Cody Rhodes Doubles Down on False Narrative About Unscripted WWE RAW Promo

Cody Rhodes has been telling fans for years that his emotional promo on the April 4, 2022, episode of Monday Night RAW was completely unscripted. He even doubled down on that claim during a post-show speech in Dallas after RAW on January 20, but the truth is—his words were anything but spontaneous.

Rhodes wrestled Carmelo Hayes in a dark match that night before grabbing a mic and reminding fans about the promo he cut in the same arena nearly three years ago. “I came back at WrestleMania 38. The following night on RAW, I put out what I call a mission statement. There was no script, nobody knew what I was going to say, I was speaking from my heart about what I wanted, what I wanted in my pro wrestling journey and what I wanted out of returning to WWE,” Rhodes told the crowd. He then proudly declared, “You have no idea how sweet it is that I didn’t lie to you people.”

That speech sounded great in the moment, but a source within WWE’s writing team previously told Ringside News that Rhodes’ promo was “100% scripted” from start to finish.

It turns out that Vince McMahon personally approved the entire segment the Friday before it aired, down to the dramatic pause before Rhodes delivered the line, “or did it?” The handshake with Seth Rollins that night? That was planned, too, with McMahon deciding exactly who would extend their hand first.

This isn’t the first time Rhodes has insisted that he went off the cuff that night. He made the same claim on an episode of WWE’s The Bump in 2022, saying, “I was just able to go out and speak in an unscripted, raw fashion and tell a story about my dad that not everybody knows. I actually have the title I spoke about, but not everybody knows that story.”

Cody Rhodes may love the idea of his RAW return promo being a raw, unfiltered moment, but the facts say otherwise. WWE had the entire speech mapped out, from the dramatic pauses to the handshake with Seth Rollins, all approved by Vince McMahon himself. Whether Rhodes is just trying to add to his legacy or genuinely believes his own version of events, the truth is out there. Fans might appreciate the passion, but claiming it was unscripted when it wasn’t? That’s a different story.

Why do you think Cody Rhodes keeps pushing the idea that the promo was unscripted? Let us know what you think in the comments.