Cody Rhodes talks crowd reactions for final AEW run, WWE return

[Chris]

Cody Rhodes believes what he was doing at the end of his AEW run may have been "a bit too meta."

Rhodes received a mixed reaction from AEW audiences leading up to his departure from the company in early 2022. He told Sam Roberts recently that he loved the polarized crowds but some of what he was attempting to do at the time didn't work.

Rhodes said:

At AEW, I think trying to do what I was doing there at the end was just a bit too meta.
'Hey, the thing we want is for you to turn heel,' so for me to do that, to turn heel, is by saying verbally out loud I'm not going to do it, which is being a heel.
It didn't work in a sense and it did because I had a really fun match with Ethan Page where the crowd was just going nuts and I loved the polarized crowds, the split crowds.
I loved the polarized, split crowds because obviously, I'm part of the Cena-era of our industry, so I loved it. But it might have just been over the heads of people.

Rhodes spoke on a variety of topics during the 40-minute interview. He also promoted the upcoming documentary "WWE American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes" which will begin streaming on Peacock Monday, July 31.

Rhodes also offered a theory as to why WWE fans responded so positively to him upon his return last year.

I think it's because they knew what you were seeing was real. There's always that gray matter and that suspension of disbelief but I think they knew, 'Oh, his return is more than just an individual returning. This is somebody who's been away for, I think, six or seven years at the time. This is somebody whose song is almost a rallying cry against WWE almost, and here it is playing out loud.'
A lot of what you'll see in the [documentary] is you can be the most talented, you cannot be talented at all these things but betting on yourself, I think maybe, maybe that's what they saw. 'Yeah, he was this guy and helped create a promotion and yes, they did this, and yes, they smashed the throne and all this but he also bet on himself and look where it led us. It us to a beautiful segment at a beautiful show.'

WWE announced on Friday that Rhodes will "respond to Brock Lesnar" on tonight's Raw. The show takes place from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/cody-rhodes-what-i-was-doing-at-the-end-in-aew-was-too-meta

 

[Cwalker]

I mean…

We all were kinda saying that. He was like Homelander

 

[Deezy]

WWE fans were pro Cody when he returned because the base who don't follow other shit love when people return to the fold.....Hogan in WCW was the worst person in the world according to any WCW neckbeard, but you couldn't tell a WWF nerd any of that shit......fuck Rock, THE HULKSTER'S HERE!!!!

Also, Cody in AEW to me wasn't genuine, his feuds and angles were never about selling tickets for the company, it was making Cody and his family TV stars, the game show and the reality show, forcing an angle with Shaq who is on said game show.....involving his wife, and the reality show and wasn't there some elaborate gender reveal on a Dynamite?

Cody back in the WWE is more beneficial because he has to work in a system that reigns in his ambitions.

 

[Chris]

During an appearance on the SI Media podcast, Cody Rhodes detailed the emotions that he went through after losing in the main event of WrestleMania.

Fans in Los Angeles were left stunned when Roman Reigns defeated Rhodes at WrestleMania 39 this April. With the loss, Rhodes was, at least for now, unable to complete his mission of winning the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Rhodes told the SI Media podcast that he felt "stuck" after the loss. Rhodes said he wanted to feel every bit of the loss and process the moment before he went back and saw his family.

I feel you have moments in your career where you get stuck in them, whether they're so good or whether they're so low, that you get stuck in these moments. It's not unlike if you have a traumatic experience in your personal life. For me, I felt, and I still do three months removed, very stuck. In that there was a very long period of time where I was sitting in the ring. I knew I was sitting in the ring and knew I had lost. I'm watching people not leave. They're looking at me. They're looking at me and they're either frustrated, they're sad for me, they're mad at me. But you usually see at the end of the night some people heading for the aisles. They're going to beat traffic, something. We were just stuck. And I knew we were filming me. And the internal monologue I had when I saw my family at ringside, then I saw some of the most diehard fans fully decked out in every piece of merch for me they could have possibly bought, the internal monologue was really just telling myself to get up. And then I wanted to make a point that I was not going to walk what we call 'loser lane.' I'm going to walk all the way back up this 70-yard ramp and I want to feel every bit of this loss.
Whether you look at what we do as from an entertainment standpoint or true sport, however you do, it was a huge loss. Huge. And I wanted to feel it all the way because I didn't want to go see my wife afterwards and just be destroyed or distraught or in a bad mood or have some tantrum. I wanted it all to happen right then and there. Just take it in, feel it, look everyone in the eyes that you possibly can. That was a big thing for me. I was trying to look as many people in the eyes as I possibly could in my best way of saying to them, 'It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay.'

After the loss, Rhodes didn't want people to try and console him by telling him that he had already won by just being able to main event WrestleMania. Rhodes said the only thing he learned from headlining WrestleMania is that he wants to do it again and that he has to win this time.

And I had to mentally prepare for the amount of, 'Oh my gosh, but you main evented WrestleMania.' 'Oh dude, you main evented WrestleMania.' I kept hearing, 'You already won.' And even some of my close friends, I wanted to just jab right in the jaw. Like, no. All I found out from main eventing a WrestleMania is I want to do it again and I have to win. Like it's a sickness, you know? Like, you got this high and for it to go like that -- I can't accept it. I can't allow it.

Rhodes began a feud with Brock Lesnar immediately after WrestleMania. Rhodes and Lesnar have a 1-1 record against each other over the past few months. They'll settle their rivalry when they face off at SummerSlam on Saturday, August 5.

Rhodes told the SI Media podcast that he still feels stuck in the feud with Lesnar. He hopes SummerSlam is the moment where, without even saying anything, everyone understands that his focus is back on winning the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

And then my world filled up right the next day, I jump into the thing with Brock Lesnar. So again, I feel like I'm stuck. I'm stuck there. I'd love SummerSlam to be the moment that's like, 'Hey, moving forward. Hopefully defeating Brock Lesnar. Moving forward.' And without saying anything. Without doing the old 'this little number' around the waist. Let them know, the thing I came back for, we're still on the path. We're still on the path. And I want to be confident about it in the best of ways because you rode with me all the way to WrestleMania in Los Angeles and hopefully they can ride with me to wherever it is and wherever we go next.

Rhodes said he was surprised at how mad people were about his loss to Reigns. There were managerial people in WWE who reached out to Rhodes telling him not to go online after losing.

I was surprised at how pissed people were. And I was surprised that a lot of managerial people in the company reached out to me, checking on me, and also reached out to me to let me know like, 'Don't go online. Don't go online.' And I didn't even think to go. It's such an incredibly busy week, there are so many emotions in that experience, I got my family with me at the time, I lost in front of them, which is another level of embarrassment. I didn't even think to go online. Just the fact that they were preparing me and like battening down the hatches for, 'This is shaky, people are really frustrated.' That surprised me. That surprised me a lot.

A documentary chronicling Rhodes' return to WWE will premiere on Peacock next Monday (July 31).

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/cody-rhodes-explains-how-he-felt-stuck-after-wwe-wrestlemania-loss

 

[Chris]

Why do people keep asking him the same damn questions he literally said this in his return promo already lmao maybe one day he'll say he hates the Bucks when asked

 

[Cwalker]

That’s what they’re looking for. A headline. They’re praying he switches it up and says he didn’t like Kenny or The Bucks or Tony’s booking.

That’s what they want

 

[BSE]

Cody back in the WWE is more beneficial because he has to work in a system that reigns in his ambitions.

It really is that simple. Cody needs someone to say "no"

 

[Deezy]

That’s what they’re looking for. A headline. They’re praying he switches it up and says he didn’t like Kenny or The Bucks or Tony’s booking.

That’s what they want

LMAO Cody going to turn into Bret Hart and just answer bluntly because people be asking the same damn questions for 20 years.

Bitter Cody Rhodes looms.

 

[Cwalker]

LMAO Cody going to turn into Bret Hart and just answer bluntly because people be asking the same damn questions for 20 years.

Bitter Cody Rhodes looms.

Everybody 4/10