Cody Rhodes on Interest in Mania Triple Threat Match with Sami Zayn, John Cena, AEW All Out Brawl

A recent episode of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani show featured Cody Rhodes as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Rhodes’ interest in the idea of a potential triple threat match with Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39.

“No, I don’t really have a preference. Solely because I want to wrestle the best. People wanted a contender forever. So if two show up, don’t be mad. Don’t make it about A or B, or B or A, or one or two. Enjoy it all. That’s really been kind of the challenge. I can’t begrudge a dude for getting super hot. I have no preference in terms of the direction it goes. I really look forward to the moments when I’m in there if they happen, Sami, whether that’s just on the Road to WrestleMania, because I think it’s different than people think. I think he’s doing amazing.

So yeah, bring it all together. Hey, who knows? Who knows what happens in Montreal? Who knows what happens at WrestleMania? One of the reasons I keep serene, peace, and calm is because I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I’m not the Executive Vice President label. I still think like some people think I’ve got that EVP stroke, I barely had it in the first place. Like I said, I want to play quarterback, I want to get in the game, and I’ll compete for that position.”

Rhodes also gave his thoughts about John Cena being the ultimate role model and wanting to be a Cena type role model to others but under his own lead.

“You mention John. John’s the ultimate role model as far as how he conducted himself, whether it was with the media, with the fans, the good fans, the more unruly fans, everything. He is the ultimate role model. Before he became a bus guy, I got to drive him around a little bit, and he was just talking. I was, in my mind, just writing everything down that he was saying. He was really invaluable as a person to be around. I’m so blown away by how he’s doing and what he’s doing. I think if you try to copy what he did… everyone’s gotta do it their own way. I think my style, I ever was to be somebody that was a locker room leader, would just be to lead by example.

I know because, as my time in management and being an executive, as beneficial as that was to me and as educational as it was to me, sometimes it’s easier to lead by example, really, versus telling them this is gonna work, or being so adamant that they need to do this and need to do this. Everybody is different. There is no true formula for success in sports entertainment and pro wrestling. It’s really you just know it when you hear it, when they’re reacting, boos and cheers included in that. I think for me, I’ll probably do it my way if I ever end in that spot and I kind of am. But yeah, I’d like to do it my way. I loved how he did it. Dude was his in his jean shorts and his shirt all show.

The best thing I get from him that I tell the kids at the factory all the time is, ‘Don’t cover your ears.’ Even if there’s a small little rumble, he would always do something to reward their participation as a crowd. He would really make them interactive without letting them know they were interacting. The roar would be a little louder each time. The Cena rule, as we call it at the Nightmare Factory, is if they’re doing something, you need to do something. Doesn’t mean you gotta take it home or rush it. But you need to reward their noise. I think that came from a sense in his time [that] he was coming on the heels of giants, Rock, Austin, and probably didn’t want to lose any bit of participation because we’re going out of these eras where everybody, Godfather walking through the curtain, no knock on the Godfather, but the place is coming unglued. Then they got less and less for just the industry as a whole. I think he made it clear that, whenever you get something, you reward. I think that’s a good strategy to have now because as healthy as the business is now, and it is as healthy as it’s ever been, you still want it to keep moving upwards.”

Rhodes also gave his thoughts about the infamous backstage fight incident between CM Punk and The Elite at AEW’s All Out 2022 event this past September.

“I woke up the next morning and I had no joke, I think 63 messages. So I was very worried that something was said about me or Brandi. I did everything I could. I gave a lot. I have great memories with AEW, I do. So I hope it’s respected mutually, right? So I was worried. I was like, ‘I hope somebody to take a weird shot, something like that.’ That wasn’t the case. It was about this press conference and all that.

I had a great relationship with Matt, Nick, and Kenny still do. It definitely was tested by being young executives. It was tested by having different opinions on wrestling, but our different opinions is what made it strong. That’s what made us work. I want to do Crockett and old school and they want to do PWG and West Coast and damn, I loved it. That contention is what made us bond. We’re bonded forever because of the things we did. I also had a great relationship with Punk. He was my dinner buddy. They’d order dinner for me at AEW every week, it was one of my management perks or whatever. I don’t think he knew, I always just put it on my tab because I wanted to make sure he was getting something. So we didn’t talk a lot, but I got a great relationship with him. I was so excited to have him back, and like even if you remember when he came back, everyone was fired up about that, everybody. So when I watched it just from me sitting there, I was not — there was some people texting me. I remember somebody texted me, ‘Man, you’re the smartest guy in the room. I wanted to write back like, ‘F— you, man.’ I don’t feel that way. I feel this thing we built got damaged. I’m not putting any blame on anybody. Sorry, super Switzerland.

I’m not putting any blame on anybody. I just hated seeing that. Because as the company grows, and I hope it continues to grow. I hope people remember the mission in the first place and why we were there. If you bring in people who don’t know the mission, then things like that can happen. I’m not saying he didn’t know the mission or anything of that nature, but I was just bummed out. That’s how I felt, I was bummed out. because I have — you win the title, it’s a feather in your cap. You win the Royal Rumble, it’s a feather in your cap. Building an alternative wrestling promotion is definitely a feather in the cap. I don’t want that to be erased. I don’t want that to go away. Plus, there’s not as many jobs in wrestling as people think. There’s about 1000 people who work there structurally, infrastructure and talent. I’m proud of them. I want to make sure they’re able to feed their families and that was a situation that was so big and heavy. I don’t think it was helpful. I don’t know, maybe you could make it helpful. Maybe you can do something with it. That’s how I felt. No heat on Punk. No heat on Matt, Nick, Kenny, or Tony, I was just bummed out when I saw it. That’s not how we envisioned it. The spirit of ‘All In,’ if you ever lose the spirit, you’re lost. I think the spirit was gone in that moment, doesn’t mean can’t get it back, but it was just a bummer.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com 1, 2, & 3