Cody Rhodes on Preparing to Leave WWE, G1 Special

Christopher Daniels vs Cody at Best in the World

The Charlotte Observer recently spoke to Cody Rhodes about winning the ROH Championship, leaving WWE and the G1 Special.

Rhodes is first asked about his feelings on winning a title after his father captured the NWA title back in 1986.

“I tried not to. It’s been 31 years since he won a world title in our industry. That was a statistic that was brought to my attention prior. I try not to make so much of what happens now about him, because he would’ve hated it. It was everything I expected and it was nothing I expected. We almost went off the air without decisive results. I got my lip busted open in the first 30 seconds of the match. I had to get stitches. There’s a pic of me with my world title on my waist and a doctor with a needle in my arm.”

Rhodes speaks next on not working solely for one promotion as he did in WWE.

“I’m champion, but I’m not exclusive and I have all these dates this weekend and none of those are Ring of Honor shows. Entertainment is changing so much because of the devices we have at our hands. I’m really proud to be on the forefront of that. You don’t have to work one place. It’s our generation. As much as we get knocks against us, we don’t accept non-quality work in our entertainment. We’re no longer force-fed. Wrestling is going through that.”

The next topic Rhodes speaks on is how he planned and made his ‘escape’ from WWE.

“I was just talking about this and it’s made the difference. When guys leave – whether they decide to leave or they’re forced out – there’s usually this period of time we see them around the world and they can ride that WWE wave and use it, and then it goes away. It loses its luster after a few months. I planned my escape for six months before I left. I loved WWE , but in the end I was unhappy. It was just like planning an escape from a maximum security prison. I’d released a list of potential opponents online so when the 90-day no-compete clause was up, I had matches booked on good faith. I thought about the follow-up.”

Continuing on this trend, Rhodes speaks about specific examples.

“Guys are betting less on their employers. There’s a lot less fear now – not just because of me, but because the landscape has been changing the whole time. The discussions are more than ever (about), “If I don’t like this, I’m going to stand up for myself, if I feel like this is a detriment to the body of work I have laid out.””

Rhodes is asked if he considers how his father would hands things, to which he explains his thoughts.

“Essentially, I’m just impersonating my dad in a poor way as far as business is concerned. We were like-minded in terms of promotion, of how we handle ourselves behind the curtain. I’ve more than ever accessed that side of me. It feels like a team full of people, and he’s on it, even though I don’t see him.”

On if he has a good luck charm.

“I have this little tiny Dusty Rhodes figure they make in Japan that people always give me in my bag. I set it next to the title and took a picture of it in my bag. That was my big goal in the industry. I wasn’t able to achieve that in his lifetime, but he always believed.”

Next, Rhodes speaks on the G1 Special in the United States with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

“It definitely superseded New Japan’s expectations as far as the yearning for their product in the U.S. They weren’t expecting the turnout to be as strong as it was. I want them to hit all these markets – Chicago, Atlanta. It gave them confidence to see where they want to go next. It rattled me a bit because the moment I stepped on the stage, I went from being the hero in Lowell, Massachusetts (where he won the ROH title) to being booed off the stage. I see a guy wearing my shirt flipping me double birds. It rattled me in the best way.”

Rhodes reveals the truth behind his relationship with Ring of Honor following his win.

“It’s been a love-hate. I love the shows they put on, especially in their efforts for pure wrestling. I think they’ve had trouble with me, because I refuse to become exclusive. There’s a myriad of talent (there). The Young Bucks live is mind-blowing. The Women of Honor. I’m looking forward to the Concord show. Charlotte was the area where Jim Crockett and my dad put their flag in the sand.”

He then speaks on his feelings in the independent circuit.

“I cherry-picked the best of the best. I allowed myself to be available to the unknown. Nine out of 10 times, the unknown have been my favorite experiences – really small cities and towns and places outside the social media bubble. That’s been a challenge. Nine times out of 10, it feels like a political campaign and you’re in the town hall. You see the faces. In WWE, it was the ring, the spotlight, and this large body of people you couldn’t put a face to. It’s been educational to me.”

Finally, Rhodes looks back on his career and explains whether he would relive the same career path again if he could.

“I think so. I love the journey my career has taken. I love that I started in Ohio Valley Wrestling and not NXT. OVW is like college. It weeded out those that didn’t like wrestling. I made lifetime friends in WWE. I started long before I was ready to start and grew up on people’s TV sets. I met my wife (Brandi) there and did international press, multiple Wrestlemanias and had wonderful opportunities. I held titles. I give the WWE a hard time on occasion, but the equity they gave me allowed me to go on and do what I’m doing now.”

With H/T to The Charlotte Observer.

Editor’s Note:

Cody Rhodes still remains one of the most humble people I’ve ever heard from in the business. I love how he is honest about his relationships with WWE, ROH and NJPW in the interview. Never fearing.

What are your thoughts on Cody outside of WWE? Should he come back? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page or Twitter account. Additionally, you can find me on Twitter at @SOSNH1995. We also want to remind you that we have a Newsletter you can sign up to. This will allow us to send you the best news in one place via an email. We also have the Wrestling Rumors app that we encourage you all to download to get updates faster than they release on our various pages. It is available on Android and iOS devices.