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Jelly Roll
Foreign.
Cody Rhodes
Nightmare Cody Rhodes on my home away from home, my tour bus. This is a WWE and Fanatics original production. Welcome to what do you want to talk about? And today, very, very, very lucky. It's the first time we have had someone who has been nominated for a Grammy. Probably the only time that this is going to happen on the bus to discuss things. Not only that, three time CMT Music Award winner, People's Choice Award winner, he's got 28 million monthly streams basically on Spotify every month. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the podcast Jelly Roll.
Jelly Roll
We're here baby, we're here. Everything in me wants to be like, so what do you want to talk about? Hey, I love the pod man. Let me start there. Like for those watching, I'm on this podcast because I requ it to be. I, I asked and luckily Cody was a didn't, didn't hesitate to say yes. But I was a fan when y' all did the first six episodes. Yeah, I'm a huge fan man. I, I told you this off camera but I want to give you your flowers in front of your audience. Like I always loved you. I loved you as a wrestler, I loved you as a worker, but I fell in love with you when I got to watch you have long form conversations, you know what I mean? It was like cuz you can hide your depth in a 3 minute promo or in a quick interview backstage, but you can't hide the human you are for hours at a time with different people sitting across from you asking each other questions and having conversations. So you're an awesome human man.
Cody Rhodes
Cheers.
Jelly Roll
Thanks for having me.
Cody Rhodes
Thank you. No, thank you for wanting to be here. Thank you for that. Cheers. I have again our friends at Wheatley American Vodka. Our good friends, new bottle by the way. Get the new bottle.
Jelly Roll
Bottles fire.
Cody Rhodes
I'm on the American mule train as usual. And now that you've said this, I, I, this is not at all where I was going. But you, you brought up you can hide your depth in a three minute promo. And to me I've always wanted to subvert expectations on what pro wrestling maybe looks like, maybe people think it is. That was why the suit's always there was all these reasons for. I want them to think differently. I want them to think of the range that we might have that they might not be aware. You know, if you're a pro wrestler and you go on an appearance they're going to ask you hey, cut a promo and it's like okay, I could but I really appreciate you saying that. Because we can't stay one way. The. The wheel changes and the wheel, you know, continues to move. But here's why. What I was thinking as you said, that there are wrestlers that can get it done in 6, 8 minutes of a match, 15 minutes of a match, and then there are wrestlers that genuinely take 40 minutes, sometimes up upwards of an hour. And I feel it's. Maybe it's underappreciated. There's a style in every company that you go to, and it is really, you've got to work really hard to find your footing. How do I express my language? How do I tell my story? No pun intended. And you actually said this when we were talking off camera. Your first conversations you wanted to do out there in your own career were long form conversations. And you mentioned some of it. Was it flagrant?
Jelly Roll
One of the ones you went, yeah, flagrant. Rogan. Theo. Theo. And Brendan Schaub actually gave me my first podcast opportunity.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Yep. I'll never forget it, man. That opened the floodgates. And this was, you know, was a big podcast at the time. But this was right before Theo became the monster is now like, God, I love you so much, Theo. I'm so proud of you. No human deserved it more than Theo. But I remember Theo was. The first one was like, come on here, man, and share your story. Him and shop. So right then I told you this off camera, I knew that I don't think I always was like, felt insecure about myself. In short conversations with people, I always walked away. Like, I bet I sounded stupid right there, you know, but anytime I've ever spent like an hour with somebody, I feel like we could get each other, you know? So when I started doing media, my publicist, when I first hired a publicist, 2020, 2021, after Save Me, she's like, you know, she's thinking about traditional media. And I'm like, I'd love to do that, but, like, let me go show the world who I own long form first. So that's how we kind of jumped off of it.
Cody Rhodes
So you mentioned Theo in that first podcast opportunity. It comes, you know, in wrestling, you get your first big breaks and you never really even know sometimes what your first big break is. You think, okay, I'm in, I'm in. And then something happens for me. There was a moment at the BOK Center, I'm in Oklahoma, and walking by the chairman's office, and Rey Mysterio pulled me aside and said, hey, I want to wrestle you at WrestleMania. We're going to go in the office and talk about it. And I was ready and I had my idea and it even had written down in my backpack. But when I went in that room, when I came out, my career was different. It genuinely was a break beyond just. It wasn't just an opportunity, it was a break. It was something special. I forever, even though I don't share it with him enough, I forever think of Ray as if there's nothing. I have nothing. If this moment never happens. And I often think about, how do you thank somebody? How do you. Do you thank Dom? Do you befriend Dom? Do you. Do you watch over him? What is it? And I've never really figured out, other than saying it, hey, this was one of the most important things, if not the most important thing. So I'm asking in terms of, with Theo, do you just have like a. I always call it the Chewbacca. That sounds really ridiculous. Where you have like a life debt to somebody.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
How do you, how do you express that to him now? Or is it just success? Is it just, hey, I'm going to go out there and continue to be successful, connect with an audience, do it on a real non performative way. How do you express your gratitude to somebody like that dude Theo?
Jelly Roll
I put him like in the same regard as Schultz from Flagrant. Of course, in Akash and Alex and all the guys, Dove and Rogan, because these were like the three biggest platforms that gave me a chance super early.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
And all of them have turned out to be. I want to consider them all lifelong friends now. We're all real pretty close. And I try to make it a point. I. What you were saying is real is like, I want to make sure that they know they bet on the right horse. So I think about them all the time.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Whenever I'm like, anytime I do something cool, I'm quietly like, man, I bet Theo's proud.
Cody Rhodes
Right?
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, I bet Rogan's watching this and like losing his mind. And the cool thing is they're such good people, they'll be the first one to hit me. When something cool happens. Like when I got nominated for a Grammy, I think like, either, either Dwayne Johnson or Joe Rogan were the first person in my DMs that day. They were like, dude, Grammy, this is big. Win, lose or draw, you're the man.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
And it's like. But I think about that a lot too. And it's funny how you compare Dom. It made Me, when you were asking that. It might be too personal to ask you this, but have you got to have that moment in reverse yet that you can talk about where you've got to look at somebody and go, yo, come here, I want to talk to you. I want to wrestle you at WrestleMania. And you knew you were giving that kid a life changing conversation in there. And he knew.
Cody Rhodes
Ah, gosh. I, I, I think before I came back to wwe, maybe I, I found a couple of individuals now, you know, you know, one, we just had him on the podcast, that being Ricky Saints somebody. And I, I would never want to take credit because it was their success. It was your talent. You, that's, yes, they let you in the room, but you also got in the room. So I just, I don't know, it's almost that Time will tell in terms of, I try to do it often. I often wonder if it annoys anyone backstage. You know, hey, I got my niece with me, I got my nephews with me. Hey, little Brody shadowing me. Hey, I got, I like to do that because when you get in these rooms and you're around Mich Hayes and you're around Mr. Heyman and you get to talk to Triple H and you see all the, you're, you can't not pick something up.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
So I don't know if I've been able to really give somebody the, the full layup. Maybe I'm still selfish, right. Maybe I'm still trying to eat as much as I can. And then bad equity, because that's always how it was referred to by wrestlers who would do the honors for me is, hey, the equity is passing to you now. And one, at one point, it's yours to pass to somebody. So maybe in small bites, I don't know if I've done one yet that I can flat out say, that's, that's my guy. I helped. I helped. One of, one of the things that.
Jelly Roll
You know how humble you are is that I bet there's a locker room full of guys that would say the opposite right now. That'd be cool.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
I bet there's a lot more guys than you know in there right now that if I got to ask them this question, I'd be like, dude, Cody put me over here. Cody brought me here. Cody came to me in this moment and gave me a reflective moment I needed.
Cody Rhodes
I, I hope so. One of my favorite things about the hall of Fame back in the day when my dad was still alive, is when he would sit with me. And we'd watch. Not when he was having to present, which he presented a lot of years too, but when he'd sit with me, every time somebody came on stage that he gave a break to, and often it was the first break before they started talking, he'd go like, he nudged me and then they'd mention him and he, he was basically like keeping tab. Like he was getting like, like high off of.
Jelly Roll
Right.
Cody Rhodes
Yes, yes, I did. And I, I always, I always really liked that because I found I was just talking about this with somebody else earlier today. They asked me, they go, do you want to mention Dusty in your interview tonight, your promo? I said, no, that guy's still getting over. I'm done. Like, what? No, I know he's somehow in like after death. It's still growing. Which of course I, I love.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
But it definitely wasn't on my bingo card that it would expand and that all of these seeds he planted, especially with, you know, NXT and all these seeds he planted ended up growing into, you know, the biggest of trees, basically. It's really. I hope, I hope you're right, though. I hope there is somebody like. Yeah, he actually did, you know, and he actually was helping.
Jelly Roll
I think it's going to be more than you think, but I hope that'd be special.
Cody Rhodes
Hey, I, I was gonna ask you, I was thinking, I was thinking, what's the thing I'd like to ask him the most? And this might be a really abstract question, but I, I went on this journey in my mind of matches that I've had that I wanted to see. What's the most complete match? What's the match where I feel like I checked every box. Where I was, where I was, you know, you're never perfect. Where I was close to perfect. What is it? And then I wanted to ask you, is there a song in your catalog? Is there a song where you felt, that's me at my best or not, that's me hitting every demo, every, checking every box, whatever it is. Just. Is there a song you find complete or close to complete?
Jelly Roll
Dude, that's crazy. You ask. Cuz I have a quote, I say, as a songwriter, which is like, if I met your grandmama and, and just introduce myself to her and she said, what do you do for a living? I would tell your grandmother I was a songwriter.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Because that's how I, I see myself the most, is as a songwriter. And my, my quote is as an artist is a song is never actually finished. I just quit. You know what I Mean, does that make sense? Because, like, if it was up to me, I would pick that thing apart forever, and it would never come out. I'd go in every other week and change a snare or a tone or try. So I think that the perfect match for me is still out there, and that's what I'm chasing.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Like, more than anything, I'm chasing that perfect match. But Save Me, to answer the question more directly, is very close to my heart because I believe it burst the sound of Jelly roll. But what I didn't like about that song, and I've never talked about this, is it didn't give any hope. It left with no resolve.
Cody Rhodes
Okay.
Jelly Roll
And I got a chance to make that right with a song called I'm not okay.
Cody Rhodes
Oh, that's fine, Jam.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Cody Rhodes
I texted you about this.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Jelly Roll
Because I'm not okay. But it's all gonna be all right. And that's like. I don't know if you've ever had a match where I bet you learn in every match, but. Buddy of mine, Travis Ogwen, at Strange Music, built a compound, him and tech 9 of buildings for their independent label. And the first building he shows you, he hates the kitchen. The first thing he says, look how small this kitchen is. By the fourth building, the kitchen was like, the size of a living room.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
And he jokes, I think I overcompensated by the time I got to Building four. So it was, for me, coming out of Save Me, I just remember being like, man, I wish I would have gave people just a little bit of hope at the end of that song. But I didn't feel hope hopeful at the time, you know? But. So I was like. When I was writing I'm not okay, I was like, this song ends with, but we're all going to be all right. Like, we're going to give people hope at the end of this song. So that's the closest thing to my perfect match yet.
Cody Rhodes
I love it. So it's. I actually feel it pairs up my match that I. As I was going through this. What is the match that I feel like I was best if somebody asked me, what's my favorite match? It's tricky because there's an answer I'm supposed to give. There's an answer that sounds real good, but the actual answer is WrestleMania 39, the year I don't win it. And there's a moment in the match where I'm in the guillotine and crowds don't really respond. So Much to the submissions or near submissions like they used to. It definitely still happens, but it takes a lot of interest, a lot of suspension of disbelief, a lot of getting in there and I pop my head out and I remember in a stadium where all the noise goes up. I remember in the stadium hearing them react to it and I never felt that I was at that. That was, I was so connected with them. I was so. Everything was real. Everything was real. But it's a tough answer because I, I, we left there sad. We left there, you know, on, on a downer. And then WrestleMania 40 is where we're able to give them the. They, they feel like they're one match right to me. But yeah, I was so curious. I was like, I wonder if there's a song that he thinks though this is just the one where it was, where it was me at my best. But that's the whole thing we're always chasing and like you said, talking about the snare wrestlers who re. Watch their stuff, it's kind of, it's kind of like why if it was a, if it was bad, you, you know it was bad, right? You, you were there. If there was something that was really off or air this much or whatever, you, you're, you're pretty aware of the thing you need to fix. And when it was good, you felt it and it was great. And I, I just, it's. It's hard sometimes to watch your stuff because that's all it becomes. It become. It becomes. I would have done this. I would have stood differently. I would have closed, closed my mouth. These unique things. And that almost takes away from good, good things. You've done good work that you've had. Gosh, I love that. I texted you about that song because it hit me in the bones, I think is what it told me. Country music. I grew up in Georgia.
Jelly Roll
Oh, yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Okay. I used to have kicks 101.5.
Jelly Roll
Oh yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Kicks 101.5. I grew up what I would say in them. I could be off here on 90s country. And I really, it was like, you know, Randy and it was George and it was Travis and it was Garth and it was Tim. But Tim was like, that was the 90s. Tim was like, Tim was like the young, young athletic. Yeah, exactly. It was doing, doing big high spots.
Interviewer/Host
Yep, yep.
Cody Rhodes
You know, and, and I, I remember my dad was, was particularly old school, but also real open minded. Do you have an era of country music that you feel is just, just speaks to you?
Jelly Roll
I was hoping we were going to Talk about music, dude, I have so many eras of country music. We'll start at the 90s. Because my mama loved 90s.
Cody Rhodes
Yes.
Jelly Roll
Like I told Garth Brooks when I first met him, I think I know more Garth Brooks songs than Garth Brooks.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, I think I was still buying Garth Brooks CDs until he did his Amazon Music deal two years ago.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I was literally still going to Walmart every year because, you know, the skis burnt. But 90s was big. Even Tim Randy, of course. You touching Tracy Lawrence.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Oh, gosh, man. I just remember the distinctness of that was the first time I ever heard a nasal singer that wasn't, like, bad. It was something charming about his nasally voice. Like, Dylan wasn't as charming, but his lyrics were so good. You just kind of. You just. It was so Dylan. And I'm a big Dylan songwriting fan, too. But it's 1970s outlaw country music. Have you ever went down this wormhole?
Cody Rhodes
My only experience, would I say, with outlaw country is more being told about it. About it. You know, Dusty had his people that he loved and more being told about it. But also, it was so beyond me, generationally. I. I don't know how much I went back and really got into it, you know?
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I will say this. It would probably be fun for you to go get lost in it for a night down a wormhole because, I don't know, there might be something to draw there from. Inspiration.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
You know, for this.
Cody Rhodes
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Because I draw a lot of my inspiration from y'.
Interviewer/Host
All.
Jelly Roll
Right. Because I. I'm so easy at getting into another world and watching it and going, oh, that could apply here in my world.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
But Waylon Jennings. So I'm sure your daddy told you the story, but I was just talking to Kevin Owens about this. I'm. I'm like force feeding outlaw country music on your friend right now. I'm like force feeding it on him. But he's gonna watch this now. But I can't get away from this. Talking about, to me about Waylon Jennings. But Waylon was the first artist in country music history to have a platinum album. Album. Think about that. Country music history of all the. Hank Senior.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I mean, think about what we know about country music. Hank Snow, like, the first platinum album. And when. When went to the label, he said, I want to do this album called the Outlaws and be me, Willie and Jesse and. And we're going to put out this album, and it's going to be just kind of a compilation record. And the label was like, have you lost your damn mind? What is wrong with you? And he was like, dude, I'm telling y', all, this is. Y' all don't know, because y' all aren't out here. Yeah, I'm in the clubs every night. People are climbing the walls about this stuff. Y' all are missing a moment. And they put out the album. And almost on. There's two stories I'll tell you about this happened in country music history, if you care to hear them, where the label looks at the artist and goes, all right, we'll do it your way, but your funeral.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Sure. Outlaws, the outlaw album's first album to go platinum. The outlaw movement begins, which would launch Waylon, Willie, Johnny. Johnny was a little bit before the outlaw movement, but he just kind of fit right into it. It just. He was. He. He was like on an island of his own without a home.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
And it's like, when this started happening, they were like, hey, no, we're for.
Cody Rhodes
You fit in here.
Jelly Roll
Yeah. Chris Christofferson. And what else is fun about it is I look at the Outlaws kind of like I do, you know, some of. Some of the wrestlers in the aspect of, like, these four dudes were really close. It's like you and some of your homies. They're all really cool, but couldn't be four different personalities.
Cody Rhodes
Sure.
Jelly Roll
You know, Johnny was like, I want to host 52 episodes of the Johnny Cash show. I want to be on tv. I want to be. You know, Waylon was like, I don't want to do an interview to save my life. Don't call me. I just want to do shows and write songs. Willie was like, I want to do everything from the Muppets to, you know. And Kris Kristofferson wrote or just did a bunch of songs and was like, I want to go be an actor. Yeah. He just wanted to write big hits and be an actor, you know, he was so handsome. So they all had such their own unique thing, and the music lived. The story's so compelling that people hear the music, and if you can't get over the twang at first, you get lost. But, like, when you get into the content, I never would have thought I could have been a country music artist if I didn't hear Waylon Jennings go looking for trouble. And I found a son right down a barrel of a long man's gun. And I remember looking at my mama going, this is country music.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
She was like, listen to this. And she started playing. Don't you think this outlaw be out of hand? And I was like, ooh, it wasn't singing through my nose. It got me busted by the man. Don't you think? This sound of business, I mean, I was like this dude when he was talking about. They locked me up for some possession, for stuff that was long gone.
Cody Rhodes
Oh, man.
Jelly Roll
Like, he was just so clever and witty. And then I got. I'm so sorry. You. You'll shut me up. Shut me up if you want.
Cody Rhodes
No, not at all.
Jelly Roll
But Willie Nelson was.
Cody Rhodes
He.
Jelly Roll
I identify myself with him and Johnny the most.
Cody Rhodes
Sure.
Jelly Roll
And Willie, because he's the most jovial guy, like, even when I met him for the first time, gives me a bandana with his autograph sign. His wife, sweet as chest pie. Son comes over all hanging. He's just the nicest guy. And then he's funny, he's charming. And then he grabs that guitar. Maybe I didn't love you. And you're just like, oh, yeah. Oh, you're writing that.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, even his fun song, Shotgun Willie, was fun. He's talking about sitting around his underwear. But, like, even on the road again had, like, a feeling to it. It wasn't just, you know, it's like. I don't know. It's just all those dudes. The first time I heard Folsom Prison and heard the story of Johnny and Johnny and June's Carter and found out they were married. And even that was cool to me. It was like the idea of this married couple.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Singing to each other about, like, having a problem with each other and going to Jackson to drink and get over each other, you know?
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I carry that into my marriage now.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, that's the kind of vulnerability I would die, I die for with my wife.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Is that so? I love the 90s. I love the 2000s and the 2010, because 808 came into play. And these were all moments that were like, little moments that happened that made it later would be the moments that were the reason I could come in.
Cody Rhodes
Sure.
Jelly Roll
But 100% 1970s outlaw, outlaw country.
Cody Rhodes
I love talking about Willie. I don't know. His tour manager. I believe he's passed on. But did you ever meet a guy named Pooty?
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Okay. So growing up, Willie coming. Whether it was Lakewood Amphitheater, wherever, we always had to go. To Willie and I, again, I was case 101.5. This is 90s country. I knew, obviously, Willie. And we had pictures all over the house of Willie and Dusty. All over the house? All over the house. So I kind of just figured it was his friend. But obviously he was a big time musician too. But the first time I saw it was really mind blowing. He's singing, mama, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys. And all of a sudden he calls Dusty up on stage and they're. They're just going at it. And this happened every time we went and saw them. And Dustin would get up on there and I always kind of wanted to, like, maybe this would be my time, maybe I'll go up. But I was always too shy to go up. But I have great pictures from all the times that Willie, Dusty and he did it with. I mean, every wrestler who wanted to go see Willie, they'd take care of him always. He was just. He was just so special. My. There's. Because you mentioned Johnny, too. We were talking about this earlier and this is. I've never seen this before, but one time, Tony Schiavone was doing an interview with Willie Nelson by the pool. It's supposed to be Willie and Dusty. Dusty. I think Willie was just doing a favor for Dusty. And my dad was late, 15 minutes late, but there was no reason for him to be late. And they went to his room and he's like, dusty, we're at the pool. And my dad goes, hey, is Willie there? He said, yeah, he's been waiting on you. He goes, all right, I can come now. And that was this big power move that he needed to do to. I don't know if it was a rib or if it's something Willie was used to, but it was really silly, really. Just some odd power move or r. But then when I saw. There's. I think it's Gunsmoke. I think it's an episode of Gunsmoke. Could have this wrong, but he meets Johnny Cash. And I have the footage of my dad meeting Johnny Cash and he take. My dad takes his hat off. And I've never seen ever in my life my dad nervous except that moment.
Jelly Roll
Wow.
Cody Rhodes
And it is something about Johnny and how he came in the room. You know, sometimes there's just a power. Oh, yeah. You know, everyone says aura today. There's a. There's a thing, something about when he walked in the room, he took his hat off, he went over and shook his hand. And I. I kind of didn't like it. I was like, oh, I don't know. I don't know that man.
Jelly Roll
Like.
Cody Rhodes
But I Also loved it because he had such a respect for him and such a. And not just a respect for the music. The music was in the heart, in the ears when they were driving and all that. But the. The. The road and the. You know, Johnny, a master marketer and master entertainer, you know, not unlike Garth, would become where there were all these things you needed to do. Like, the music's there, but what are these hooks that we can do to get them to pay to come see us? And then, oh, my gosh, there's this whole entertainment aspect to it. I love that you mentioned Kris Kristofferson.
Jelly Roll
He doesn't get enough love.
Cody Rhodes
He doesn't. And my mom. My mom. If you ever meet my mom, talk to her about Kris Kristofferson. She loves some Kris Kristofferson.
Jelly Roll
I don't want to guess your mom's age, but if she's in her 60s and 70s.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Every woman. Yeah, every woman that grew up south of Indiana, you know what I'm saying, is, Loses their mind about Chris.
Cody Rhodes
He was just writing music. He didn't know. He was just writing. He didn't care.
Jelly Roll
He just. He loved it. He would do it on movie sets. He was like. He was a. He was a real songwriter.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Like, I love those guys, man. And I learned early. I call myself a songwriter, but. Because I write a bunch of songs, but, like, real songwriters, that's all they do.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
And I do a lot more of this stuff, you know what I mean? Which takes away from that stuff where Chris. I think that's what made Chris make that decision.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
He was like, I can't do the traveling and the writing. Yeah, I can do the movies and the writing, but I further write than travel. And, you know, our business was a lot like y' all in the old days. You've done this, like, 200. I relate to y' all in this regard. 250, 300 days out of my bed a year.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Super normal.
Cody Rhodes
That's the way it is.
Jelly Roll
Just what it is.
Cody Rhodes
I got.
Jelly Roll
I think we count them now as a joke in the family. I had, like, 40 something last year. Yeah, I'm gonna have, like, 53 this year or something like that. It's like just kind of standard protocol for us.
Cody Rhodes
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Jelly Roll
We went immediately.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
I, I, I love that you say songwriter because I mean as I get, I guess as I get older in wrestling, I used to say I was an athlete. I used to say I was a wrestler. I don't think I've ever said I was a worker. But now more than anything, I think I just like to say I, I'm a, I'm a storyteller. Right. That may be easier to digest for someone who doesn't. I'm a storyteller. And, and then if they want to know further, you know, well, here's the type of story is that physically we tell these stories. This is how we did whatever it may be. How do you feel songwriter entering this world where everyone on this bus is aware, everyone in that locker room is aware. Everyone who's going to be in this arena tonight is aware of. You clearly enjoy this.
Interviewer/Host
Oh yeah.
Cody Rhodes
You clearly are putting in the effort and then some. Do you feel it's just all happening so fast that you can't get a sense of it? Or do you feel you're telling stories in the ring already? Do you feel you're in that, in that role now? How do I tell this story with these individuals heading into SummerSlam or as a part of SummerSlam?
Jelly Roll
I think I'm starting to tell the story in the ring, but I think more so I'm proud of this and I'm starting to be able to tell the story outside of it.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Which is the probably the value I thought I brought to this the most, if I brought any value at all.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Was that. It was like when Bad Bunny did it. Like, it immediately brings a new set of eyeballs onto it.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
So I was very, like. I remember calling Randy super early when we were like, deciding to do this and being like, will you do, like, mainstream media with me? Yeah, Like, I think you deserve it. I think wrestling doesn't get enough of it. I think it breaks my heart that you haven't been on a late night show in 21 years. Like, I'm going to host this Kimmel gig. Let's do something. You know what I mean? Like, immediately was like. And I think that's what I'm probably the most proud of so far, is that I've been able to be one of the first guys in a long time to take a wrestling storyline outside of WWE presence or even, like, you know, I mean, as far mainstream media as you can go without not even just like, a conversation. Like, we got to do the full thing. Like, we got to really bring a segment to late night television again. I'm proud of that.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, I'm proud of that. Well, and I'm not proud of much. Like, if you asked me albums I was proud of, you'd be surprised. I'm proud of, like, two. You know what I'm saying? I'm 20. Like, I'm truly proud of that. But the storytelling is what made me want to do this. I thought it was the only value I could bring because it's where I relate to y' all the most. I don't know, the physicality, I'm learning.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Brutal y' all are. It is so y' all do it so much and talk about it so casually that I think even fans are callous to how crazy that concept. I want to be the guy that keeps reminding y'.
Interviewer/Host
All. Yeah.
Jelly Roll
That I'm doing what Y' all did 20 years ago, 30 years ago, for the first time. Y' all don't remember what that first three weeks was like, but it sucked. I mean, I've got headaches, neck aches, leg aches, shoulder aches, pinky aches. When y' all say we don't fight injured, but we fight hurt all the time. Amen. I didn't understand that quote at the time. I was like, what? It hurt? Injured? Yeah. Maybe you didn't tear an acl, but it's like, no, y' all are hurt all the time. I always joke, I'm hurt now.
Cody Rhodes
So that's funny because I tell my students two things. I tell them, in the beginning, everything hurts. Just told a kid at a autograph signing this morning because he was asking about getting in the industry. I said, in the beginning everything hurts. Then none of it hurts. But I feel bad because whenever I tell my students at the Nightmare Factory, whenever I say, hey, don't wrestle injured. You always wrestle hurt, but don't wrestle injured. It's obviously, I've wrestled injured prior. So it just opens up a world of like, well, and it's. Well, you know. Yeah, like I'm just telling you, gosh. Okay, so you, you said something about mainstream media and there's this whole discussion online and I, I always like to be right in the middle of it. I really do. I like there's, there's the hardcore fan who loves this, has always loved it. There's the more athletically like high spot geared fan. Then there's the fan that likes good old fashioned, like blockbuster, good stuff. Legends, nostalgia. The nostalgia, just fun, whatever it may be. I like to just be in the mix and be in the middle. But there's always this discussion about, huh, they're doing this with celebrity X, they're doing this with this celebrity. I wonder why does that take away a spot from such and such? And in my mind, I don't get furious about many things anymore, but it's like a rage will fill my body. Because growing up, whether it was the Rhodes, The Jarretts, the McMahons, the Watts, they all they wanted was that endorsement from somebody in another field of storytelling to say, hey, this, I like this. This is, you know, its own version of live theater and Broadway. I'm getting something from this. So whenever I see something like you and Randy together, that is, gosh, it's so valuable to what we do. I think I told Andrew Schultz this, we have to grow. I love our people. I love, I'm not trying to harm anyone. I'm not. I love you guys. Thank you. All the hardcore fans, great. We have to grow. And the end the Unreal show on Netflix, for example, a lot of people gonna be mad, right? It's not so much for those who are already here versus, hey, if you're not here, take a look at what it looks like now. See Rhea Ripley out there. You like her?
Jelly Roll
Cool.
Cody Rhodes
You know what? You can come and see her. And it's even cooler in person. Like CM Punk, you can come and see him. So when I see you doing stuff like that and when I hear you say it, I love that because I have. I've always had this kind of hidden dream of doing something outside of wrestling, perhaps, and being able to bring wrestling with me, you know, if that makes any sense. I don't like when wrestlers leave and they don't. They don't bring it with them. Thank you for doing it.
Jelly Roll
No, thank you.
Cody Rhodes
Thank you for doing it.
Jelly Roll
Thank you for saying it. More of you guys saying, this is helping me, my heart. I mean, WrestleMania 1, Cindy, Mr. T. I could name every time, I could name all 12, 15 times celebrities have taken matches. So official matches to me, and I understand where fans are coming from because I felt this way for a long time as a fan is like, you ever read a good book that was so good you almost didn't want to tell nobody how good it was?
Interviewer/Host
Sure.
Jelly Roll
Because it gave you so much power. You were like, you had to be. You were selfish for a second. You had to catch yourself. Like, I'm being selfish. I need to tell everybody about this book. Look at me.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, I understand that, like wrestling is so precious to us fans and it's our thing.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
It's like the idea that, you know what I mean? Like, this is our thing. Like, I don't want everybody to be in our thing. It might not be our thing of everybody.
Interviewer/Host
Oh, yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
So I get that thought. But it's like I am the opposite. Now that I've gotten older, I'm more like the guy who's like, nah, man, we could change the world with this book. Yeah, it's a really good book. We should tell everybody about how awesome this book is. It helped me. It changed my life. If this book helped change my life, I want everybody to know about the book. So I look at wrestling that way and when I. This, this is a two part thing and this is probably the most shooting on it I've done yet right here, right now. One, it was a little selfish. And I don't do very many things selfishly, but there's nothing in life I wanted more as a kid than to stand in that ring, you know what I mean? Like nothing. I didn't want a microphone more. I didn't want a sold out show more. I didn't have. No. I didn't know I had a music bone in my body at the time. But I knew that something happened every Monday night that got me so emotionally fired up I couldn't sleep until Tuesday.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
I knew I connected to the storytelling in Such a way I found myself in the characters, I found myself in these humans, you know, that I wanted to, I just, I wanted to try it. And it became a North star in my weight loss. So almost when I first signed up for it, it was almost like I'll never actually do it. Like I'll never actually lose £240 and take a max.
Cody Rhodes
Is that where we're at? £240?
Jelly Roll
£240 times. So it's like what? When I walk on there that night, when I walk, when you watch me walk to the ring at SummerSlam, I will be the smallest I've been since the seventh grade.
Cody Rhodes
Unreal.
Jelly Roll
Unreal.
Cody Rhodes
Dude, congratulations. Thank you, man, that's amazing.
Jelly Roll
Thank you. You know.
Cody Rhodes
Oh my gosh.
Jelly Roll
But then part two of it and I, I said, they said this was like, as a celebrity I, I'd always watch, like, man, I hope I get famous enough to get involved. Cuz I'd watch all these other celebrities do it and I would watch them, Cody, and some of them would make me mad because I could just tell they didn't care. I could tell they pulled up, walked in the back door, walked through Gorilla, did their promo, walked through the back door and got in their car, you.
Additional Commentator
Know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
And every time I've showed up for an event, the first day, Neil Lowy, who's my, my baby face in this whole scenario, one who brought me in all this the first day Neil Lowy was at the Raw when I met you a couple years ago in Nashville. I go, neil, what time's the show start? He's like, doors open at 6, goes live at 7. I was like, what time can I come? He was like, oh, 5, 5:30. I was like, what do the wrestlers do before that? And he told me, yeah. And I was like, can I come for that? And he was like, you'd have to come at like noon. I was like, I'll be there.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I was there from noon to 10 or 11 o'. Clock.
Cody Rhodes
I love it.
Jelly Roll
I was, you know what I mean? Like I was not going to miss a chance to get this, you know what I mean? Like I've been like that almost every, I got here today at 2, 2:30 or 3 or something. I was trying to get here earlier, my flight got delayed.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
But I had a moment. My second thing was with this, I thought we should share the book. Like. Yeah, I want people to see when you're a big part of this, Cody, when the Roman era, what I call the Roman era, kind of Cause it just happened. It felt like almost out of nowhere.
Additional Commentator
Kind of, you know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Started really getting over. And then I was like, this story's gotta balance itself out. And then you came in and then it became about a story. And like, that I'd been watching wrestling, but casually again, like, I couldn't, you know, I just, I'm so busy, you.
Additional Commentator
Know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
And I started calling friends, like, yo, am I tripping or is like wrestling getting, like crazy good again? And they were like, dude, you got to tune in. This was a few years, you know, four or five years ago.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Pandemic is right after coming out, going into 21, 22, and I just could not quit watching.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
And then what did it the most for me is that you went all the way to WrestleMania of 39 and lost. And I had a moment right then where I was like, I was so sad for you, but I was so happy as a wrestling fan that I was like, long term stories are back. They have found a way to feed us our need and social media era to give me my quick fix every week.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
But they've also found a way to drag me along for a really long ride. And I was like, because if Cody comes back to WrestleMania next year, this will be one of the greatest eras in wrestling history. I felt it then. And as a. We started leading up and everything starts playing itself out and then the curveballs come and then the they come. You know, all that crazy happens going into 40 and then the fans ultimately decide. It just. It was like, I'm getting goosebumps, dog.
Cody Rhodes
No, it's like it's.
Jelly Roll
You catch them real, real, real goosebumps, bro. Like legit chicken skin as we call it in the music business. We call that money bump.
Cody Rhodes
But money bump, chicken skin.
Jelly Roll
Chicken skin, money bumps, money bumps. You're writing a song and you get the money bumps. Yeah, it's a thing. But I just remember being like, man, this is really, really cool.
Cody Rhodes
I know my fans have been waiting for something new. Well, head to WWE Shop and check out my new American Nightmare Stars and Stripes collection. Including authentic tees, hat, weightlifting belt, and everyone's favorite windbreaker jacket. The Cody Rhodes Stars and Stripes collection is live now. Don't wait to grab yours now only on WWE Shop. For me, it became. I had in my mind, we're gonna get back the whole point, the story. Yeah, we're, you know, whatever the long term plans may be, I think they're there. We're gonna get back. But the issue with we're gonna get back became, oof. I have to do something for the next 300 and something days that continues to capture their imagination, honestly, that continues to, to make them say the phrase all that all wrestlers want them to say. That's my guy, it's my guy. That's my girl. That's why I tune in and it sounded easy before WrestleMania 39. And then as soon as it was over, it sounded like, oh, this, there's no way. There's just no way. And that's why when the situation happened in Birmingham where I wasn't going to wrestle at WrestleMania, that's why I thought a really, just a moment where I thought, it's just not meant to be, you know, it's. It's just not meant to be. And maybe it is my fault, maybe it's not. It was just really tricky. But I, I'm so glad that we got to complete it and I'm, I'm so glad for the curveball because the curveball kind of dictates more long term stories and just, I'm glad, I'm glad you enjoyed it because on this bus, actually talking with Matt, who we've talked about before, my driver Matt, he's one of the only people I got to tell, like, this is not gonna be easy. This is gonna be really hard. You know, we were, we were staying after shows for sometimes an hour. They'd have to throw us out of the building trying to meet as many people as we could. And it wasn't for a viral video, it wasn't for anything like that. It was for an actual, hey, I really enjoy being here tonight. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm going to be back and when I come back, I'm going to bring the title. And every time we said that, I'm thinking, man, if I do not come back to Manchester and, you know, the United Kingdom or to Mobile, if I do not come back to Bakersfield, I'm a liar. And that baby face, as a baby face you, that you can't be a liar, right? And I just. Oh, man. So I'm so glad you said that because it was, I think we have better stuff ahead. But also I'm, I think I'm aware enough and hopefully not delusional. I think I'm aware enough to know if that was the best. It was, it was quite a ride.
Jelly Roll
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Quite a fun time. And I'm glad you jumped back in and you talked about wrestling, you know.
Jelly Roll
Oh, I'm gonna give you some good News, brother. Everything that we do in art is. Is lined out in decades.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
You know, like, when you look at music, we just. First thing we talked about 90s country. You started this podcast with a. With a era of music.
Cody Rhodes
Oh, yeah.
Jelly Roll
I am honored to say that we will share the 2000s together.
Cody Rhodes
Oh, yes.
Jelly Roll
So I know that your best days are not done yet. I know your best days. I know the wildest curve balls in your career are in front of you, not behind you. Yeah, I know that. Because we are in the middle of this decade and we gotta close it. Oh, for us to make the books the way we wanna make them.
Cody Rhodes
Absolutely.
Jelly Roll
To close these babies, we gotta close this decade strong.
Cody Rhodes
Well, to closing it, as unbelievable as that is. And you were talking about the book, sharing the book. You've got this good story and I completely get you because Attitude Era. I remember, you know, third and fourth grade, before the era, I had one buddy who liked wrestling. We'd talk about wrestling, we'd talk about the pay per views. Ordering them wasn't the simplest of things. Where are you gonna watch? Did going to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video and get an old vhs? I got this. I got that Hasbro collection, all this stuff. But then Attitude Era comes and I got a full living room and I'm behind everybody watching what I always knew.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
And I'm. Oh, okay. Yeah. All right. But a part of me thought, like, I don't know. I don't know if they deserve this. I don't know if they deserve this. But who. Who was it that. Because you're talking about watching and growing up and wanting to stand in the ring, who was it that you liked the most?
Jelly Roll
Who was your guy, man? Obviously a really sensitive week to discuss it, but I was a Hulkamaniac. Like every kid that's 41, I'm 41. So that's the easiest way to kind of age it. It's like I thought the ultimate warrior was the evilest human on earth.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
And I thought Hulk Hogan was the greatest guy ever.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
And then I got to watch going into the Attitude era, and that was like, coming into my teenage years. Okay. So that was like, when it really started getting cool.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
And it was. I mean, every. Of course, obviously, the Rock. Stone cold Steve Austin.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I still think arguably the greatest storyline and one of the greatest characters ever is the Undertaker and Kane.
Cody Rhodes
Just like, sure, that's gotta be Kane.
Jelly Roll
You know what's cool? I was comparing this to my wife the other night. I got an 8 year old son who's in light of me getting him. So WrestleMania 40 was the first time he kind of tuned in.
Cody Rhodes
Okay.
Jelly Roll
Right. It's like. And we had the funniest conversation the other day. Y' all don't know if you can use this or not. It's. But if you can, I respect it. But he goes, dad, the Rock's our friend, Right. I seen the video. I was like, he's our friend, man. He's actually one of the. You talk about a guy who gave me a chance early.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I mean, before Theo's podcast, even the Rock was in my DMs, encouraging me, like, oh, yeah, I had 80,000 Instagram followers.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
He's the most famous person on Instagram. Like, yo, I love this song. It was so crazy. But I was like the rock star, buddy. And I didn't know where that was going. I was just excited, you know, I was a proud dad. Like, yeah, the guy you think's really cool is my friend.
Interviewer/Host
Yes.
Jelly Roll
And then he goes. His face gets flat and he goes, why was he so mean to Cody? And I was like, oh, you're getting in it, huh?
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
And he was like, I am. And I was like, cool. You know, But I thought about him being at that age where like, that was where I was around Hulk's era.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
And then as wrestling grew, it almost like wrestling grew with me.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Cause like by the time I was 13, it was Austin316 said, I just whipped your ass. And it was a little more edgy because obviously I was getting a little more edgy.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
But it reminded me in that moment of my son of like two. I needed to have that conversation with him because sometimes I look at wrestling from my perspective as a 41 year old man who's watched it for 31 years or 32 years.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I forgot the magic of which.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Cody Rhodes
Oh, buddy. I. I love a show that is flanked with the really nuance, really hardcore thinking, let's get there. Let's get our core audience. And I love one that's also just flanked by, hey, this is a simple story we're telling. There's kids out there, they like Bianca whipping her hair around. There's certain things that connect with and that are magic and I love them all being on the same show. So I know completely what you mean.
Jelly Roll
And what I told my son was. So we watched together and the Wyatt Six comes out and I watched my 8 year old son get a little uncomfortable. Oh, okay. Like, I kind of watched him shift a little bit and he kind of looked at me to make sure, you know how kids are. They look at me to make sure it's cool. I was like, it's good. I said, watch this, they're fine. You know, I just kind of watched this. They're fun, but it reminded me. And of course it's a. I'm going to get crucified online. Because this is no comparison, but the closest thing that he's ever going to feel to how I felt the first time I heard dawn and the lights went out and I was like, what's going on right now? I watched him have a similar moment.
Interviewer/Host
Oh.
Jelly Roll
When the lights went out for the Wyatt six, you know what I mean? And all these creepy characters. And then I get to tell him the story about Bray. And like, then it get. Then it's got. Then it gets deep, you know, and then it's like. Because then he goes, oh, that, that really happened, though. I'm like, yeah, sadly it did. He was a really good guy and he really, really passed away at a young age and he meant a lot to the sport and these people are keeping his memory and name alive. So now it's like the depth of.
Additional Commentator
That, you know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
For my 8 year old son who went from like being kind. Of course, I say this all the time. I was scared of Undertaker until I was like, you know what I mean? I'm still halfway afraid of him, by the way. When you see him in person, he's still relatively intimidated. Nicest guy ever. But still. He's still, you know, the Undertaker. But it was cool to see him have that kind of a moment for us to share.
Cody Rhodes
That moment, of course.
Jelly Roll
And it reminded me that the generational storytelling y' all do is generational for us.
Cody Rhodes
Sure.
Jelly Roll
And I'd never connected that dot neither. For some reason. I was always so fascinated with you and your father and Randy and his. And like, just even at the PC, you know this. And I won't say their names, but like, it feels like everybody's got a kid at the PC.
Cody Rhodes
Yeah. Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, I hate to say it that way. That's the truth. It's fun. I think it's awesome.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I was like, this really is the most generational business we do, you know? I was like. But then it reminded me of how generational the storytelling was.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
That my mama sat me down and took me to Smoky Mountain Wrestling for the first Time, you know what I mean? My mom.
Cody Rhodes
Was that the first one you went to?
Jelly Roll
Pretty much. I think we went to East Tennessee to see a smoking.
Cody Rhodes
Oh, I love that.
Jelly Roll
And the Nashville fairgrounds had tons of.
Cody Rhodes
Well, also Smokey Mountain. You were guaranteed that it was good storytelling for sure. Disciplined, good storyteller. Yeah, no, I. Gosh, Smoky Mountain. And I wonder, you know, I think it's totally. You were talking about Hogan. There's a moment from the Hoosier Dome that's my favorite Hogan moment. I think it's a Hoosier dome, but it's where he walks out, takes in the crowd, and he puts his hands on his hips. He just does a360 to turn around and take them all in.
Jelly Roll
All with the hands on the hip.
Cody Rhodes
Yeah. And it just feels like that moment of knowing maybe this run is kind of winding down or already has. But what a run. What, like you're talking about a decade closing, A decade out, carrying it as long as you can. I didn't, I didn't think Hogan was going to be your guy. Yeah, no, I, I, I might have read a. Judged a book by its cover there.
Jelly Roll
No, you had to think about my age.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, age wise, I was like 8 years old when Hulkamania was like, in its prime.
Cody Rhodes
Oh, man.
Jelly Roll
Seven. Like I was at the ripe age to. And it was also, I think about it now, too, and I feel this way about you. I hope you don't take this wrong. It's like also such a good role model.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Oh, you're a great role model. Yeah. It's like my son looks at you the way I looked at Hogan.
Cody Rhodes
Oh, man.
Jelly Roll
Like you're the all American good guy that's there to serve justice and fight. You know what I mean, bro, you've.
Cody Rhodes
Made me feel so good. I'm about to run and just have every heel bump and feed for me for 10. I feel great.
Jelly Roll
No, I'm telling you, man, this is real. It's like it reminded me of that because my son gets it. Like the American flag.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Like these were like the things that were big for Hogan. Remember, Hogan, eat your vitamins. You know what I mean? I remember my mama tricked me into eating vitamins. The Flintstone vitamins. Because they were Flintstone. I'd be like, I don't want them. They taste bad. Like Hulk Hogan said, I'd be like, okay, if Hogan said it, I'll do it. You know, I was that kid. I love the ultimate Warrior later, too, when he'd Shake the ropes a lot. But then I just. I stuck with. But I even got to watch Brutus the Barber.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
You know, I'm just old enough that I caught the tail end of that a little bit.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Cody Rhodes
I always like to say myself, Wheatley, American Vodka are the American Dream Team. I think of my own team. And I'd ask you, who is on your team? And if we're looking for specifics and qualifiers on what makes it could be zombie apocalypse, could be a War Games team. Who is on the team with Jelly Roll?
Jelly Roll
Oh, goodness. Oh, God. It's great. Anybody? I just get to start picking this?
Cody Rhodes
Yeah. We've had somebody pick animals. We've had somebody pick a whole NBA team. Who's coming with you? I like to say War Games because it makes a little easier. Yeah, you get your four or your five. Who's on your team?
Jelly Roll
Well, I'm going to start with Randy. Just because we are in the thick of it right now. And I'm riding with my guy.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I'm taking my wife with me everywhere. Just pure. Just Bunny is a rider.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I'm taking my dog. I got a basset hound. That's my favorite thing on earth. I love that. I just want him with me.
Cody Rhodes
What's the Basset's name?
Jelly Roll
His name is Bussy the Bus Dog. You can guess why we named him.
Cody Rhodes
He's a bus dog.
Jelly Roll
He's a bus dog.
Cody Rhodes
Yeah, There it is.
Jelly Roll
He's a bus dog.
Additional Commentator
Dude.
Jelly Roll
Last one. Let me think of something fun here. I'm gonna pick a country musician. You know, either Kane Brown or Morgan Wallen, because they are extremely. Or Brantley Gilbert. They're all extremely athletic and all relatively aggressive alphas. So they would, like, surprise us.
Cody Rhodes
Kane did Bury Me in Georgia.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
And first time I heard Bury Me in Georgia almost took a backbone, really? Because that's. Yeah, that's how I feel about.
Interviewer/Host
Yep.
Jelly Roll
Straight up.
Cody Rhodes
It's my town. You know what I'm saying? And I always get back there, you know, so.
Jelly Roll
You know what I love about Kane? I'm sure he won't mind me sharing this. We're really close. Kane had just dropped. Thank God. Which was like, the biggest hit of his career at the time. Him and his wife just had this mega record. It was like this beauty. He talking about another wife guy, family dude, through and through, man. And he was going to pick his next single, and he was like, I want to put this Bury Me in Georgia record out because it mean, like, I just put this Big love song out. I want to remind people I'm still that Georgia boy.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, it was personal to Kane. And I love when artists take big creative chances. Like, especially when they know they might have a song that's more commercially digestible, but they're like, I'll put that out later. Right now, this is my message.
Cody Rhodes
Take the swing. Yep.
Jelly Roll
He did the same thing with me and the song. He put me on Haunted. Like when he picked that for his second, his next single after Miles on it, he just had this big success. I put some miles on it, back of the Chevy, huge record with Marshmallow. And he goes and does this dark, like, mental health awareness song with me. Like, Kane is just brave like that, man. Yeah. He's a Georgia guy.
Cody Rhodes
Michael Hayes is like, you gotta take the swings. Can't play it safe.
Jelly Roll
No. For sure. We hit 100% of the shots. Well, we miss 100% of the shots we don't take.
Cody Rhodes
That's right.
Jelly Roll
Talking about your.
Cody Rhodes
You talked about the PC and you talked about training. We're all aware. And there's almost a lore and mythos around you going down there and training.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
How you're training. Are you enjoying it?
Jelly Roll
I'm having the time of my life, Cody.
Cody Rhodes
I love that.
Jelly Roll
Who.
Cody Rhodes
Who do you feel if we could give them their flowers that you want to say has been helpful in this journey? Because this is. This is one match we're talking about. One match.
Jelly Roll
It's a.
Cody Rhodes
But this is a village. Yeah, but I mean, you're. You're in this.
Jelly Roll
Oh, brother.
Cody Rhodes
You're in this.
Jelly Roll
I mean, this.
Cody Rhodes
You're. You're. You're. You know, go ahead and throw the bag in the locker room. You know what I'm saying?
Jelly Roll
I am a lot closer than. I tell you what.
Additional Commentator
When Bad Bunny did it and he.
Jelly Roll
Was supposed to do one match and ended up in a two year storyline and headline backlash. When I walked into this, I looked at my manager and said, I promise you this is just God's timing to do this right now. Everything lined up like, I won't put us through one of these again. I'll tell you this. Talk. I'll tell you this. Talking like homies. I told Triple H and I want to lose SummerSlam.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Just because no celebrities ever took a L, they always put them over. And if you don't put me over, I always have a reason. Yeah, there's always just something lingering there. I can pop up anytime. Any one of those three are there.
Cody Rhodes
Oh, man. I. I love. I love that.
Jelly Roll
I love it, Cody. I'm showing up every day.
Cody Rhodes
It's gotten in your.
Jelly Roll
Your.
Cody Rhodes
Your bones here. You were training with Baldo.
Jelly Roll
Yeah, I went. Oh, Back to the Village, though.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Let me shout my village out.
Cody Rhodes
Shout them out.
Jelly Roll
My one match has took a pork. Mama Mel is what I call her, the lady that runs that facility. She is like, gives me all my ring time, and she deals with me being just completely nuts. Like, I want to do 11 to 1 tomorrow. And then I hit her up, and I'm like, hey. But actually, I want to do four to six, to seven, two. And, you know, everybody leaves at five. But she'll always find people to stay for me at night. Matt Bloom has dedicated his life to me. I love you, Coach Bloom. Scott Moss.
Cody Rhodes
I love that.
Jelly Roll
Coach Brookside.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Coach Brookside.
Cody Rhodes
Think about that. Your first show you're talking about going was seeing Smoky Mountain, and you're training with Robbie Brookside. Yeah, man.
Jelly Roll
And he's all over the place. He's so awesome. A couple of NXT kids that I want to shout out that really deserve it, tag team champs over there called Hank and Tank.
Interviewer/Host
Yep.
Jelly Roll
I can't wait till they get called, though.
Interviewer/Host
Oh, yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I am cheering for them to get called up. If the day they get called up, I'm gonna cancel the show to come show up.
Cody Rhodes
Oh, that's great.
Jelly Roll
They've been that good to me. But even better to me is a kid named Mitch. They call him Stacks at the nxt.
Cody Rhodes
And he's here tonight.
Jelly Roll
He's here tonight. Ben and Brooks. I brought them both. I flew him up here with.
Cody Rhodes
You're doing the thing.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah, yeah.
Cody Rhodes
You're Theo. And these guys.
Jelly Roll
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yes, dude. They, like, These dudes have showed up for me every day and took tens, dozens of bumps for me every day while I'm learning this thing, you know? And you gotta imagine poor Stacks. Our first four or five body slams, you would hear three different thuds.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
You'd hear his feet.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
You'd hear his feet, his back, then his head or shoulders. Oh, man. And he'd just stand back up, like. And he was so nice. He's like, I just. What we're looking for is just one flat thud. And I was like, okay. Then I just throw him over again, and just one time, I damn near flipped him. Poor kid. But we got it, and they've been really sweet to me. Miles Born. Are you familiar with Miles?
Cody Rhodes
Yes.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
I watch the show pretty. I actually. I reached out To a group of them not too long ago, this is an NXT talent. Just because there's this little transition that happens in terms of what they do in the NXT sphere. And then they come up here and they are the same. There's a ring and we wrestle and we tell stories, but there's a. It's very different. I never like using the term main roster, but there's just a difference in what we do in terms of what's the ultimate goal, what's a day look like, what are your other responsibilities, whatever. But I watch pretty regularly, actually. It's great. Sean's got him rocking down.
Jelly Roll
He's got him rocking. So you mentioned Sean's another one that's poured love into me. Yeah, KO Your friend has poured a lot of love into me.
Cody Rhodes
That's hard to get. I mean, I don't know. I feel Sean's not the easiest to get love from, but he is, you know, my hero growing up. And then KO is almost impossible to get love.
Jelly Roll
No, I've gotten some love from KO Dude, Damian Priest has showed up for me. Really? Big fatu.
Cody Rhodes
Oh, yeah. I mean, you're in there. Those are such great guys. And that's what I said. Throw your bag in the locker room. We're ready. But I have this story about Matt Bloom, and I, I, I figured you'd mention him. I wanted to bring this up because I've never talked about this.
Jelly Roll
Oh, he's gonna love this.
Cody Rhodes
And I don't. I hope he loves this because he's had such an unbelievable next chapter. Came down to NXT and this head trainer and, you know, Sean's, Sean's number one guy, and they're, they're really piloting a ship and putting it in places. And everyone who you talk to talks about Matt Bloom, Immense amount of respect, always wants to please him. My wife had done some stuff at the PC and he was so good to her. And, you know, I'm big on. When you do something for my family, I'm like, that's the Chewbacca thing. I'm yours for life, buddy. We need a posse. We round up a posse. We're fighting somebody. I'm in, you know? But I had this moment with Matt Bloom right around the time I'd hit kind of a professional rock bottom. I think I had the mustache still. And I say professional rock bottom. We go up, we go down, whatever. But I had a moment with him where I thought, that's also a professional rock bottom. I've never talked to him about this but you remember tons of funk used to have snap off fans. So we're in Rotterdam, not even Amsterdam, Rotterdam and we're doing this last show on an 11 show European tour. And it's okay, it's not the greatest crowd in terms of house. They're very vocal and kind of. But here he comes out there and I don't think they've liked the first 10 nights of matches that we've had. He's doing the shovel and I can see he's just not really like excited about it. And then I notice he doesn't tear away his pants. And I'm thinking what's going on? And then I look, he's got regular sweatpants on but his boots are on. So Matt Bloom, this big giant, intimidating, just barrel chested wrestler of a man has to sit down on his butt in the corner and I see him pulling his sweatpants off over his boots and I remember thinking, I'm like, that's rock bottom. That's like he's, he's, he's so not wanting to be in this tag anymore.
Jelly Roll
And I don't want to be in.
Cody Rhodes
This tag but to this day I don't think I've ever brought it up to him. But I always want to be like. Because it was for me I thought like, hey, it's not great but we're going to make it, things are going to get better. We're here, we're working, things are going to get better. But yeah, Matt Bloom's the best. Shout out to him for sure. And those guys you're training with, they'll never forget it and they'll never forget how, you know, that's an opportunity for them. We learn a lot when we teach somebody. I have an interview tonight for TV and I don't think it's the beefiest, bulkiest interview. But I did promo class at the Nightmare Factory yesterday. That in a way is so helpful. Just seeing guys do their introductory promos and who they are. I get so much off of that, of oh you know what? That's that way of thinking before you ever start getting into the rules of all this. That's a good way of thinking. You know, it's an outlaw way of thinking a little bit. Yeah. I'm glad you're enjoying the PC.
Jelly Roll
Yeah, I think I'm getting love down there too because they, I didn't and I'm not throwing anybody under the bus or acting holier than thou but they're traditionally used to celebrities doing it a different way and the Few that do commit, they. You know, they normally, like, clear the PC.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
And, like, I've done the opposite. Like, I was very clear about that to the front. Like, I don't want the PC catering to me.
Cody Rhodes
Sure.
Jelly Roll
Like, I want to be a fly on the wall. I don't want. I don't want people feeling like, jelly's coming. We got to clear the rings.
Cody Rhodes
Well, I know. I noticed fly on the wall where you and Gorilla Goldberg was in the ring the other night, and you were in gorilla with a headset on.
Interviewer/Host
Yep.
Cody Rhodes
And I thought, there's nobody filming this. Yeah, nobody. This is. He's. He's hearing them talk.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
He's seeing this one side of it because it is. If you come to tv, it is amazing to see the amount of production elements that you would never think about. I really think WWE's production is first.
Jelly Roll
You know, nobody does Live Live better than wwe.
Cody Rhodes
And anytime I see Live Live, sometimes it's boxing, sometimes it's an All Star Game or whatever. Anytime I see Live Live, I always wonder, man, you should have had us do this.
Jelly Roll
For sure.
Cody Rhodes
It would have been as clean as can be. Clean. You would have thought it was taped. You would have thought it was, you know, because it's so. They just have a way of making it super uniform and correct, even down.
Jelly Roll
To, like, the commercials getting out of them, bringing back into the rest, and the wrestlers being able to keep the room happy while that commercial's going for five minutes but still end up back in a similar position. Not the same one, but just the same guy still on top.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
It's just really, really fascinating. And the more, like, when I get to go watch NXT on Tuesdays, I sit down and I just listen, and I do the same thing I do here in Gorilla. I just spend the whole program sitting next to the coaches or in their gorilla. And I learned so much there, too, because you're getting to see what your producers want. What I'm really listening for is I'm listening for Hunter to go, hey, camera. Such and such. Look at that emotion. Don't miss that. And then I'm like, okay, Hunter liked that he's doing something really good there. If he went out of his way to tell that camera guy, go and get it. Go get it.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
So it was just really cool to hear that and see the way that Bruce is thinking about it. You know what else? I always knew that this was a. I've always been jealous of wrestlers, of how the business was always first And I felt like country music was close. We're the only genre that never necessarily completely imploded because we did always have reverence for the genre.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Does that make sense? Like, we never had too much of a lull because that's why we're still the only genre that has so many award shows.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, we still have, like, three or four big award shows a year.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Because country nothing. None of us are actually bigger than country music. I mean, Morgan is, Luke is.
Cody Rhodes
But you always come back to it.
Jelly Roll
Exactly.
Cody Rhodes
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
It's always a country thing. But I wish we did better at paying it forward a little bit. And I'm going to take that from y', all, because, like, not one person here has at least let me know they're not happy I'm here. And every person I've asked to help me just was like, all it took was asking.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Like, the first time I grabbed Paul Heyman, and I'm like, yo, wise man, like a lifelong fan of yours, brother.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I'm fixing to go shoot my first promo out here. I want you to pick it apart.
Cody Rhodes
He's right up.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
And I come in, and he's like, 10 out of 10. 10 out of 10. You want me to be a nitpick, though? And I was like, Mr. Heyman, I have been praying to have a moment with you like this. And he picked down my promo apart to the point where I learned so much from him that time. Guess what I'm gonna do tonight?
Cody Rhodes
Bring him in before.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I learned a lesson. I'm not gonna let him criticize me afterwards. I'm gonna go in and go, this is what I'm thinking. This is what I'm cooking.
Cody Rhodes
Interesting.
Jelly Roll
Talk to me about it.
Cody Rhodes
Did anyone ever tell you, you know, because wrestlers, even through the pandemic, always shake hands, like, ad nauseam, shake hands with everybody. That's a big thing, is shake hands with everybody, keep shaking hands. Even Sean will be like, I've shook. I've shaken all your hands a hundred times. But that's a big thing, is that we all shake hands all the time. And my trainer, I remember Al Snow, who trained me, he asked me, he was like, do you know why we shake hands? And I assume, like, because we respect each other. I said, yeah, that's. That's part of it. He goes, but the actual reason is different. And Al's very specific. Always. There's one answer. I'm like, okay, why do we shake hands. And his thought was still, I believe it to this day. We need one another. You're gonna pick me up, you're gonna slam me. I have to go back to Brandi, where you can slam me again next weekend and I can return to. You know. And when we look at the marquee, it says such and such versus such and such. It's not just WWE featuring. It's. It's this concept of we need one another. And I feel like that, to me, has always been really special because no matter how much you might dislike somebody, because Unreal is a great example of how real our industry is, but it's real in a different way. But how much you might dislike someone or not love them, whatever it may be in terms of we can work with anybody. We still are a fraternity. We still are a sorority, a fraternity, a brotherhood and sisterhood. We. We gotta stick together no matter how bad it gets. So I'm glad that everyone has been willing to. To jump at it because it's. It's. It's special to have that when. When we have you here. And of course, I'm. I'm glad that you. I mean, to get Mr. Heyman's huge. I love that.
Jelly Roll
It's been fun, man. But I think it's a testament of my. He knows I'm taking it serious.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Like. And I think he honors that.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
But he's been really, really good to me, man. It's been special. I told the story. Fatu got in the ring with me and I thought he was just going to show me something. And he bumped for me for two hours.
Interviewer/Host
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, it was crazy, you know? And I love his story anyways because we got a similar background.
Cody Rhodes
Special, huh?
Jelly Roll
Yeah, he's special, man.
Cody Rhodes
I met him at all pro wrestling show in San Francisco. I knew right away we talk about it this day, but I knew right away who he was. And we just started oosting each other. Cause I'd been around Jimmy and Jay throughout my whole first run with wwe. But yeah, Jacob's really special. He feels like a little baby here that I just want to make sure everything is right, you know? He's special. I know everyone here is incredibly impressed with Jacob too. He's really.
Jelly Roll
He radiates gratitude. Yeah, it just like screams off of.
Additional Commentator
Him, you know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like the genuine, like, I am just grateful to be here.
Cody Rhodes
I love that, you know? You know why I love that? I don't radiate Gratitude.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I. There are people who have that, like one of the boys, like, energy that I'm always a little jealous of. Damien Priest is another one where he's just. If he wins something, if he does something big, there's like a whole crew of people in gorilla.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Like all excited. And I'm like, man, like, how do you balance.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
How do you balance that? And I love it. And you see Jacob, it's the same thing when something good happens for him. All of us are God. Awesome, man.
Jelly Roll
Yeah, awesome.
Cody Rhodes
That's a, that's, that's a real good energy. I dig that talking about SummerSlam. SummerSlam being one night. But obviously what we do is, is about not just the one night, it's all the nights that lead up to it and even about the night that follows it in terms of your overall story. And I wonder if there is any similarities between building a wrestling match and building an album.
Jelly Roll
You know what's fun? I thought about it. It's a little bit like building an album as far as the match itself is interesting. But what I'm comparing it to more. And I keep defaulting to this by accident. It reminds me more of when an album's finally finished and you gotta go tell the world it's finished.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Yeah. Like I'm enjoying this process of like I'm used to going on TV and having to promote an album.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
And that's something else I'm proud of being here. Cody, is that I'm not here. I don't have an album coming now.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Like this isn't going to be a big shock on SummerSlam when it's like jelly rolls. New album coming out next Friday or it announces something. I'm in. Like, I'm not doing this for any promotion of my personal.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Stuff. So it's been really cool to like, I, I look at it like my job right now is to make Randy Orton look like the apex predator he's always.
Cody Rhodes
Sure.
Jelly Roll
Like, my job is to make Randy Orton look like the biggest, baddest son of a bitch in the wwe.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, my job is to make sure that everybody in the world knows that I think Logan Paul's a prick and that we're going to handle it on August 2nd or August 3rd.
Interviewer/Host
Right.
Jelly Roll
That's my job. And I relate to that in a way that's like when I need the whole world to know an album's coming out. Like you go into A different mode. Because it's like you spend all this time working on this and dedicating your life to it and all these hours of just, you know, this more than anybody about this business now. Of like painful. Just trying to figure it out. Just doing a move 30 times on a crash pad and then moving the crash pad and doing it on a thinner crash pad and doing it 20 more times and then going, all right, now we're doing it on the mat.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Or going from sitting down and flat back bumping to a second rope, the top rope, to the snapback ropes, to just the middle snapbacks, you know what I mean? To. Then how do you throw the leg out? It's like I walked in there the other day and I knew walking in that my day was going through tables. That was the wildest concept for me ever, that y' all live this way. That like all the morning I knew on the drive there that my destiny was 10 to 15 tables. You know what I'm saying? I don't know what else I'm doing today, but I'm going through a bunch of tables. It is just. So I look at that. Like building the album.
Cody Rhodes
Sure.
Jelly Roll
Like I'm building the album. When I'm working, when I'm in there doing the quiet work, the work, nobody sees three or four hours a day that are becoming legend at the PC.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
But when I'm going out, it's like rallying the troops, like letting my people know that we get even. At SummerSlam, the underdog beats the privileged rich kid at SummerSlam, you know what I mean? The poor kid gets. The kid that grew up in Westlake gets to get in his ass.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Somebody was asking like, how did you fall into this storyline? I was like, this is the easiest classic American story.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
This is real blue collar, white collar story.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
You know, this is my daddy sold meat out of a truck. Your daddy sold houses?
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
This is where this is that old storyline. You know, I'm more Cleveland than Logan will ever be.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Cody Rhodes
Right.
Jelly Roll
That's this thing. But my job is to make sure nobody doesn't know that's happening.
Cody Rhodes
What? It's so funny. What's the. I'm trying to think the Ted Turner quote, but he has this great quote about advertising and then Arnold Schwarzenegger took it to the next level. But what I like so much about what you're saying is you're talking about promoting, getting Everyone who's ever will open their ears and eyes to know you're having this moment and this match. But the product you're selling them is a good product.
Jelly Roll
Yes.
Cody Rhodes
That's what I like about WWE more than ever right now. If, if it's a bad product, I can, I, I can't have that. I can. And, and today with attention spans being what they're being, like you mentioned we're talking about long term storytelling not too long ago. Tension spans are tough. Quick to look at our phone, even in any form, in any genre of entertainment in the arts, whatever it may be. But I like the idea that you're talking about Randy Orton who is currently kind of. I, I don't think Undertaker would dislike this, but he really has become the undertaker of this locker room. If there was a real problem, probably going to go to Randy or Seth.
Jelly Roll
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
If there was somebody that I'd tell you, you know, little Brody might come to TV with me sometimes. I'll tell little Brody, hey, go say hi to Randy. That's the number one. Same way my brother, one of the one time I came to a WWE show back in the day said, hey, you want to go meet Undertaker? Not just do you want to meet him, it's part of the experience. You're in his locker room like, oh yeah. But so to everything you're saying is authentic all the way to the fact that you have the Logan Paul who is the opposite in terms of how we view him, but also just going about this in such an aggressive way and seeking it on his own. It's a great product. Yeah. And I love that about the product.
Jelly Roll
Is I said this on Stephanie's pod, but I want to be a little. I didn't clear it. Say it. The way I could have is the only people who can watch a WWE event and not enjoy it are those who will not allow themselves.
Cody Rhodes
Yeah, that's a great way to put it.
Jelly Roll
Like just get out of your head and submit to the show. Allow yourself to see it through the lens of a teenager again and you will have the night of your life. Don't be the kid who's too cool that's in your head about just submit to it. Like, just allow it to be as good as it actually is. I love that because you're the only one not getting it because you're not allowing it to be.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like as soon as you sit down and turn that TV on and you put that phone away and you watch or you sit in that arena or stadium. I've been there now. That's why I'm so addicted to this stuff. And I stand on stages and arenas and stadiums 200 nights a year as well. This isn't, you know, it's not like I'm one of the few people in this business. Even Logan had never experienced that because of where he came from. Like, he came from the Internet. He never knew what a 65, 000 person pop felt like. I had felt that a few times.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
And I still went in there. It was like totally different pop. This is a totally different experience, you.
Cody Rhodes
Know, I want to ask you about this. You mentioned the pop. Okay, so you're performing. What's the largest crowd you've been in front of?
Jelly Roll
75,000.
Cody Rhodes
75,000 people?
Jelly Roll
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Right at 80, what that sounds like? Did it change you? Did it. Did you always after that think they're always going to sound like 75,000. Did it make you. I've heard of this thing, two of my heroes in the business. So I'm going to keep nameless in this moment. They talk about the treadmill. Say when you get on the treadmill, man, it's hard to get knocked off once you're on that treadmill, but it's hard to get on. And I've thought a lot about the noise because for a while I was like, man, if they would just react a little, oh my gosh. And then they react a lot and then they. Then it's. Then it's. It gives you, you know, the money bumps. It's this whole. Do you feel that it's made you more attuned to how can I do this on the regular in front of stadium sized crowds? Or does it always, every time, do you still feel like, oh, this is amazing, this is a gift.
Jelly Roll
No, it truly is everywhere because it's like what I love about what we do. And you said this about the stadiums and I didn't cut you off right then, but it made my heart smile because it's another parallel of our businesses. When you were like, yeah, I'm in a stadium, you know, the sound goes straight up. People don't know that if they're not in our business. Like if you put me somewhere that's a bowl with nothing to catch, that sound just escapes. So like I've had 12,000person low ceiling arenas sound louder than 75,000-person stadiums, you know what I mean? Because the ceiling captures the sound. It's really unique, but to me it's like, the magic for songs is everywhere. Like, if I sit in a room, if I break a guitar right now and I sing, y' all aren't gonna give me much, right? And I don't expect y' all to give me much. Cause it's a very intimate moment. But I love that just as much.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Like, I still get that feeling of like. Like, I will still go play the homie's backyard for his birthday if he wants me to.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, I have no problem, like, doing. Like, I love every single second of it, whether we're doing it in clubs or stadiums. Now, the difference in my business and Yalls business is there's always two people going against each other in Yalls business, at least in my. I get the luxury of experiencing. We're all there for one reason. One band, one sound, one soul, one feeling, one emotion. 75,000 people. We are one right now in this moment.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Where y'.
Cody Rhodes
All.
Jelly Roll
And that's what makes yours so much cooler. Because there is let down.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, the only way I'm letting somebody down is if I, like, get sick on stage and can't finish the show.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Cody Rhodes
Part of it, what we do is let down.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
To bring them back up. Yeah.
Jelly Roll
For sure. To keep them stick with you and believe that it'll shake out that way. So, yeah. I love it anyway. What about you? Do you still love it everywhere? Are you chasing them stadiums now?
Cody Rhodes
I. I've had an experience where a room with 400 people in a small. I don't even know if it was an armory. A VFW hall sounded like 40,000.
Jelly Roll
Yes.
Cody Rhodes
I. I don't know anymore so much what I am. I try really hard to use my ears and not get in my ego. Not about what it is, what am I hearing, and. And what can I. How can I give them what they want? And it's. It's. It's not lost on me. It's not. It's just gotten bigger.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
If that. And. And that was something I never thought I would get for this long.
Jelly Roll
Right.
Cody Rhodes
So sorry. I'm getting, like, emotional. I'm grateful that it's still, like, when I hear it.
Jelly Roll
I.
Cody Rhodes
All the guys who work with me regularly are always like, oh, it's going to be great. You go nuts for you. And then I'll hear it and be like, oh, cool.
Jelly Roll
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
All right. This is a good crowd. Did you enjoy doing Stephanie's pod?
Jelly Roll
I enjoyed Stephanie's she's so good. She is such a conversationalist too. She got deep.
Cody Rhodes
So I got to tell you the Stephanie story and I only. I want to tell you because I feel like I've never gotten it out there. I don't think her and I have talking about it, but it's one of my favorite moments. And to this day I've never. She's always had. I mean, she was Stephanie McMahon, so she already had one on everybody. But I feel like she's got 20 on me because of this moment. So I was sitting at the monitor with my tag partner at the time, not aware she was standing behind me. And one of the girls who was heavy chested runs to the ring in a run in. And I'm watching and I'm just going, dum dum dum dum dum dum dum. I'm making, I'm making the sound. Dum da dum da dum da dum. And then I felt her like hand and I went like that. And I saw her and this is my boss. Even if she wasn't my boss, she's my boss.
Jelly Roll
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
And she just goes, keep going, go cool. And I thought, like, I was mortified. And that ever since then, that's all I ever think about when we're talking. It's like this woman can't take me seriously.
Jelly Roll
She can. You remember the time I drum rolled the girls boots?
Cody Rhodes
Oh, man. Yeah, she's. I, I look forward to. I want to come on her pod because she, she's such, like you said, a conversationalist.
Jelly Roll
Y' all should do the pod swap. The cool thing where you go do hers for an hour and a half and then y' all just walk right on the bus.
Cody Rhodes
I like that. Well, pod swap.
Jelly Roll
Yeah, a little pod swap. My wife does it all the time with people.
Cody Rhodes
It's like, shout out to your wife, by the way. Sharing you with us. Physically sharing. You're getting beat up.
Jelly Roll
Yeah, she's proud of me.
Cody Rhodes
She.
Jelly Roll
Dude, I'm, you know, I got really bruised the first week. I was. Yeah, I've never done nothing physical for the record. Like, I got in jail fights and stuff, but like, I haven't lifted weights through this process. I don't have any background in anything, so just locking up with grown men, even them just softly doing this, but doing this a thousand times. That first week, I had bruises all my shoulder. Yeah, I had bruises on my back. And I would like FaceTime my wife every night. Like a high school kid. Proud of them. Yeah, Like I'd like intentionally talking or showing them the whole time and not pointing them out. Just, like, waiting on her to acknowledge my bruise so I could be like, yeah, your man's working hard, ain't he?
Cody Rhodes
Saying they're doing it.
Jelly Roll
Yeah, she's awesome, dude. You're like me, though. I seen your pod with your wife. Y' all are very rooted in each other. Yeah, that's kind of. Me and Randy share that.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Wife guy.
Jelly Roll
I probably shouldn't say this on this pod, but I'll shoot. Drew's the same way. Drew's wife totally changed his life. Big, big wife guy. Like, I don't look at my wife like something that's at home.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
You know, I know a lot of men that do that.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, you know, like, yeah, the wife's better. My wife went back home to the wife. Like, I look at my wife like my best friend. Like, I want her to be with me all the time. I'm sad she's not here tonight, but she's watching, and she's going to be surprised whenever I. It turns out the way it turns out tonight. So I'm scared. I got to cut my first real promo.
Cody Rhodes
We're gonna get you out there.
Jelly Roll
No, no, no. It's my first real promo. You got any advice? I've never had to go out and, like, talk like this, so, you know.
Cody Rhodes
The way I promos were always taught to me. Matches a promo. Promo is a match. So there's a structure to a promo. If you're kind of going at it from the paint by numbers perspective of who I am, how exciting this is. Shine myself up, there's the adversity there I go up on a comeback, and then there's a finish. When we're more dealing on the larger, more abstract. And you're amongst the great artisan that is a Randy Orton, for example. The best thing I could tell you is plant your feet in the ring, take them in the audience. Even if someone's telling you this, even if the clock is saying one thing, and just speak from the heart. Speak from the heart, if you know what you're talking about. What you do. You have your feelings on Logan, you have your feelings on Randy. You can't go wrong. And they know. They want to feel like you're one of them. And every time you've been out there, everything you've done has made it feel like, oh, he's one of us.
Jelly Roll
One of us.
Cody Rhodes
He's a fan who transcended his own industry to jump into this industry. And he's treating it with reverence.
Jelly Roll
Yes, sir.
Cody Rhodes
So. Oh, man. Yeah. No, you're. I wanted to shout her out because she's sharing it, but one thing I'll say, and then we're going to get into this game. There's a whole generation of people that did. Family at home and success away. And I feel like we're entering this new thing where it's no longer. You don't have to be afraid. I do this for my family.
Jelly Roll
Exactly.
Cody Rhodes
I don't do this to share this with. This is.
Jelly Roll
This was our success.
Cody Rhodes
Yes, this is. This is. Like, even at 4, I've tried to explain to my daughter, you know why we get to do this? Because we do this.
Interviewer/Host
Y.
Cody Rhodes
Do you know why we're taking our time to say hi to all these folks here? Because it's part of us. It's ours. So I love that. I love that you're around. Other guys feel the same. Okay, so this here is our friends at Wheatley American Vodka. This is the jingle. I'll play it for you, and then I will ask you to replace a word. Wheatley's so good, I drink it. This song right here is for the.
Jelly Roll
Red, white and blue.
Cody Rhodes
You got good taste and you drink like a toot. Wheatley so good, I drink it deeply.
Jelly Roll
Wheatley American box. Wheatley so good, I drink it what?
Cody Rhodes
Wheatley's so good, I drink it neatly. And that would be the part that you change to tailor it to your taste. Wheatley so good, I drink it what?
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
Wheatley so good I drink it Beastly.
Cody Rhodes
Beastly, I love that.
Jelly Roll
Or you. Or you could do the bin word and use easily, but take out the vowel.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
And go. Wheatley's so good, I drink it easily.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Cody Rhodes
I like beastly.
Jelly Roll
Yeah. Beastly's gangster, though, right? I just went like Wheatley.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Thanks, man.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
Like, ah. Because weekly, wasn't it?
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Jelly Roll
So. Yeah, I felt like Beastly. Yeah. Just.
Cody Rhodes
Yeah, there we go.
Additional Commentator
You know what I mean?
Cody Rhodes
There we go. As we do more of these, I realize that we're probably going to start running into repeat answers, but we haven't. Oh, not yet. Beastly is yours.
Jelly Roll
Oh, good.
Cody Rhodes
Your Beastly.
Jelly Roll
Yeah, I think I'll own that.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah, that's.
Jelly Roll
I think that'll be my.
Cody Rhodes
That's yours. Thank you so much for coming, dude.
Jelly Roll
Thank you. Can I say one more thing before we get out of here?
Cody Rhodes
Say, hell yeah.
Jelly Roll
I was thinking about Something I love when I'm a big storyteller like you, and I love when stories stop where they start, and I love when there's a overarching theme. And we started this podcast with you saying, this is probably. This is the first time, maybe the only time I'll ever have a Grammy nominated artist. First of all, I hope you are wrong. I hope you have tons of Grammy winners and nominated artists on here, and I'll give you my Rolodex. But I will say in the middle of this story, you said something that touched my soul when you said, I stayed in every night and I shook those hands for an hour in Bakersfield to tell them I'm coming back with the title.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah.
Jelly Roll
I have been nominated for four Grammys, and I haven't won one. Cody Rice. Yeah. When I finish my story, I'm coming back on this bus. Yes. And I'm setting that Grammy right here.
Cody Rhodes
Yes.
Jelly Roll
And we're gonna turn it sideways, and we're gonna take a shot of Wheatley vodka out of it. Oh, my gosh.
Cody Rhodes
Consider it done. I believe you.
Jelly Roll
I got you.
Cody Rhodes
I love that. Yes, sir.
Jelly Roll
I'm gonna finish my story.
Interviewer/Host
Yes.
Cody Rhodes
I'm just looking forward to it because I know it's gonna happen. That's great.
Jelly Roll
And then my goal is I might not be the first Grammy winner you have on this bus by then, I hope. But I'm gonna be the first one that brings the Grammy.
Cody Rhodes
Oh, yeah.
Jelly Roll
Yeah. That's what I'm saying, for sure.
Cody Rhodes
And bringing the Grammy. We were talking about this with Nikki Bella last week. Bringing the Grammy is the most wrestler thing ever, which I love it. I love it.
Jelly Roll
Yeah.
Cody Rhodes
Do you have the gimmick with you?
Jelly Roll
Yep.
Cody Rhodes
Yep, I do.
Interviewer/Host
Yeah. So.
Cody Rhodes
But be careful, because you bring a Grammy around here, wrestlers start being like, maybe you hit me with the Grammy.
Jelly Roll
Can you hit somebody?
Cody Rhodes
Yeah. Oh, man. Well, thank you. And I look forward to the next one.
Jelly Roll
Thanks for your time. Thank you, brother. Love the pod. Love you as a human man.
Additional Commentator
We had.
Cody Rhodes
We had fun. Love you, too. Thank you.
Jelly Roll
Sorry, my problem. Sweat. I'm nervous. You got to go shoot a promo.
Host: Cody Rhodes
Guest: Jelly Roll (Grammy-Nominated Artist)
Release Date: August 6, 2025
In this rich and deeply personal episode, Cody Rhodes welcomes country and hip-hop sensation Jelly Roll onto his WWE tour bus. The conversation blurs the lines between music and wrestling, with both men exploring parallels in storytelling, long journeys to success, mentorship, physical and emotional challenges, and the importance of legacy. Jelly Roll discusses his passion for wrestling, the journey from insecurity to success, and his upcoming involvement in WWE—blending fan awe with professional seriousness. The episode is characterized by mutual admiration, humor, candid advice, and appreciation for generational impact.
“You can hide your depth in a 3 minute promo or a quick interview, but you can't hide the human you are over hours.”
— Jelly Roll (00:45)
“I’ve always wanted to subvert expectations on what pro wrestling maybe looks like... I want them to think of the range that we might have.”
— Cody Rhodes (01:50)
"I try to make it a point... that they know they bet on the right horse."
— Jelly Roll (06:11)
“Maybe I’m still selfish, right? Maybe I’m still trying to eat as much as I can. One of my favorite things... is when [my dad] would sit with me, and every time somebody came on stage that he gave a break to, he’d nudge me... he was getting high off of it.”
— Cody Rhodes (08:02, 09:20)
“A song is never finished, I just quit.”
— Jelly Roll (11:08)
“WrestleMania 39, the year I didn’t win it—everything was real... but it’s a tough answer, because we left there sad... They feel like one match to me.”
— Cody Rhodes (12:55)
“I’m probably the most proud so far, that I’ve been able to be one of the first guys in a long time to take a wrestling storyline outside of WWE presence and really bring a segment to late night television again.”
— Jelly Roll (29:30)
“What breaks my heart is you haven’t been on a late night show in 21 years... I'm proud that I could help bring that back.”
— Jelly Roll (28:46)
“Nothing in life I wanted more as a kid than to stand in that ring... it became a North star in my weight loss.”
— Jelly Roll (34:51) “When I walk to the ring at SummerSlam, I will be the smallest I’ve been since seventh grade.”
— Jelly Roll (35:27)
“My one match has took a pork. Mama Mel... Matt Bloom has dedicated his life to me... Hank and Tank... Stacks...”
— Jelly Roll (54:01–55:35) “I want to be a fly on the wall. I don’t want people feeling like, Jelly's coming, we gotta clear the rings.”
— Jelly Roll (60:07)
“The only people who can watch a WWE event and not enjoy it are those who won’t allow themselves.”
— Jelly Roll (71:44)
“I might not be the first Grammy winner you have on this bus... but I'm gonna be the first one that brings the Grammy.”
— Jelly Roll (83:55)
On Cody’s humanity:
“You can’t hide the human you are for hours at a time with different people sitting across from you... So you’re an awesome human, man.”
— Jelly Roll (00:45)
On paying it forward:
“I want to make sure that they know they bet on the right horse.”
— Jelly Roll (06:11)
On the perfect song/match:
“A song is never actually finished. I just quit. The perfect match for me is still out there.”
— Jelly Roll (11:08)
On celebrity in wrestling:
“There’s nothing in life I wanted more as a kid than to stand in that ring.”
— Jelly Roll (34:51)
On the “money bump” and magic of stadium crowds:
“Chicken skin, money bumps... when you get the money bumps. It’s a thing.”
— Jelly Roll (38:23)
On opportunities and gratitude:
“We need one another. You're gonna pick me up, you're gonna slam me... It's not just WWE featuring. It's... we need one another.”
— Cody Rhodes (63:22)
On “wife guy” identity:
“I look at my wife like my best friend. Like I want her to be with me all the time.”
— Jelly Roll (79:15)
On post-Grammy plans:
“When I finish my story, I’m coming back on this bus, setting that Grammy right here— and we're gonna take a shot of Wheatley vodka out of it.”
— Jelly Roll (83:26)