The current Ring Of Honor World Champion Cody Rhodes, recently spoke with the International Business Times. During the interview, Rhodes spoke on losing that connection to his father once he left the WWE, wanting to outperform his fellow Bullet Club member Kenny Omega & much more.
Here are the highlights:
Cody Rhodes On Taking A Chance & Betting On Himself:
“There’s that saying, ‘Act like you’ve been in the end zone before,’ but I hadn’t been in the end zone before. So it’s very surprising. It’s been one hell of a ride and I’m aware that it’s kind of an abnormal amount of success outside of WWE. Winning the Ring of Honor World Title in less than a year and to headline those G1 Specials. I know my business, so I know that could fall out at any minute. There could be no one wanting to interview me, but right now, I’m trying to make it so that every day we get something special and as ROH World Champion, I have the responsibility of captaining an entire ship. I’m looking forward to the possibilities there.”
Growing As A Person & Losing The Connection To His Dad By Leaving WWE:
“I think the 2016 version of Cody Rhodes was kind of a p***y. I’m not trying to insult myself, I just went through a lot as a person in a short amount of time. When I decided to leave WWE, I kind of lost that connection to my father, that’s how I had been brought into WWE. He was ingrained in their culture and when I left, it’s almost appropriate that they took my last name, that we have this litigation over my last name. I kind of disembarked from all of that and I had the balls to do it, but I needed the thick skin as well. I think I’ve toughened up a considerable bit and I like that. I want to know what it takes, what it takes to sell more shirts than John Cena.”
“Instead of saying, ‘I’m pretty good and you should all know it,’ I look for us to show it and we’ve been able to showcase it with Ring of Honor, New Japan and the various indies. We’re growing a lot. I don’t feel bad for myself, it’s not an era of tragedy for the Rhodes Family. This is a really fun time to be a professional wrestler and I think it’s the best time to be a pro wrestling fan.”
Rhodes On Being Better Than Just A Heel Or A Face:
“Today you gotta be a much better player than just a bad guy or a good guy, you gotta be a star. Those are the things my dad really harped on. Heel, babyface. He didn’t believe in it anymore, he just believed you’re a star or you’re on your way to being a star and I had his voice in my head because I remember that fan rattled me a bit and I tripped on my damn cape and I was like ‘Shake it off, shake it off, you’re world champion, he’s the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Just go for it’ and it was a real fun night.”
Wanting To Outperform Kenny Omega:
“Kenny currently has the distinction of being the best wrestler in the world and his run is proving tons of evidence to support that. For a singles wrestler like myself, who’s the world champion, it pisses you off a little bit. But you can be pissed off and go about it the wrong way or you can go about it the right way and I try to go about this the right way. Kenny and I are Bullet Club and I want to outperform him, which is a tall, tall order. But if I never go out there to give it a shot, then I’m not Bullet Club material in the first place. I think it’s the same with the Bucks. I think they love Kenny to death, but the concept of The Elite is not just a concept, it’s very real. Those three guys have each other’s backs, but if the Bucks go on last, they want to blow Kenny out of the water. They want to blow me out of the water. It’s not a negative at all, it’s a positive, it’s just a really fun, competitive environment in Bullet Club.”
