Cody Rhodes On His Frustrations With The Rock & John Cena
Cody Rhodes has admitted he was dealing with some serious resentment towards The Rock and John Cena prior to his original WWE departure.
Cody Rhodes left WWE in 2016 to make his own mark on the wrestling world and he did exactly that, helping launch All Elite Wrestling in 2019. In February 2022, however, the wrestling world was stunned when it was announced that both Cody and Brandi Rhodes were leaving AEW, and before long Cody’s destination became obvious.
The American Nightmare re-debuted at WrestleMania 38 where he was the surprise opponent for Seth Rollins. Rhodes picked up a hat trick of big wins over Rollins but then found himself on the sidelines with a torn pectoral muscle.
Cody Rhodes returned to a WWE ring at the 2023 Royal Rumble, competing in the men’s Rumble match and becoming the fifth star in history to win the Rumble from the number 30 position.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani for BT Sport after his monumental win, Rhodes reflected on his darker days in WWE and how he found himself jealous of megastars such as The Rock and John Cena and how that led to him throwing his drink at a bus that bared both men’s faces:
“For whatever reason, I was drinking Yoohoo, and [the bus] had been in front of me for about a year, and I get it, it’s Cena, it’s Rock, but I was getting so close and getting knocked back down and I took the Yoohoo bottle and I threw it against the side of the bus and I told [Brandi] ‘I just can’t do this. I can’t be number 25 on the call sheet, I can’t even be 1b, man. I want to play quarterback.’
“Maybe I had some things when I left that I was right about, but there was a lot I wasn’t right about. … But yeah, I threw a Yoohoo bottle against The Rock’s face. Poor Rock, I’m so sorry.”
“These guys, they’re on top and on top and on top, and they’re on top for a reason. I just wanted to be in that spot and it took me some time to get even close to it.”
While Cody Rhodes has a place in the main event of WrestleMania 39 following his Rumble success, it looks like WWE has decided on a main event for February’s Elimination Chamber.