Cody Rhodes comments on the recent changes in WWE.
Rhodes worked with WWE in the early years of his career; in those days, Vince McMahon was the chairman and CEO of the company. Cody requested his release from WWE in 2016 and, after he spent some time wrestling around the world for promotions like ROH and NJPW, he helped found AEW in 2019. Rhodes was arguably the face of the company, but he left the company in February 2022. He then returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38. Following a memorable feud with Seth Rollins, Rhodes was forced to miss several months due to a torn pectoral muscle, which he wrestled through in a Hell in a Cell Match against Rollins.
During Rhodes' time away, McMahon retired amid a WWE board investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and hush money, and Triple H took over as the head of creative. Rhodes returned to WWE at the Royal Rumble premium live event and won the Men's Royal Rumble to earn a world title shot at WrestleMania 39. He is set to face Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at the show.
Speaking with Alex McCarthy of Daily Mail, Rhodes commented on the transition from McMahon to Triple H. He emphasized that he appreciated the way the company communicated with him while he was recovering from his injury. Rhodes noted that he was in touch with McMahon and Triple H, and while the two men might have different creative visions, he's focused on being at his best. Rhodes also stated that while behind-the-scenes stories can be fun, he's focused on making sure his on-screen story is what matters.
"One of the really nice things was the amount of communication. It’s already a downtrodden, melancholy situation when you’re injured and you’re on your couch. This happened very quickly, I’m not really up and moving and I’m not hitting the weights, I’m not in that process of getting near coming back. At the time when the transition happened, I wasn’t even close to coming back and I was communicated with every step of the way. I was communicated with by Vince and by Triple H. That was very nice. I was never left in the dark on anything and obviously, these are different visions, they change. My transaction needs to be simple. I don’t need to be caught up in whatever is happening behind the scenes. Those stories can be fun but I need my story on the screen to be the more important story. For that to happen I need to be at the very best. Best as a superstar, best as a wrestler because then the other stuff will come. You won't have to worry about, 'Does he like me, does she like me, do they like me?' It’s the best I could be was the best I could be. I did not notice any elements of the transition that were chaotic, everyone communicated with me. As a wrestler in his prime and also a veteran wrestler, that makes you feel very wanted and very needed. It filled me up and gave me confidence in my rehab," Rhodes said.
McMahon returned to WWE on January 6, and he was voted the Executive Chairman of the Board on January 10. More information is available here.
In the same interview, Rhodes commented on the rumors about The Rock potentially competing at WrestleMania 39. Check out his comments here.
Rhodes recently expressed his interest in facing Gunther in Europe. Click here to see what he had to say.
Click here to see what Rhodes had to say about potentially bringing back the Winged Eagle Championship.