Cody Rhodes was recently a guest on CBS Radio/106.7 The Fan DC’s Chad Dukes Wrestling Show to promote his EVOLVE match against Zack Sabre, Jr August 19th in Joppa, MD and his appearance at Ring of Honor’s Final Battle in December.
Cody talks about his independent opponents compared to what he faced in WWE, his father Dusty Rhodes’ impact on the television industry and much more. You can read highlights from the interview below:
Cody Rhodes comments on the style differences he’ll face in the independents versus what he’s used to in WWE and the Stardust character:
“I think, without sounding so negative, when you’re told you’re not good from your employer, when your employer tells you you’re not good or when his exact words are, “there’s no interest in you,” to your face, you want to change that opinion, you want to prove them wrong, it’s motivating, it’s probably good leadership to some degree, but when I was unable to do so because of playing essentially, my half brother’s character long past the point that I was supposed to continue with it was just discouraging because I was boxed into that. You can’t prove them wrong when you’re doing essentially slapstick comedy. As much as I love Jim Carrey Riddler, I could only rip him off so much. So it’s my chance to get back on track from where we were in 2013, 2012, 2011, when I was just finger lengths away from the keys to the kingdom and I kind of fell from grace. That’s more my fault likely than it is theirs, but it’s my chance to kind of get back on track. You said the Indy way and the WWE way, I don’t really particularly look at it that way. Pro wrestling is pro wrestling to me, whether it’s in WWE, or whether it’s in Lucha Underground, or whether it’s in Evolve, wherever. I consider myself a student of the game and somebody that always wants to improve and learn about pro wrestling. “
Cody talks Dusty Rhodes’ impact on the TV industry:
“I was very irked that the Emmys last year did not include Roddy Piper and my father in the “In Memoriam.” I already knew they were not going to, so I didn’t push for it, I didn’t campaign over such, but it just irked me to my core because TBS, the Superstation, cable television, and pay per view. Now what I’m going to say sounds incredibly large and it’s non hyperbole, it is very real: pay per view would not exist without Dusty Rhodes or Vince McMahon. It would not exist without, “Hey you know what let’s shoot for closed circuit for these Starrcades, these WrestleManias.” It wouldn’t exist. Cable television, one of its first stars in the South was Dusty Rhodes. Dave Meltzer, who I’ve never had a conversation with in my life, I don’t even think I know what Dave Meltzer looks like, but he wrote this incredible, factual retrospective on statistics regarding cable pro wrestling, and it just, it really irked me.”
Did he have his checklist planned out when he knew he was leaving WWE?
“I consider myself somewhat of a smart, a business savvy individual. I’d have been having discussions about professional wrestling with the old man since I was able to really formulate a decent conversation. So as I knew the time was going to be winding down and they didn’t know, and I probably could’ve given them a little more heads up, I don’t know how they did know, but I wanted to make sure I was in control of what I was doing and then I rolled out something that people would get excited about. You know I said there’s really only one monster company in wrestling and I think as a wrestling fan, I’m a wrestling fan, you’re a wrestling fan, wrestling is changing. I’m not going to jump the gun and say it’s 1996 anymore, but wrestling is changing and I can feel and I’m sure you can feel it and there really isn’t only one game in town anymore. You have to remember my background comes from the family of people who raised the Jim Crockett Promotions flag and went to battle and subsequently didn’t win that battle, but if you look back, that’s my favorite wrestling, 1980 to essentially 1993 World Championship Wrestling, it wasn’t for lack of the quality of what they were doing. So in this independent roll out, in this checklist, the goal is as big as a goal you can get, I want to compete. I want to compete with the biggest, most nasty monster company in the world that does wonderful things, WWE is a wonderful company, but I want to compete. In these places we’re going, social media allows everyone to see everything now. It’s not as difficult to see the things, and to know, and to build, and to steamroll, and get on the ground, and start something grassroots. I’m really excited about Final Battle. I’m really excited about that first night at Evolve 66 with Zack Sabre, Jr. Obviously, I use the word giddy about being able to get in there with the future WWE Hall of Famer, TNA Hall of Famer, in Kurt Angle. That competes. The WWE product, there’s a lot of wonderful talents there, but there’s a lot of matches I’ve seen over the last ten, twelve years, over and over and over and over again. The matches on this list are matches nobody’s seen before and things that haven’t been tapped before. That list is my word. I want to try and chase everybody to every end of the planet. If I have to go all the way to Tokyo and knock down the door in that Tokyo Dome to get in there with [Katsuyori Shibata] I will. I very much look at that list as my word and I want to make it happen.”
