you know, shock puke, where you feel like you’re gonna vomit, you break a bone or whatever. I hit something up front. I set right up, and it looked like I sat up for the camera shot. I sat right up, here it comes. I’m going to throw up and they’re gonna instantly ring the bell. I think if I would have thrown up, they would have been, ‘okay.’ because people like watching a car wreck, but there’s a limit to it.”

You can watch the complete show below:


(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)