Cody Rhodes Almost Fought Ex-WWE Champion Backstage
Backstage fights are nothing new in the world of pro wrestling although, in recent times, many might think AEW had cornered the market in them but now Cody Rhodes has revealed the one WWE star he almost got into a brawl with.
Cody Rhodes returned to WWE after a six-year absence at WrestleMania 38 as the surprise opponent of Seth Rollins. This kicked off a trio of big matches between the two men which Rhodes won. The last of those bouts came at Hell In A Cell where The American Nightmare famously competed with a torn pec.
Speaking on the Dan LeBatard Show, Cody Rhodes has explained that the issues with Rollins weren’t just on-screen and says he can’t stand the former WWE Champion:
“I almost would say that I like less people than I dislike in terms of the backstage setting. The competition that exists in wrestling, you see that suspension of disbelief on-screen, but backstage it is very real in terms of the competition, who is going to be on top. For example, who is going to headline WrestleMania. This year, being Roman Reigns and myself, it doesn’t garner a lot of friends.
“Seth Rollins is the closest I’ve ever had to backstage turning into a fist fight in front of all of our peers and upper management. It didn’t happen. Him and I absolutely can’t stand one another, I’d probably try and rip his eyes out.”
The situation with Rhodes and Rollins didn’t erupt into violence but The American Nightmare revealed that he has gotten into one scrap backstage in the past:
“I’ve had one backstage skirmish. I’m not going to name the guy. The good thing is, I won. When I came back, this is early in my career, he was wearing one of my vests. I have these special leather vests that I wore as part of my entrance. He was wearing it and kind of mocking me at the talent viewing position.
“As I went walking towards him, I thought I was going to headbutt him, but a headbutt seems pretty violent these days. I thought, ‘why don’t I just grapple him?’ I have a good folkstyle Greco background. I got an over-under and swept him to the floor. Then I took my jacket and I looked like a complete jerk in front of everybody because he was probably just having a good time and it was probably funny. Only one fight backstage and I won that fight.”
Cody Rhodes will need to keep all his grappling skills for the ring on April 2nd when he challenges Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39.