Why Cody Rhodes Didn’t Believe He Could Be WWE Champion

Cody Rhodes has revealed that he didn’t think he could be WWE Champion due to his appearance.

At WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, Cody Rhodes finished his story by becoming the WWE Champion. Cody would go on to hold the WWE Championship for more than a year – 378 days to be exact, until John Cena cheated his way to a record 17th WWE World Championship.

This Sunday, August 3rd, at WWE SummerSlam, Cody Rhodes will challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship in a rematch of what happened at WrestleMania 41.

Many people believe that Cody is going to be a two-time WWE Champion at SummerSlam since Cena is retiring at the end of the year, and it would be a big deal for Cody to beat Cena for the WWE Title.

During an appearance on ESPN’s First Take, Cody Rhodes admitted there was a time in his career when he felt like he wasn’t buff enough to be the WWE Champion. He also admitted that he was a slow learner.

“Oh, slow learner for one. Slow learner. And I had all the great teachers. But this is going to sound real surface level—I also don’t think I was buff enough. I don’t think I was jacked up enough. Yeah, you can’t be the face of the company or champion if you look like you’re bagging groceries. You know what I’m saying?

Like… I know that’s a terrible answer by today’s standards, but it’s just real. If I look back at it, I think I needed to fill out a little bit more. Who knows? Probably a lot deeper stuff than that.”

Cody Rhodes Doesn’t See A Heel Run Happening Anytime Soon

For the majority of the last three years, Cody Rhodes has been arguably the most popular wrestler in WWE. The fans are still behind him, but with John Cena seemingly turning babyface on SmackDown in Newark, some fans believe Cody could go back to his heel ways from early in his WWE run.

In an interview before this week’s SmackDown took place, Cody Rhodes seemed to shoot down the idea of a heel turn.

“I always like to say in what we do, never say never. And the more you’re in this, it’s probably likely. But I think my version of a heel is just way too… I don’t know. I wouldn’t have music. The song would go away. The entrance would go away. I’d try to get myself canceled. I don’t know if it would even translate.

Never say never, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon.”

Any wrestling fan could also read that and think if a guy is going to turn heel, it’s not like he would say it in a public interview, so that’s why fans still think it’s a possibility.