Cody Rhodes Says WWE Needs More Jacked-Up Bodybuilder Dudes

Cody Rhodes thinks something from wrestling’s past is missing in WWE today — the massive, old-school bodybuilder look.

While speaking on the What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast on March 4, 2026, Rhodes talked about how modern WWE rosters are filled with athletes who look fit, but rarely resemble the larger-than-life bodybuilders that defined earlier eras of the company.

Rhodes admitted he actually misses the type of physique that once dominated WWE locker rooms in the 1980s and 1990s — even if those wrestlers weren’t always the easiest to work with in the ring.

“I know you’d hate this and hate working with them, but I’m looking for us to get some jacked-up bodybuilder dudes again — like real ’90s style. Need them. The ones that all the boys can’t stand. Just someone where you look at them and go, ‘Look at that look,’ and then we all have to figure out how to work with that. I’d say that’s something that’s missing in WWE right now — the old legit bodybuilder type. Like, look at him, he just looks great.”

GUNTHER quickly pointed out the obvious obstacle — WWE’s modern wellness policy, which makes the exaggerated physiques of past eras much harder to achieve. He responded:

“Yeah, I mean it’s our wellness policy, so it won’t happen. You’ve got to get a natural bodybuilder, and they’re not that big.”

Rhodes then went deeper into why the topic frustrates him. Rhodes explained that when he thinks about ideal wrestling physiques, he still pictures the exaggerated bodybuilder look made famous in earlier eras.

“I heard this term the other day and I hated it. Because I always say there are two pictures I look at when I think about the physical I want to get shredded by. One is Triple H at WrestleMania 18, which is just absurd, and the other is Stallone in Rambo 3, where you can see his cheekbones.”

From there, Cody Rhodes said someone recently used the phrase “athletic build” to describe the modern WWE roster — a description he admitted he absolutely hates. He made it clear he just wants to see a classic bodybuilder back in WWE, even if they are a thing of the past now.

“But I heard this term the other day where someone described how in WWE you may not be in crazy shape, but everyone who is in shape just has an ‘athletic build.’ I hate the term athletic build. Man, I just want one bodybuilder back in the mix — just one full-blooded bodybuilder. We don’t really have those anymore. The bodybuilders are dinosaurs. They went away. The asteroid hit them.”

In the end, while WWE today is filled with elite athletes, Cody Rhodes clearly misses the era when someone could walk into the arena and instantly stand out just because of how massive they looked.

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