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When Cody Rhodes took the ring for the main event of WrestleMania 39, there was a lot on the line.
With three-straight slaps to the mat, Rhodes could secure the belt his father never won, end Roman Reigns‘ Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship reign before it hit 1,000 days, and secure one of the biggest, if not the biggest babyface moment in WrestleMania history, which, considering the near-40 year history of the show, is seriously saying something.
So, with so much on the line, what possibly could have been going through Rhodes' mind at the moment? Well, per the “American Nightmare” himself, he was thinking about his dad, as he detailed to Justin Barrasso in an interview for Sports Illustrated.
“I thought so much about him at WrestleMania,” Cody Rhodes told Sports Illustrated. “I thought about how quiet he would have been because it was really happening. He believed it would happen. At the very end of his life, when I was Stardust, that is when he had his first doubts. I am glad I was able to shake the doubts. He was my number-one supporter and always believed it would happen, and it did.”
Though the elder Rhodes obviously didn't live long enough to see his son wrestle for the big one, as he, unfortunately, passed away in 2015 due to kidney failure, Cody feels as though he would have been proud, as he's made it a point to accomplish things his father never did, and thus would have been thrilled by.
“I want to do things my father never did,” says Rhodes. “I know it seems so bold, but that’s my attitude. That’s the way my father was, and that’s what he instilled in me. Getting 10,000 people for a non-WWE show at All In [in 2018]? Helping start a new company? That’s what my father taught me. That’s what is in me.”
Whether Cody wrestles at ten more WrestleManias, starts another challenger promotion to WWE, or opts to leave his boots in the ring once and for all after taking a loss to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, it's clear his father would have been incredibly proud of everything he's accomplished. Fortunately, Rhodes didn't return to WWE just for the paycheck, so it's clear he has plenty more to accomplish before his wrestling days are done.
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Cody Rhodes recalls the time he almost assaulted a WWE writer.
With American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes officially released on Peacock, fans of professional wrestling have been combing through the documentary and all of the supplementary material around it – and believe me, there's a lot – to learn more about the once and current WWE Superstar and all of the twists and turns of his career.
One such moment came at the end of Rhodes' first run in the company, when he took particular issue with one of the promotion's writer's fake typing when he was giving creative ideas regarding his character. Though the documentary doesn't delve too deep into the conversation, Rhodes provided some necessary context to the story at the official Q&A for the film at its premiere, including some interesting advice Paul “Triple H” Levesque passed his way that he thankfully didn't follow.
“That guy is still a writer here, and I have a great relationship with him. I think he doesn't know it's about him. I'm also like, ‘How do you not know? You were fake typing.' I think a lot of wrestlers or superstars all feel, sometimes, helpless,” Rhodes said via Fightful. “‘We're bound to the creative, we're bound to this writer.' To a degree, there is a structure that you are part of, but we're not helpless. I felt helpless and realized, I'm gonna have to get over that. I'm going to have to stop complaining and actually do something. I just didn't want the thing I did to be outside. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to be that. Being that and getting outside was the only way. It was the cage that needed to be rattled. There is a part that's not in there, Hunter [Triple H] also told me that when I said I want to punch that writer in the face, he said, ‘Well, you should.' There was a moment of thinking about, ‘I'm going to go do it.' I'd be walking so slow, ‘does he know I'm going to punch him in the face.' We weren't fighting in the moment. They took that part out. Big HR problem.”
Would it have been cool to see Triple H, or even just Rhodes, recount the same story in his documentary? Most definitely, but when it comes to the Codester, one thing is clear: if something interesting happened in his career, you'd best believe he's going to talk about it.
