While speaking with The Pivot Podcast, Cody Rhodes discussed where things stand between him and Roman Reigns, fans wanting him to turn heel, and more.
At WWE WrestleMania XL, The Rock teamed up with Roman Reigns vs. Rhodes and Seth Rollins, which was the headliner of night one, where the heels went over. The next night, Rhodes won the Undisputed WWE Universal Title from Reigns. Here are the highlights:
On his relationship with Roman: “I don’t think I’ve ever dabbed up with Roman. I think Roman and I are great opponents. I don’t dislike Roman, and it’s the exact same thing…I think he doesn’t dislike me, but when we see ourselves on the poster together, we get it. I’m supposed to beat you, you’re supposed to beat me, you’re supposed to be the benchmark. I want to be the benchmark…..I’d love to sit with Roman at one point. We’ve never had that, to sit and talk. Even if we were to watch something back, WWE organized it. We watch WrestleMania. Just because our families have been linked for so long, it’s kind of fate that put us together. I’m not a big believer in anything, but there’s that element of destiny and fate with him and I going against each other.”
On fans wanting him to be a heel: “Being a heel in wrestling, it’s very hard to be a heel today. What is a heel? If a heel is trying to actively take something away that you like, You’ll hear people in wrestling say there is a wrong type of heat. There is truly no such thing as the wrong type of heat, as long as you can manage it. As long as you can take it. Today, people get canceled for everything. Every hour, somebody is getting canceled and uncanceled. A heel’s job is to get canceled. A heel’s job is to not be cool and not sell merch. In wrestling, the term has gotten more identified with The Rock types that aren’t really heels. He’s just The Rock. He’s in a Disney movie. He’s beloved. Watching him is a prime example. You have to really go to lengths to upset people and do something. In this case, he upset them greatly because he was taking away a spot. He was smart enough to know, ‘That’s a good spot to be in.’ Most people are uncomfortable in that spot. Most people don’t want to explore being hated. John Bradshaw Layfield, you couldn’t sell his merch, even in his hometown. If there were JBL shirts, he would go up to the stands personally and make sure they were not there. He was meant to be hated. He wanted you cheering for John (Cena) and Eddie Guerrero. That is a hard ask. There is beauty if you can commit to being a bad guy. It’s a unique space creatively. You have to be really vulnerable, open, and open and blood-hungry in terms of how you are on the microphone. There is a growing sect[ion] of fans that want to see that happen for me at some point. If you’re really wishing for that, it’s scorched earth. Then you might be, ‘We don’t like that.’ You have to really go scorched earth, and in 2024, that is hard for anyone to understand. You’re not meant to be cool. You’re not meant to be the next Rock. You’re meant to be a bad guy.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit The Pivot with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
