Cody Rhodes is still carrying the WWE Championship, but according to him, he did it after taking serious damage in his WestleMania match with Randy Orton and returning to action just one week later.
During an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up ahead of WWE Clash in Italy, Cody was asked about his previous showdown with Orton. The host brought up the brutal damage Cody endured, including a punt to the head after the bell had already sounded. Cody made it clear that Orton caught him with everything he had, but the WWE Champion was still standing with the title in his possession.
“Well, I am standing here with the WWE Championship still, so victorious at that, but I took his best shot when the bell had already rung, a punt to the side of the head, and left quite a mark. But I’m here. I’m standing. I feel good, right?”
The conversation then got much more specific. The Get Up host stated that Cody left the match with a severely damaged orbital socket, a left eye that was completely swollen shut, multiple staples in his head, concussion protocol and compression to his spine. Instead of playing down the situation, Cody leaned directly into it and pointed out that none of it kept him from wrestling again the following week.
“Well, I’m here and I’m holding the WWE Championship. So, most important thing, and all that concussion protocol and the fact that this thing was completely swollen shut, staples to the back of the head, stitches to the front of the head, I still found a way to wrestle the following week.”
Cody then gave himself a little credit for pushing through that kind of punishment after Orton’s attack.
“So, built a little different. Yeah. I’m feeling real braggadocious about it. You know, built different, gave me his best shot and I came and wrestled the next week.”
Cody is now heading into another major title defense against Gunther at WWE Clash in Italy. After describing what he endured against Orton, Rhodes is clearly trying to send the message that hurting him and taking the WWE Championship from him are two very different things.
What do you make of Cody Rhodes wrestling again just one week after the injuries he described from his match with Randy Orton? Let us know in the comments.
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