Cody Rhodes is giving Fallon Henley a heads-up about life on WWE’s main roster, and basically, the message is simple: be ready to run.
While speaking on his What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast, Cody praised NXT for teaching talent how to work, tell stories, and understand match structure. But he said there is one thing that really only hits you once you get to RAW or SmackDown: the insane time crunch of live TV.
“One of the things that… can only be taught by the natural experience of bouncing around, trying to climb the ladder, trying to get here in the first place… Shawn’s going to teach them pretty much everything they need to know about wrestling psychology. You’re going to get so much from Terry about finishes… But one of my things that I know is not taught necessarily when they come up… is time management when it comes to how SmackDown and Raw work.”
Cody then laid out what that day can actually look like. One second, someone is being told to shoot a walk-in. The next, they are apparently late for a rehearsal that was booked right on top of it.
“It is terrifying that you get there and it’s, ‘Tommy’ or ‘Kasama, we’re doing your walk in 30 minutes.’ As soon as your walk-in’s done, ‘Can you be at the ring? You’re late for your rehearsal,’ which you booked the walk. How am I late for the rehearsal? They have a job to do, so you can’t get mad at them. But then also you’re trying to focus on the content. I’m going to deliver this unbelievable promo. I’m going to do something physically impressive.”
That is the part fans do not always see. The match might be the big thing on TV, but before that, there could be arrivals, backstage pieces, rehearsals, promos, production notes, and sponsor obligations all stacked into one day.
“You get there and they’re like, ‘All right, segment one arrival, segment one promo, segment sixteen is going to be the match.’ Then there’s all these other ones again… here’s Tommy, here’s Kusama, here’s the new guy from the writing crew. You’ve got to do this warm-up and it’s sponsored by… it’s just a whole lot of stress.”
Even with all that pressure, Cody said Fallon already looks like she is handling the jump well. He told her she has been composed during her early weeks on SmackDown and asked if she feels fully ready for everything that comes with the move.
“I feel that’s where I’ve seen you… you’re excelling at this so far. It’s hard to get it all to where… you don’t want to feel like you overcame. You want to feel like you were fully prepared. Do you feel like you’re fully prepared?”
Fallon gave the honest answer. Nobody is ever really 100% ready, but she believes NXT gave her enough experience and coaching to be as prepared as possible.
“I feel like I’m as prepared as I can be. I’ve had so much experience, I’ve had so many teachers, and I feel like they always say you’re never going to be 100% ready, but I feel like I’m as ready as I can be now given everything that I’ve gone through and everything that I’ve learned.”
The American Nightmare had a very Cody warning. Even when someone thinks everything is under control, wrestling always finds a way to throw something ridiculous at them.
“When you’re 100% ready, things like what happened to me at WrestleMania happen where you just pull your tights up just an extra… and the knee completely rips. Whenever you’re 100% ready, that’s Curveball City.”
So there it is. Cody Rhodes thinks Fallon Henley has the tools, but he also knows RAW and SmackDown move at a different speed. NXT can prepare someone for the ring, but the chaos of live WWE television is something talent has to survive in real time.
What do you think about Cody Rhodes’ advice to Fallon Henley about WWE’s main roster schedule? Please share your thoughts and leave your feedback in the comments below.
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