Cody Rhodes is not pretending he handled everything perfectly backstage after WrestleMania.
During his interview with Ariel Helwani, Cody was asked about his heavily discussed WrestleMania match and angle involving Randy Orton, Pat McAfee, and Jelly Roll. Cody said that, looking back, he was actually proud of how calm he stayed that day, because there were a lot of new factors and huge personalities involved.
“I said something. I hope I’m I’m hoping I said this out loud so that it’s, you know, not to say I don’t want to give you breaking news, but I also don’t want to say anything rude. I I I think I hope wrestling fans can understand that behind the scenes for me, it was probably the most proud I’d ever been of how I dealt with anything. It was probably the most calm I’d ever been on the day and probably even though my u eye was shot afterwards, it was probably the most calm I’d ever been leaving the ring because there were a lot of new factors.”
Cody explained that WWE changes, directives change, and he wanted to handle the night the way his mentors would have handled it. Cody said he wanted everyone involved to feel like they gave the audience their best effort.
“Companies change, directives change. That’s part of every walk of life, every type of entertainment. I really just wanted to take a page out of the guys who had been mentors for me. I thought a lot about my dad and I thought a lot about Hunter and how they would deal with something that was unique. You’re wrestling the guy who you’ve got, you know, almost 20 years of history with, but then there’s this unbelievably bold Pat McAfee character with such a crossover appeal and doing so great on ESPN. And then there’s Jelly Roll who’s just coming off winning these Grammys. I just wanted to make it work for the night.”
“For everyone to feel, you know, that that we had given them our best efforts. I have looking back at it, I may be thinking too internally about it, but internally I was so proud because it was, you know, you’re dealing with a lot of big big names and and potentially a lot of big egos and and I wanted to do right again by the people who raised me in the business and hey, I’m going to make this work and uh not just make it work, I’m going to make it sing if I can.”
Then Ariel asked if Cody would have done anything differently. That is when Cody admitted that he did have a backstage outburst afterward, and he was surprised it never got out. Cody said the second he got back to his bus, he realized that kind of reaction was not who he wants to be anymore.
“In retrospect, I had a bit of an outburst backstage, which shockingly didn’t get reported because it seems like everything gets reported. I knew right when I got to my bus, and when I say outbursts, it’s like me muttering some curse words like on the Christmas story and yelling and you know knocking over some water bottles. Nothing too intense.”
“But I remember getting to my bus and thinking, ‘Yeah, you outgrew that. That we’re not you if you want if if you want a job, you know, in the wrestling space, nobody has a harder job than Triple H right now. There’s never been a booker in the history of the business that has just been beloved and revered the entire time. Nobody has a harder job and no one can do that job better than he can do it. And I it’s obviously something that interests me too. So I remember thinking when I got to the bus thinking, ‘Yeah, I I’ve outgrown that. I don’t need to be having temper tantrums. I need to be helping provide solutions.’”
Ariel then asked what caused the reaction. Cody refused to give the whole answer at first, but then said it may have been connected to someone dropping an F-bomb in the ring.
“I’m not going to tell you that, Ariel. Oh, no. I can’t. Hey, you know what? It’s s it’s probably such a nonfactor. I’m going to make a I think it was an f-bomb being dropped in the ring because I am genuinely a goodie two shoes whether people like to believe it or not.”
Cody then explained why he has a problem with that kind of language on WWE programming. It is not just about being clean. According to Cody, it actually hurts the show because the feed gets blacked out.
“And there’s really no room for those on our show because we get blacked out. Not only do you think you’re saying something cool, but they black the feed out in the States. So, you’re missing the show. And we got kiddos in the crowd. that their first experience with the F-word does not need to come at a WWE show.”
So Cody did not describe some giant locker room meltdown. He said he muttered curse words, yelled, and knocked over water bottles. Still, he clearly did not like the way he handled it, and he connected that moment to a bigger point about wanting to be someone who helps fix problems instead of adding to them.
The F-bomb part is the bigger WWE takeaway. Cody believes there is no room for that on their show, especially if it causes the feed to get blacked out and fans miss what is happening. For him, it is not edgy. It just costs the audience part of the show.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
Do you agree with Cody Rhodes that F-bombs have no place on WWE TV, or should WWE loosen up a little? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
