Cody Rhodes on Leaving WWE, His Father and Kenny Omega

That doesn’t sound like too much of a nightmare. Cody Rhodes left WWE about fifteen months ago and has hit the independent scene like a whirlwind. He’s a big deal in New Japan and is the current reigning Ring of Honor World Champion. That’s not bad for someone who could barely make it out of the WWE midcard. With that success comes some new media attention and that’s what he’s been receiving lately.

Rhodes was recently interviewed by International Business Times and where he talked about his move to the independent scene, which has included great success with the Bullet Club. Rhodes also talks about having a best selling shirt at Hot Topic, his connection to his father, Kenny Omega and more. Here are some highlights:

On his Success in the Past Year

“It’s been one hell of a ride, and I’m aware that it’s kind of an abnormal amount of success outside of WWE. Winning the Ring of Honor World Title in less than a year and to headline those G1 Specials. I know my business, so I know that could fall out at any minute. There could be no one wanting to interview me. But right now, I’m trying to make it so that every day we get something special, and as ROH World Champion, I have the responsibility of captaining an entire ship. I’m looking forward to the possibilities there.”

CODY vs DANIELS - 2 out of 3 Falls

On Losing the Rhodes Name When he Left WWE

“When I decided to leave WWE, I kind of lost that connection to my father That’s how I had been brought into WWE. He was ingrained in their culture. And when I left it’s almost appropriate that they took my last name, that we have this litigation over my last name. I kind of disembarked from all of that, and I had the balls to do it. But I needed the thick skin as well. I think I’ve toughened up a considerable bit, and I like that. I want to know what it takes, what it takes to sell more shirts than John Cena.

“Instead of saying, ‘I’m pretty good and you should all know it,’ I look for us to show it. And we’ve been able to showcase it with Ring of Honor, New Japan, and, the various indies. We’re growing a lot. I don’t feel bad for myself. It’s not an era of tragedy for the Rhodes Family. This is a really fun time to be a professional wrestler, and I think it’s the best time to be a pro wrestling fan.”

And on Kenny Omega

“Kenny currently has the distinction of being the best wrestler in the world, and his run is proving tons of evidence to support that. For a singles wrestler like myself, who’s the world champion, it pisses you off a little bit. But you can be pissed off and go about it the wrong way, or you can go about it the right way. And I try to go about this the right way.”

“Kenny and I are Bullet Club, and I want to outperform him, which is a tall, tall order. But if I never go out there to give it a shot, then I’m not Bullet Club material in the first place. I think it’s the same with the Bucks. I think they love Kenny to death, but the concept of The Elite is not just a concept, it’s very real. Those three guys have each other’s backs, but if the Bucks go on last, they want to blow Kenny out of the water. They want to blow me out of the water. It’s not a negative at all. It’s a positive. It’s just a really fun, competitive environment in Bullet Club.”

You can read the full interview here:

Opinion: I’m not the biggest Rhodes fan but my goodness he’s been on a roll as of late. You often hear about people leaving WWE to show what they can do elsewhere and a lot of the time, that goes nowhere. Rhodes has shown that he’s more than capable of doing a lot outside of WWE and is having some of the best success of his career. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t wind up back in WWE someday as a much bigger player and he’s earned it.

Do you like Cody’s post-WWE run? Do you want him back in WWE? Let us know in the comments below.