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The Breakfast Club
INTERVIEW: Cody Rhodes Talks WrestleMania 42, 'STREET FIGHTER,' & Return To WWE After AEW Departure +More
00:38:08
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- [00:00]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.
- [00:05]
Nick Dickenpole Show Host
On paper, the three hosts of the Nick Dickenpole show are geniuses. We can explain how AI works, data centers, but there are certain things that we don't necessarily understand better version of
- [00:18]
Cody Rhodes
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
- [00:20]
Guest or Co-host
Yes.
- [00:21]
Cody Rhodes
Which, by the way, wasn't Taylor Swift who said that for the first time. I actually, I thought it was.
- [00:24]
Miles Turner
I got that wrong.
- [00:25]
Nick Dickenpole Show Host
But hey, no one's perfect. We're pretty close, though. Listen to the Nick, Dick and Paul show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple PODC, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:35]
Cody Rhodes
Then she says, have you seen a photo of my son? And I'm like, who is this person?
- [00:40]
Boys and Girls Podcast Host
Welcome to the boys and girls podcast. Arranged marriage is basically a reality show and you're auditioning for your soulmate. And who's judging? Only your entire family. I sacrificed myself to this ancient tradition, hoping to find love the right way. And instead I found chaos, comedy, and a lot of cringe. Listen to boys and Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:05]
Bob Pittman
Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, and I'm kicking off a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Stories from the frontiers of Marketing. Math and Magic takes you behind the scenes of the biggest businesses and industries while sharing insights from the smartest minds in marketing. Coming up this season on Math and Magic, CEO of Liquid Death, Mike Cesario.
- [01:25]
Cody Rhodes
People think that creative ideas are like
- [01:28]
John Green
these light bulb moments that happen when
- [01:30]
Cody Rhodes
you're in the shower where it's really a stone sculpture. You're constantly just chipping away and refining.
- [01:36]
Bob Pittman
Take to interactive CEO Strauss Selnick and our own Chief Business Officer, Lisa Coffey. Listen to Math and magic on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [01:46]
Amy Robach
Hey there, folks. Amy Robach and T.J. holmes here and
- [01:49]
Cody Rhodes
we know there is a lot of news coming at you these days. From the war with Iran to the ongoing Epstein fallout, government shutdowns, high profile trials, and what the hell is that Blake Lively thing about?
- [02:00]
Amy Robach
Anyway, we are on it every day, all day.
- [02:03]
Cody Rhodes
Follow us, Amy and TJ for news updates throughout the day.
- [02:07]
Amy Robach
Listen to Amy and TJ on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
- [02:16]
Bleacher Report Host
The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports right now. The NBA's heating up, March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment. You've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real. Time scores, breaking news and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment.
- [02:49]
Cody Rhodes
Wake your ass up. The Breakfast Club.
- [02:51]
Brianna Stewart
Y' all finished or y' all done?
- [02:53]
DJ Envy
Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious. Charlamagne, the guy. We are the breakfast club. Lauren LaRose is here as well. We got a special guest in the building.
- [03:01]
Co-host or Interviewer
Yes, we do.
- [03:01]
Cody Rhodes
Cody Rose.
- [03:02]
DJ Envy
Welcome, sir.
- [03:03]
Cody Rhodes
Thank you. I clapped for myself.
- [03:04]
DJ Envy
You clap for yourself.
- [03:05]
Cody Rhodes
It's all good. It is all good. Thank you guys for having me.
- [03:08]
DJ Envy
How you feeling?
- [03:08]
Cody Rhodes
I'm good.
- [03:09]
DJ Envy
From wwe?
- [03:10]
Cody Rhodes
Yeah. No, I brought the WWE title, too.
- [03:12]
DJ Envy
I see.
- [03:13]
Cody Rhodes
I see the big one.
- [03:14]
DJ Envy
So I like to start from the beginning. So what got you into wrestling? And I know you're gonna say your dad, but besides your dad, what got you into wrestling where you said, I can do this and I want to do this?
- [03:23]
Cody Rhodes
Well, I mean, there's obviously the osmosis in terms of, like you said, the familial connection to it. But really, what got me into it, because he was. My dad was much older. I didn't see him wrestling. His prime was going to those shows, the WCW shows when I was a kid. And this is. These are markets like Savannah, Georgia, and, you know, Macon and Chattanooga and those crowds. There's a wrestler named Brad Armstrong used to just do a move, an arm drag, basic wrestling move. But I remember watching it and hearing the reaction, and there was just this, like, deafening pop for this physical, simple, basic stuff. And that's where I fell in love with it. It was more almost hearing it than seeing it. Just because the interaction. That's the cool thing about pro wrestling is we're very reliant on our audience. And it's fun to be in New York, because the audience in New York is. Can be tricky.
- [04:13]
Brianna Stewart
Yeah.
- [04:13]
Cody Rhodes
So, yeah, no, that was. That was the moment that. That arm drag is actually the one where I thought, I can do this. This. Yeah.
- [04:19]
Co-host or Interviewer
When did you know you wanted to be a professional wrestler?
- [04:21]
Cody Rhodes
I mean, so it. This is funny. My dad, he played, like, baseball. He's like one of those classic 60s, 70s where they played every sport and somehow were great at all of them. You know, all that. But none of them in my family actually did real folk style, Greco, freestyle, what you would see in the Olympics, that type of wrestling. So I plugged into that really early in my career, because this is gonna sound silly now, but I didn't want. If anyone ever thought that my dad was, you know, like this phony TV wrestler, I always wanted to have this little edge. Like, well, you know, I got this and that. That was the thing I loved the most. But I knew that I wanted to go into pro wrestling more. The storytelling at a very, very young age. My fear, when I was 17, 18, I'm getting ready to pop out and go, go for it, was I wasn't big enough. Right. You watch this.
- [05:15]
DJ Envy
I was gonna say that. I was gonna say most wrestlers, when you see them, they're gigantic. It looks like they're roided up very big. Huge next poise, very strong big necks. But I didn't see that from you, boss.
- [05:25]
Cody Rhodes
Yeah, no, I. Today I'm lucky. It's a light heavyweight game. I'm. I'm one of them. Just pretty 2 degrees sometimes 1 of the bigger guys now, which is not the case with my WrestleMania opponent, which is Randy Orton, which is one of the more old school types, you know, 6, 6, 280 legitimate pounds. Giant neck. Giant like. Yeah, no, but that was my fear. And it wasn't until I saw, you know, Macho Man. Randy Savage is a great example of somebody who wasn't big, but he made himself big. It's the out, you know, the outfits, the pageantry, but also how he moved in the ring. He. He gave himself this larger than life approach. And again, this is storytelling. It can be whatever we want. So I, after I got over that fear, I was able to just jump right in.
- [06:13]
DJ Envy
How difficult was it to make it professional? What were the steps to actually get into professional wrestling opposed to those markets? Because we hear all the time that it was like, it's just a lucky star. One day somebody put you on and the crowd will scream your name. How difficult was it for you to get it, to get to that?
- [06:29]
Cody Rhodes
Well, so for me, getting in is not difficult at all. Is the easiest thing ever. And I have the absolute respect and love for guys who are out on the independent scene, hustling and hustling and hustling. Because for me, it was the last name and it was out of respect for my dad. We'll give him. We'll give him a job. Yeah, the, the issue then becomes that's easy getting in the door. But if you're filling those boots or people think you're filling those boots, or you're in that shadow. And my brother too, this is two generations now. Who have made a big impact in wwe. That's where it became very, very difficult. So it's a trade off, you get in the door, but also you're know, living up to an incredibly well revered professional wrestler whose contributions still are happening in the industry. That's where it became very hard. And I would say I'm a fairly slow learner. I didn't pop off in a way where I could feel like, hey, they're into this, they're. These are my people. Like, ah, yeah, that, like I didn't get that until mid-30s. And I. Now you. It's the elusive connection that John Cena always taught us about and preached to me because I drove John around for a few years. It just came a little later for me, but it's still, still there. So hanging on, how did you keep
- [07:48]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
yourself together like mentally, like, you know, motivating yourself when things didn't pop off right away because you have like the shadow of like your family and you're, you know, expecting all this stuff.
- [07:59]
Cody Rhodes
I wish I could say I handled things really maturely and diplomatically, but if I. I started at WWE when I was 20 years old, so I was a baby when I started there. And up until 30 they treated me like I was a baby still, even though I'd grown and I'd wrestled Triple H and I'd been in the ring with the Undertaker, I'd taken this. I drove John around, I drove Randy around. I'd learned, but I was still treated a little bit as a kid. So I, I walked, I walked and did what we would say is like reverse order. I went and did independent wrestling. I went to New Japan Pro Wrestling. Me and my buddy started our own alternative wrestling promotion that actually made it to linear cable. And then it was time to come home. And then coming home, I got treated very differently. So I don't know if that's the advice I would give because I think most of the times I say, hey, you stand in there, you weather the storm. But this was a case where I just took my ball somewhere else but was able to really sharpen my skills and see what's out there and bring it back. I couldn't. You, you gotta find yourself. So I can't really hate on them for bad booking or bad. There was that, sure. But I hadn't found who I was. And I think when I came back I at least had an idea. I think this is me. Yeah, I think you'll like this. You know.
- [09:09]
DJ Envy
You know, I was going to ask, you know, I Was reading an article and said WWE's roster is older than ever. Right. This is the oldest we've seen. Right.
- [09:16]
Cody Rhodes
Seasoned, they say seasoned?
- [09:17]
DJ Envy
Yeah.
- [09:18]
Cody Rhodes
They said most of them are over
- [09:19]
DJ Envy
35 and in their 40s, but usually it's a lot younger. Why do you think that is?
- [09:24]
Cody Rhodes
Well, it goes. It goes in phases. So in like the golden 80s, it was. We used to joke wrestler prime for the man was 35 to 42. That's in the golden 80s. And that's because they needed all that experience. Psychologically. They worked. They did this town to town. The live crowds are everything. How do you work with a live crowd? How do you involve them with this? We're not doing this just for each other, and we're not doing this just for the camera. How are they involved that now has cycled back because a few years ago they brought in. It was what I'd say is like all freshmen on a varsity team. There's this famous picture of me and CM Punk and. And Matt Cardona and we're all babies. And we had won the big titles, but we didn't have a clue really, at that point. We didn't have that experience. So now I think you're getting back into where you've got. I know exactly who we're talking about here. Roman, Me, Punk, Randy. The main events of WrestleMania.
- [10:19]
DJ Envy
Right.
- [10:20]
Cody Rhodes
I just like to say it's a very experienced crew and I, I do feel I'm in my prime. I. I really do. It could be over tomorrow because I've been doing this and falling down since I was 20, but I feel like I'm there. And I think WWE, Shawn Michaels particular shout out to Sean. What they're doing at NXT is making it so that when it's time, you know, if I take a bad bump tonight and all a sudden I do feel it. I feel my age and that. That older seeps in. I can tell you who can step in. He already visited here. Trick Williams.
- [10:50]
Co-host or Interviewer
Oh, tr.
- [10:50]
Cody Rhodes
Yeah, that's a. That's. That's a. That's a baby, right? Trick Williams. Oba Kit Wilson's out there doing an incredible job I'm not giving nothing up for, but I know they're. I know they're there and they're. They're such great, like, young guys that we have on the show right now. And Sean got them all ready at nxt. Ethan Page, Ricky Saints, they're all gonna make their way up here. It'll. It'll cycle back to where it's too young. So let it be. Let it be a little older. Let it be a little old.
- [11:17]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
I know you said you're not saying you're not giving nothing up right now, but, you know, with your relationship with John Cena, Right. And watching how he, like, decided to, like, step away and doing other things, how have you began thinking about, like, once you do decide, like, all right, I want to do other things and not be in the ring?
- [11:32]
Cody Rhodes
Well, he. He's been really good about basically knowing when, because I think he had told me the number he gave me was he thinks he did his retirement three years too late. Like, he. He was. He was really feeling it, you know, because I had gotten in the ring with him in MetLife, and I. He felt like the best he'd ever been, but I imagine that was. Wasn't able to do it as consistently as he used to do. Right. So he had just giving me the iggy to be honest with myself when it's time to let WWE know, hey, I think this next year, I'm gonna wind down, or I'll do less dates or this day and then plug into some other ways to tell stories. Like, I just got the opportunity to do the movie Street Fighter. So excited about that. Oh, yeah, Tell us. It's. It felt very similar to me. It's just a different way of telling a story. And I. I plugged into that, and I think I'll do more of that in the next five years. Um, and. And then maybe that's a transition that just naturally takes place. I don't feel it yet, though. And I'm not lying to you.
- [12:30]
Brianna Stewart
Yeah.
- [12:30]
Cody Rhodes
Like, I don't. I don't. I don't feel yet. But I will be honest, because again, doing this since 20 and actually watching my dad and brother, where they're. My dad had. His legs were black and blue is beat up, and that's tough. I got two little girls. One's four, 17 months.
- [12:47]
Co-host or Interviewer
Congratulations.
- [12:48]
Cody Rhodes
Thank you so much. Thank you. Yeah, I don't want them to be. I don't want to. I won't be able to pick them up. So if I get the sense where we're near that, like, I'm an old man all sudden, then.
- [12:58]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
Then I'll know you said you're not ready yet, but then you put five years on it. So you've kind of been closely thinking
- [13:03]
Cody Rhodes
about, yeah, I'm giving. I'm giving scoops without realizing I'm giving scoops. I probably have five years left on paper, you know, so that. Yeah. But by then, if I Get there. I could say, hey, no, I could keep going. It's really all a matter of the. The modern WWE schedule isn't what it used to be. The grind is different. The grind's still there, but it's not up, down, bump every night, a town. It's not. Not the same. So with everything we do today and like the modern wwe, which is far healthier, I really don't know what the, what the. What the spot is, but I bet you it's right around there.
- [13:34]
DJ Envy
And your wife is. Was a wrestler too.
- [13:36]
Cody Rhodes
Yeah.
- [13:37]
DJ Envy
So how was that? When y' all get into arguments?
- [13:39]
Cody Rhodes
No, but my wife is just. My, my wife, she trained at nxt, which was the, the performance, you know, where we were developing wrestlers. And then they. They were down a ring announcer and they, hey, can you. It's one of those. Can you do this? I could. And she came up and she was the ring announcer and. And that's where we met. And then she. She went over to Japan. I remember, poor girl. She wrestled three matches with her collarbone totally broken. I never need to. I never needed to see my wife wrestle or know that she's a wrestler to know she's just a very tough woman. She's from Detroit. She's a very. Her. Just the way she looks at people when she's in a bad mood. Brandy's got a different spirit than I have. You know how people are confrontational and non confrontational. I'm a non confrontational person. My wife's a confrontational.
- [14:29]
DJ Envy
So you run.
- [14:30]
Cody Rhodes
So, so I'm. I'm there to. I'm on the side. I'm adjacent.
- [14:33]
Co-host or Interviewer
Let me say she. She's a black woman, so I know she'd be like, get the hell up out of here.
- [14:38]
DJ Envy
She.
- [14:38]
Cody Rhodes
She's. The things she's done in her, her career and in her life where she said, basically, we're up, we're leaving, or if I was down. Nope, we're not having that. Just really. I tell people all the time, like, it's all hers. I don't want to get, like, super emotional about it, but, like, it's every. Everything we have is. Oh, damn. Got me. It's. Is. Is hers because she, she put a lot over here so I could go and make these moves that I made. So.
- [15:09]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
Yeah, yeah, I know you mentioned. Yeah. Oh, no, go ahead. I think we're about to talk about Street Fighter.
- [15:13]
Co-host or Interviewer
Yeah, yeah, talk about that. How. How did that even come about? You were in the trailer. Everybody was excited about it.
- [15:18]
Cody Rhodes
Can I tell you a crazy Story about getting the role?
- [15:21]
Co-host or Interviewer
Yes.
- [15:22]
Cody Rhodes
I didn't think so. Roman Reigns has been announced as Akuma. And I thought, oh, man, dang, man, I'm. That's awesome. Good for him. But also, like, hey, man, like, I was really happy for him, right? I didn't think they'd be interested in anybody else from the wrestling space, but I got a call saying, would you come to Legendary and meet the producer and meet and talk with a producer? I thought it was just a general meeting. Really sincerely thought it was a general meeting. And I thought, best case scenario, they're like, could you consult? Because I played this game and I love this game, and I had a buddy who played competitively in Japan. I'm like, man, I know enough.
- [15:59]
Co-host or Interviewer
That's right.
- [16:00]
Cody Rhodes
Maybe they'll have me as a consultant. If not, great meeting. Happy to go. I get there, and the director's on Zoom. He's in Australia. Producers across from me. I'm just thinking, okay, cool, we're gonna talk street fighter talk 1994, you know, and then they said, give us a second. The head of the studio wants to come down here. Okay, that's cool. I like meeting people, you know, this is a no pressure meeting for me. And she comes in and just like, all the aura and swagger you could imagine for just, just. And she kind of. The whole room is there, and she just hits it. She's like, hey, you know, I know your schedule is what it is, but we really like you for the role of Guile, and we think you'd be incredible. The dates are going to be what the dates are. These guys are going to give you the information, but I'm just happy to meet you. This is going to be awesome. She leaves.
- [16:46]
DJ Envy
Wow.
- [16:47]
Cody Rhodes
So I'm like, what? Like, what are we doing here? Like, is this real? And I'm, you know, I'm also, like, lying through my teeth a little bit because the guy's asking me, like, you think WWE will be okay with that? Yeah, they're going to be fine, Champ. Champ's gon leave for a bit. They're gonna be great. And thank Gosh, you know, WWE's president, Nick Khan knew. He knew the power. He understands movie and he knows. He knows. He understands. So it wasn't in Triple H. Understood. It was. It was an easy sell. But after I left, there was a. It was like. It was all set up. There's a Another wrestler in Hollywood. I'll just leave him nameless, who called me as I'm leaving, and he goes, hey, how'd that meeting go, like, he knew. He knew it was about to go down. So I told him, for the future. I go, you can tell me, like, I'm not going to blow it. You can tell me. But it was so much fun. And that's that set. Katau Sakurai, the director, incredible story. He's telling. So much fan service towards the game. Noah, Kalina and Koji, the three leads, you got your. Your Ryu, your Ken, and your Chun Li. They just. They're the hard soul of this thing. Yeah. And then Orville Peek, who's doing Vega, and. And, you know, Andrew Schultz and just this, like, wild collection around them. It really. They gave us a lot of room to play and have fun and find out, you know, in my case, like, who's Guile? Where does Gal fit in all this? Yeah, I'm very, very excited about it. Yeah, it's when I put the. When I put it on, the flat top, the wig, the flat top. Yeah. My costumes, you know, it's not much. It's the. The tank top, it's the fatigues, it's the boots, the tattoo and the. And when I put that on, I felt if it's a good performance because I felt like I was him. I didn't even like seeing the double with it. I'm like, nah, just me. Yeah, I'm the only one with this dude here, you know? Yeah. It's cool, though. The movie's gonna be great. And then I think in probably the next few weeks, there's probably some more about the movie coming out, so.
- [18:44]
Co-host or Interviewer
Congratulations.
- [18:45]
Cody Rhodes
Thank you. Thank you.
- [18:46]
DJ Envy
Yeah, I was gonna ask you, you know, with the ring, we had Trick up here, and he talked about his craziest time in the ring, right when things went left. What was your craziest time in the ring when something went left?
- [18:56]
Cody Rhodes
I mean, went left.
- [18:57]
DJ Envy
Yeah.
- [18:58]
Cody Rhodes
I've had so much stuff go left.
- [18:59]
DJ Envy
What's the worst one?
- [19:00]
Cody Rhodes
Go let. Okay, so Arne Anderson, right? Super important to my career legend. He helped develop Brock Lesnar, he helped develop John Cena, Randy Orton. He became my manager for a brief time. Right. Brief time. And really it was all about just having that rub up, that synergy with the old school. And since my dad's not with me anymore, I always liked having people in his life near me, kind of like surrogate uncles and dads. But he's older, right?
- [19:30]
Co-host or Interviewer
Yeah.
- [19:30]
Cody Rhodes
So the Arn is up there and he's standing there, he's got his slacks on, and I made him wear this Mike Ditka vest with My logo on it. He hated that. He's up on the top of the ramp and there's two guys who are running to fight us. And it was very clear he's gonna throw a punch. And you block this punch. I mean, it is like you just do this, that this is a clear thing, and then just start punching him in his name. You know, he'll. I'll fight the other guy and we'll fight to the ring. It'll be exciting. People love a fight that spills out all over the arena. Well, I'm standing there and here they come running. They're coming with full intent. I look over and he's just gone. He just fell into the pyro grave. So he's just fallen under the production, but I don't know how he fell, right? So multiple times with this, this og these incidents would happen. So that one, he fell and I could see the young guys, like trying to pull him up so you don't get blown up by the pyro, but also fight you back down the ramp. Another time in Arthur Ashe Stadium, he's supposed to be waiting on the backside of the ring and I'm getting ready to shoot the guy off towards him. He's nowhere to be found. And I just said, screw it. I shot the guy off anyways. There's no like, no like, because he went around the post and he just fell. I think in the end I was asking too much and he was of the thought, like, yeah, I can do it. Yeah. But a lot of great memories happen with my really brief run. I miss him because things like that would go. So I don't know if those are always great for tv, but they, they always went left with double A, which is great because he's a master and had done this game. He.
- [21:06]
Bob Pittman
Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, and I'm kicking off a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Magic. Stories from the frontiers of market. Math and Magic takes you behind the scenes of the biggest businesses and industries while sharing insights from the smartest minds in marketing, I'm talking to leaders from the entertainment industry, to finance, and everywhere in between. This season of Math and Magic, I'm talking to CEO of Liquid Death, Mike Cesario, financier and public health advocate, Mike Milken. Take Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick.
- [21:36]
John Green
If you're unable to take meaningful creative risk and therefore run the risk of making horrible creative mistakes, then you can't
- [21:44]
Cody Rhodes
play in this business.
- [21:45]
Bob Pittman
Sesame Street CEO Sherry Weston and our Own Chief Business Officer Lisa Coffey.
- [21:50]
Amy Robach
Making consumers see the value of the
- [21:54]
Cody Rhodes
human voice and to have that guaranteed
- [21:56]
Amy Robach
human promise behind it really makes it rise to the top.
- [22:00]
Bob Pittman
Listen to math and magic stories from the frontiers of Marketing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [22:08]
John Green
I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of the Fault in Our Stars and now, I guess also as the co host of the Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast.
- [22:16]
Guest or Co-host
I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, the Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World cup for us.
- [22:34]
John Green
Soccer. Football is a story we've shared for over 30 years, since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team.
- [22:42]
Guest or Co-host
Very debatable.
- [22:43]
John Green
And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, its hope, its heartbreak, and above all, its beauty.
- [22:54]
Guest or Co-host
Together we'll find out why of all the unimportant things football, soccer is the most important.
- [22:59]
John Green
Listen to the Away End with Daniel Alarcon and John green on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [23:08]
Amber Grimes
It's the new me and it's the old them.
- [23:11]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
Everybody's on their journey and your journey is different to theirs.
- [23:14]
Amber Grimes
This Women's History Month. The podcast if youf Knew Better with Amber Grimes spotlights women who turn missteps into momentum and lessons into power.
- [23:22]
Guest Speaker
I think coming out of where I came from, I'm from the Bronx. I think I grew up really big poor. I didn't know that then because I very much use my creativity to romanticize life. And I'm like, my mom did a really good job of like, you step back and you're like, whoa. We. I don't know how we made it. So a lot of my life was like, built out of, like, survival to get to the next place, like, my drive, my, like, tunnel vision of, like, I gotta be better, I gotta achieve this was off the strengths of, like, I want to make a better life for us.
- [23:53]
Amber Grimes
If youf Knew Better brings real talk from women who've lived it, unpacking, career pivots, relationship lessons, and the mindset shifts that changed everything. Listen to if youf Knew Better with Amber grimes on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [24:08]
Amy Robach
Hi, everyone. I'm Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things. I'm excited to share that I have a new podcast called Mind Over Mountain. In each episode, I interview athletes, adventurers, and adrenaline seekers to discuss the inner landscapes and life experiences that informed and inspired their extraordinary feats. I also bring a bit of advice into the mix so we, too, can better understand how to face our own seemingly insurmountable challenges.
- [24:38]
DJ Envy
Do you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to pull out what you already have inside. We come into this world fighting for our lives. All I'm going to do is pull out what you already got inside.
- [24:46]
Amy Robach
We're there to support and celebrate each other, and that's not like a your story versus my story. You're going to walk up and over that dang mountain. You're not just going to put your mind over it?
- [24:56]
Cody Rhodes
Yep, yep, Exactly.
- [24:58]
DJ Envy
And if I can't walk up and over it, I'm going to go through it.
- [25:00]
Amy Robach
Listen to Mind Over Mountain every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [25:10]
Miles Turner
What's up? I'm Miles Turner.
- [25:11]
Brianna Stewart
And I'm Brianna Stewart.
- [25:13]
Miles Turner
And our podcast, Game Recognized Game, has never been done before.
- [25:16]
Brianna Stewart
Two active players giving you a real look at our lives and what we actually think on and off the court.
- [25:22]
Miles Turner
Nothing's off limits. We talk trade requests.
- [25:25]
Brianna Stewart
What's the vibe of that? When it's like your star player is like, well, I want to leave, and then actually, now I'm going to stay. We talk tanking. I mean, honestly, like, I might get in trouble for this answer, but I think it's, like, definitely happening in the wnba.
- [25:40]
Miles Turner
And, yeah, we talk about our mistakes, too. They pulled me to the side and was like, hey, man, we got a call last night, and you can't be rolling around the city like this tonight before games. No. You know, doing this, doing whatever.
- [25:51]
Brianna Stewart
And of course, family stories. They'll be like, mommy, why did you miss that? Mommy, do you play basketball? Check out Game Recognized game with Stewie and miles on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [26:09]
Cody Rhodes
I appreciated that time we had together where we could have these fun moments, you know?
- [26:13]
DJ Envy
Got you now. WrestleMania 42 is coming up April 18th.
- [26:16]
Cody Rhodes
Yeah.
- [26:16]
DJ Envy
All right. So what should the people expect?
- [26:18]
Cody Rhodes
Oh, my gosh, it's Allegiance Stadium. Have you been to Allegiant Stadium?
- [26:21]
DJ Envy
No, I haven't. I've been to Vegas so many times. Haven't been there go.
- [26:24]
Cody Rhodes
They call it the Death Star.
- [26:26]
DJ Envy
Really? Why?
- [26:26]
Cody Rhodes
Yeah, because it's just a giant black out in the middle of the desert. I guess it gives like the doom and gloom of the Death Star from Star wars, but really cool. Great place to watch anything. But this year, if you went to last year, it was John Cena versus me, Las Vegas, you had a triple threat with Seth, Roman and Punk. This year you've got the main event, which is first time Punk, CM Punk versus Roman Reigns. And the main event on the other night, myself versus Randy Orton, which is 20, almost 20 years of real equity between each other. And I think wrestling is always best when it's real, if that. I know that sounds silly, but that's.
- [26:59]
DJ Envy
Yeah, that's a hard one.
- [27:00]
Cody Rhodes
But it's very real for me because this is the guy who brought me into the fold to be part of his faction. This is a guy who I drove from town to town, who I watched him in a WrestleMania main event against Triple H in 2009. He was genuinely my mentor in the industry. So to stand across the ring from each other in the biggest match that we do of the year knowing, like, hey, I need you to see me, like, I'm not a kid anymore. He's back to that. That's, that makes for great TV and, and that great, great, great matches. And I think I look forward to, to that moment. But WrestleMania in general, you're gonna see, because you mentioned the old. The good thing about it, you get to see the new two. You get to see the young two. We're reloading. It's very clear. We're reloading and that's great. It puts the fire on me and I like that. But it's the biggest thing we do. It's the best thing we do. If you're ever going to step in, if you don't like wrestling, if you kind of used to like it, going to a WrestleMania can tell you if, if this is going to be for you. And I think it's for everybody.
- [27:59]
DJ Envy
How often do you know? Because of course WWE writes the scripts. How often can a wrestler change that script?
- [28:05]
Cody Rhodes
It depends. So, you know, people say like script a lot, which is probably, I think we've called it that every now and then it's almost more of just a format because now one of the beautiful things about having these guys who have seasoning is you're not going to write for them. No one's going to write unless it's an ad read. You don't have to write it for me.
- [28:26]
Co-host or Interviewer
Yeah.
- [28:27]
Cody Rhodes
I just need to know where. Where this is supposed to go. I don't want to go off book in a sense of. Or book my own angle or go into business for myself. But the really, the great ones are always a bit off. And you got to have, like I always say, in the pockets. You got to have three or four things in the pockets. Because if you're in there with a rock, if you're in there with a John Cena, if you're in there with any of the guys who we've talked about here, you got to have some stuff in the pockets in case they go left. It's not always great. It's a collaboration, sure. But going left is fun if the person can keep up and go left with you. Another really great scribe for it in terms of the scripting of it all, is the fact that Paul Heyman, hall of famer, Mr. Heymon, sits there and he's just got the gift, silver tongue, just the son of a lawyer, New York City. Just the gift. And he's very good if you can't put the words together. But for me, I don't think I've had a written promo since I came back again, unless it's, hey, a specific ad read, ESPN Unlimited Plan WWE WrestleMania. You know what I mean? Like, it's. That's. That's specific for me. But it's. It. It goes wild each night, which is great because the audience, I think, smart fans, and you get a lot of the smarter fans in the New York area, they know when it's like, this is becoming its own thing. Huh? And I love that because that's the. That's the beauty, and the best can keep up with each other.
- [29:45]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
So you tell them that's why they come see the seasoned people, that.
- [29:50]
Cody Rhodes
I didn't even get mad at the old thing.
- [29:54]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
He is.
- [29:55]
Cody Rhodes
Yeah.
- [29:55]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
As well.
- [29:56]
Cody Rhodes
But that is the. That's the deal. And the moment we mentioned, you know, Kit, we mentioned Trick, the moment you're in there with one of those guys and they can take it with you and they can make that move with you. That's. That's seeing them. That's, oh, we're gonna be okay. Yeah, we're gonna be all right here. And that. That's trust. Because you wanna, you know, for me, like, currently being champion and how much this means to me, I want to trust when it's. When it's. When I'm gone and watching on tv, that it's good that people are still coming, you know, how do you keep your sanity, right?
- [30:26]
DJ Envy
You, you were talking about your family, your wife and your kids. But you need some family time as well. And wrestling fans sometimes are crazy. I remember the one story I can't remember, the wrestler, they chased him, followed him, and he had to pull over and just sign an autograph.
- [30:40]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
Oh, yeah.
- [30:44]
DJ Envy
So how do you deal with that with crazy fans when you're just trying to get some family time?
- [30:50]
Cody Rhodes
I remember Triple H said, you know, there really isn't a work life balance with this. And I think maybe the answer to that is, and this probably won't sound the way I mean it sound, but I bring them into the work. Right. My daughter's got two trips coming up. She's going to the beach and then she's going to WrestleMania. The one she's most excited about, shockingly, is going to WrestleMania. She's four, but she was there when I picked her up in Sofi, the first stadium show I ever main evented. And now I said hi to her at Allegiant last year and she's looking forward to, what are we going to do this year? I'm going to be in the front row. What are we doing this year? I try to bring them around it and with my, my children, I try to explain the importance of the fan. That also means every type of fan.
- [31:35]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
Yeah.
- [31:35]
Cody Rhodes
So there's the die hard fans who, you know, you've touched and you're lucky as all can be to have. There's also the collectors and there's, there's, there's some who, maybe they're the haters, the critics. They're all really, really important. And to me, it's always a yes. It's always, you know, I can't do it while I'm holding a baby. No. But it's always a yes. Now here's where there's a little bit of the balance. I'm all about it. The, the fans are the most important thing we have. And I try to explain it to the children that this, they provide this.
- [32:04]
John Green
Yeah.
- [32:04]
Cody Rhodes
This house that they're part of that. Right. My wife, though, is the other side of that. You know what I'm saying? And I think sometimes she just provides a look that helps us. A little bit of a deflection. Yes, a little bit. And I'm like, all right, that's good. I got her. So, yeah.
- [32:18]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
What have you learned about showing up for your wife, Brandi. Right. While doing and sustaining all of that? I remember her talking about like postpartum depression at one point.
- [32:27]
Cody Rhodes
Oh, gosh yeah.
- [32:27]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
And you know, she's had a very successful career. Like she's first black woman in the ring announcer of WrestleMania 2015, first black woman executive in North America wrestling operations. Right. And then she becomes a mom and she's very open about how things change for her. How do you step out of your character and just as a husband, support her in those type of situations?
- [32:47]
Cody Rhodes
I think what I've tried to do is everything is, is there's not a. I don't want there to be value weight on what I do. That's not equal to what she does. So this is the biggest season of my life. WrestleMania. It's. I'm. Everything is. I sleep, training, diet, everything. This is it. But in the same vein, she's doing a huge porch sale at her kids store which is in Roswell called Pinkerton's. They're the same. I need like. And I don't know if she believes me when I tell her that. So the only way I can do that is just show it that there is no, like, there's no weight to this. I'm. There's. There's no breadwinner in our house or anything like that because we did this together.
- [33:30]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
Yeah.
- [33:31]
Cody Rhodes
So that's been the thing. I don't, I don't know if it's always, always translates. But that's what I always tried to do to make it very clear that, that what you do is just as important as what I do. And, and support. Support those. But the big thing too and from wrestling is that's yours. Right? Like the cool. This, this is great. Like, let me. This is my thing. But when I came to wwe, a lot of people thought Brandy would come with. And the big part of this was let's do, let's do our own things. Let's do our own thing. Sometimes when you're a couple and you beat each other over the head with it.
- [34:06]
Guest Speaker
Yeah.
- [34:06]
Cody Rhodes
That's, you know, like for the marriage. No, and it's. And it's also, you know, if you're a fan, like, I don't know how I'm a baby face in the first place. Bleach, blonde hair, wear suits, the American flag on the side of my neck. I don't know why that, why I haven't gone the other way, why I'm not a vicious heel. But I can tell you that when you add in this beautiful woman to the that less likely that the grown men coming to those shows want to cheer for you now. You know what I mean? Like, it's really? Like, yeah. So we. We've gone up, put spotlights in our own places and separated that way, which has been really good. But it's daily. It's daily, you know, you gotta. You gotta be there.
- [34:43]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
Yeah. When you came back into the wwe, you said that she. A decision that she made was the only reason why you were even able to come back. And, like, what was that? Like, what happened?
- [34:55]
Cody Rhodes
I think what I meant, or if I meant something I shouldn't say, you
- [35:00]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
said it's not a story everyone's going to know, but I wouldn't have been able to. Been able to come back if she didn't make a very selfless decision that changed my life.
- [35:07]
Cody Rhodes
Yeah. So I think what I. Our departure from. When we left the company we were with and helped create, and that was aew. It. It came down to her, her deciding to. To not talk about it. Right. That departure, to like, let's. We're not going to talk about. We're moving on. Did bad stuff happen? Good stuff happened too. Yeah. Right. I'm not going to talk about it. And one of the sad things about not talking about why we left in the departure, one of the difficult thing was narratives gets creative, so stories get told, podcasts happen. Fans literally think they know what happened when no one's been even close. And what I would say is the selfless part, she. She lives with that. She owns that. That she respects. Not just here, but the place we left enough to. I'm not going to talk about that. And that made it so that they're good. They're out of here.
- [36:04]
Co-host or Interviewer
Gotcha.
- [36:05]
Cody Rhodes
That, Scott for that. That was very, very helpful for us. And again, good stuff happened there too. But that's what I mean by selfless, because she lives with that. And one of the things about that is wrestling fans I mentioned, they create a narrative. They think they know. I had to remind her. I'm like, hey, it's not all the fans. And WrestleMania 40 was the prime example of that. I said, you're gonna come out with me at WrestleMania 40. And I was so happy because the fans reacted like big pop. Yeah. Big excitement. And I just needed her to, like, kind of nudge her, like, see, like, they're the real ones. They get it. You know what I'm saying? Like, they, they, they, they. They ain't mad at you. And that was very important that she felt it because a lot of. A lot of wrestlers take a step off, they go away or they do something or they screw up, make a mistake, whatever, and then they come back and the, the fans like they always cradle you back in. They're really special. Even tonight, like I'm not. I'll probably go out in the garden and get booed out of the arena.
- [37:04]
Co-host or Interviewer
Wow.
- [37:05]
Cody Rhodes
That's okay. That's okay because I, I've been cheered to the heavens in that, in that place before too. So that if that's what you need tonight, I'm here for it.
- [37:14]
DJ Envy
What's your relationship with your brother?
- [37:16]
Cody Rhodes
I love my brother. Yeah. I love my brother. Yeah. Why? Yeah, I think he, you know, he's 16 years older than me, so we didn't get as much brother time as we should have when I was growing up. But he does this thing now which blows my mind because it was never a thing in our family was he shows his dog, he's got his dog. So out of the road to a performed at Madison Square Garden. My dad, me, my wife, my brother and his dog Beast. His dog was at was. It was at the Kennel Club. Like it went from Javits to the Garden, ate it. One group made it to the final round a Beast, he has this giant mastiff. But we didn't do this growing up, so I don't know where it came from. So he's got these three dogs. He took it to England the other day. So it's just funny. Cuz this is Dustin. This is like hillbilly brother from Austin, Texas who's got this pristine, perfect dog show dog. And that's his thing right now. He's still wrestling. The last match I saw him, he was. He's still moving at an incredible rate.
- [38:19]
Co-host or Interviewer
Really.
- [38:20]
Cody Rhodes
I always tell people, I, I know hall of Fame is tricky, you know, because there's a lot of hall of Famers who are deserving of it, but we can only put so many in each year. I, I think that's hopefully a step for him in the future because I think he definitely deserves it for more reasons than just what he put in, in the ring. He's really done a great job of surviving that era of, you know, where it was a lot more crazy, a lot, a lot more rock star and like to become such a good father. He's a grandfather now. Showing dogs. I love my brother. He, he was one of my favorite wrestlers, if not my favorite wrestler. I just. Because he's my brother, don't tell. I always say, oh, Shawn Michaels is my favorite wrestler, but my brother's up there too now.
- [39:01]
DJ Envy
Who is on your Mount Rushmore of wrestlers? Yeah. And your Mount Rushmore of Wrestling family. So with the restless version.
- [39:07]
Cody Rhodes
Oh, man. So I usually lie about this question.
- [39:09]
DJ Envy
Why?
- [39:10]
Cody Rhodes
Because we get asked it a lot.
- [39:11]
Co-host or Interviewer
Yeah.
- [39:11]
Cody Rhodes
And I'm waiting for some fan to go, hey, he said. He. He said that guy last week. The reason is because there's so many.
- [39:19]
Bob Pittman
Correct.
- [39:19]
Cody Rhodes
And fans get really, like, sports keto. There's, like, these aggregate sites. They're gonna pick this up, and it's the only piece of this interview. So we had this awesome chat, and they're gonna go, Cody says Terry Funk on Mount Rushmore. And then, like, 80 people are gonna get mad or get excited. So families. You're saying the families. Yeah, families.
- [39:36]
Miles Turner
Yes.
- [39:37]
DJ Envy
Mount Rushmore family.
- [39:38]
Cody Rhodes
McMahon's.
- [39:38]
John Green
Okay.
- [39:43]
Cody Rhodes
Hearts. Probably man's hearts. I'd put the roads.
- [39:49]
Co-host or Interviewer
I was gonna say roads.
- [39:51]
Cody Rhodes
I put the roads. Because we really finished the loop. Yeah, right. It's all you. Like, there's not as much an imbalance. He did all that stuff, and I'm trying to catch up. You know what I mean? Roads. Now, this is where it gets tricky.
- [40:04]
DJ Envy
Okay?
- [40:05]
Cody Rhodes
So you got the hearts. You got the roads. You get the McMahons. You could put the Guerreros for sure. My gosh. And incredible. You could put the Mysterios now, Ray out there. Dom out there. This is why these. They need more heads on that mountain dog. Okay, but I. Guerreros. I'm trying to pick, though, between Guerreros and Mysterious Mysterios. And then there's other families, too. Well, then, what am I saying, though? I'm ignoring a giant, massive family here because it's so massive, you almost forget the entire High Chief family. That's Peter Maivia. That's the Rock. That's Roman reigns. That's the USO's. That's Jacob Fatu. That's Naya. That's. That's Trinity. That, like, it's.
- [40:45]
Co-host or Interviewer
Yeah, they run it.
- [40:47]
Cody Rhodes
They run it.
- [40:48]
DJ Envy
That's the biggest one.
- [40:49]
Cody Rhodes
So I'm gonna go McMahon's. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go the. The bloodline, we'll just call them, which is High Chief Peter and Roman and all that. I'll go Rhodes. And I'll go Hearts.
- [40:58]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
Okay.
- [40:58]
Amber Grimes
Period.
- [40:59]
DJ Envy
Last question for me. We see a lot of times wrestlers put their views into the things that they say. Like, we've seen it with Hulk. And when they put their political views. What are your thoughts on wrestlers talking about their political views, how they feel and all that. What is your thoughts on that?
- [41:13]
Cody Rhodes
I mean, I would probably classify it as a terrible idea, but may I say this?
- [41:21]
DJ Envy
Of course.
- [41:22]
Cody Rhodes
When there's an issue that needs attention, that the whole world is going, what are we doing here? Somebody say something. There's a lot of times if you're about to go out there with a hot mic, you feel like, I should touch this. Yeah, I should. And maybe you should, right? Maybe you should. Because I've hear. I hear people say, like, well, why would you want half your audience? I don't really think that way.
- [41:43]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
Yeah.
- [41:43]
Cody Rhodes
I think I'm reactionary and I think how. I think in that moment, maybe. Maybe it's helpful to think more strategic and more hell, political. I. I think there's certain things that are views and politics and they probably aren't great to bring into the narrative because you're telling a story on tv, maybe you don't need that. But then I think there are things that aren't political that we should stop acting. Like, why is this a big deal? Like, Pride Month is. That's not a political thing. Yeah, that's. That's. That's love.
- [42:14]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
Yeah.
- [42:14]
Cody Rhodes
We can't. We can't do an American Nightmare Skull with the, like, what are we doing here, guys? You know, like, those things I think you can move into. That's. We're growing up with all that. We're. We're learning. But I would say from my experience, ever having dropped anything in there that was probably a. That it's not a great. I wouldn't. I wouldn't say. I'd say, if anything, it becomes a distraction. Like, if I'm trying to sell this ladder match with you and I. And then I went on something about the modern political climate, that is what they're going to remember from that promo versus that we're trying to climb that ladder and bring down the title, you know, so. Yeah.
- [42:49]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
You still thinking about running for Senate?
- [42:52]
Cody Rhodes
I. George is funny, right? Because, George, there's Georgia and there's Atlanta. Right. And I'm more in the Atlanta orbit north, like the metro area in terms of, like, the energy that is Georgia, because, like, Valdosta is very different from north Georgia because the governor spot in Georgia has always very much intrigued me. But I will be very honest in this moment, I am incredibly unqualified to do so. If I did anything like that, I would do the best to bring the people around me who are qualified and to help. Help. If you got a modicum of fame and I can help somebody and that can help put it. Put us somewhere we need to go, then I'm all for it. I love. I love that seat. I love that spot Especially if I'm surrounded by the right people. And a big thing, if I had to get into like a political platform is, you gotta have a green initiative. With all the crazy stuff we still talk about, like from our childhood, that shouldn't be an issue anymore. Why are we not talking green initiative? We are burning this thing as we go. And that's a big one for me. If I had to start with anything, I'd start there. Maybe the one area I might be qualified, but I don't know. Who knows? I still. This is, this is what I do now. So.
- [44:03]
Co-host or Interviewer
Yeah, that is a cool ass wedding ring. Like.
- [44:06]
Cody Rhodes
Oh, thank you.
- [44:07]
Co-host or Interviewer
I've never seen it. It looks like a, like the, the chain. Like, like a chain.
- [44:11]
Cody Rhodes
Yeah.
- [44:12]
Co-host or Interviewer
Does your wife have the same type of one?
- [44:13]
Cody Rhodes
No, no, she didn't like the one I got her. Oh, she didn't like it and just went and got a giant. I, you know, like the four C's of the diamonds. I thought I'd get like a very nice qualify under all the four Cs. Like, I didn't realize she just wanted like a. Just a really big rock.
- [44:29]
Co-host or Interviewer
Yeah.
- [44:30]
Cody Rhodes
So she, she, After a few years of making it clear I'd made the wrong call when I said, just get it. Yeah, just get your thing. Yeah, get your thing. And she went and got a giant rock.
- [44:39]
Co-host or Interviewer
And she picked that out for you?
- [44:41]
Cody Rhodes
No, this one I picked out. I, I needed a little retail therapy. Yeah, I. Before WrestleMania 40 in Philly, I had gotten taken out of the match. So I'd won the right to main event WrestleMania. And then because of some other factors, I wasn't in the match anymore. So I went on a shopping spree.
- [44:56]
Brianna Stewart
Yeah.
- [44:56]
Cody Rhodes
In the Bellagio. And this was at the Tiffany's there.
- [44:59]
Co-host or Interviewer
And that is dope.
- [45:00]
Cody Rhodes
It started as tie pins and it turned into. I cleaned up a new ring and then I got the match I wanted in the first place. So I had it. I was like, well, at least I was calm for a few hours. Yeah. So.
- [45:10]
DJ Envy
Well, WrestleMania 42 takes place Saturday, April 18, and Saturday, April 19, in Vegas. If you haven't got your tickets, get your tickets. You can Stream it live. ESPN Unlimited plan. The first hour of night one and night two will broadcast on ESPN2 and ESPN. And we appreciate you for joining us, man.
- [45:26]
Cody Rhodes
Thank you guys for having me.
- [45:27]
DJ Envy
That's all right.
- [45:28]
Cody Rhodes
Thank you.
- [45:28]
DJ Envy
I wish Charlamagne was here so you could slap him with the belt.
- [45:30]
Nick Dickenpole Show Host
Just one good time.
- [45:32]
DJ Envy
Just one good time.
- [45:34]
Co-host or Interviewer
I don't know.
- [45:34]
DJ Envy
I don't like too much woman up
- [45:35]
Co-host or Interviewer
and just smack him with the ring.
- [45:37]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
The heel of the room.
- [45:38]
Amy Robach
Yes.
- [45:38]
Cody Rhodes
Oh, okay. You need that, though.
- [45:41]
Co-host or Interviewer
Only three days a week. Not all five.
- [45:43]
DJ Envy
Not all five. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Cody Rhodes. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Thank you so much.
- [45:51]
Cody Rhodes
Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up. The Breakfast Club.
- [45:55]
Brianna Stewart
Finished or y' all done?
- [45:56]
Host (Podcast Announcer)
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.