Cody Rhodes Reveals Wife’s Role In “Raheem” WWE Joke
Cody Rhodes has given some insight into how his wife encouraged his joke on WWE SmackDown.
During a promo on the February 6th edition of WWE SmackDown, former 2-time Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes got some attention when he made a size reference, and we’re talking about his arms. While addressing the CM Punk-Roman Reigns match at WrestleMania 42, Rhodes uttered this eye-catching line:
“And besides, I heard it was gonna be a ‘you know what’ measuring contest. Well, they’re both glad I’m not in it, because I didn’t get the nickname Raheem for no reason.”
It was the kind of line that was obviously tongue-in-cheek and done to get people talking.
While speaking with Jonathan Hood, Cody discussed how he thought about the line before the promo, and his wife, Brandi Rhodes, encouraged him to use it.
“I had told her that I might say it. I felt bad because I told her and then she said, ‘Oh, you have to say it. It’s funny.’ I didn’t wanna come at Roman or Punk in an adversarial way. I’m not wrestling either of you. You guys are wrestling each other and it’s awesome.”
“I wanted to come at it with a little bit of levity because I knew others were gonna come at it from a different perspective, and I thought that was funny but then I felt bad because I don’t ever want anybody to get married to a line. I’m like, ‘Oh, well, if I can’t say that…’ I did my field testing of it and I hope I didn’t offend anybody with it.”
Regarding the tone of the “Raheem” size joke, the American Nightmare said it was meant to be positive.
“I very much stood by it and when you see a Manchester United in the bio and an anime picture as the avatar complaining about it, I gotta ask, what are we really complaining about here? This is more of a positive joke than there could ever be about gifted men. I can’t really be mad at that and I can’t really walk that one back.”
Cody Rhodes Is Focusing On His Own Road To WrestleMania
While CM Punk is facing Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42, as long as Punk can get by Finn Balor at Elimination Chamber, Cody Rhodes is still trying to find his own path to WrestleMania 42. Cody can still deliver some fun lines like the “Raheem” bit, but he’s looking ahead ot WrestleMania.
“I said, ‘I’m not gonna spend my road to WrestleMania talking about two other guys. This is where it ends for me,’ and I picked a great place to do it. Charlotte, North Carolina, was the place so, yes, I said it, and that’s where I’m at.”
The next WWE PLE is Elimination Chamber on February 28th in Chicago. Here’s the lineup so far:
- Men’s Elimination Chamber Match: Randy Orton vs. LA Knight vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Trick Williams vs. Jey Uso
- World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk vs. Finn Balor
- Women’s Elimination Chamber Match: Rhea Ripley vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka vs. Kiana James vs. Raquel Rodriguez
- Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee
You can watch WWE Elimination Chamber, streaming live on Saturday, February 28, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ESPN in the United States and Netflix everywhere else.