CBS Sports’ Chuck Carroll recently had the opportunity to speak with Brandi Rhodes. She addressed the rumors surrounding her departure from Global Force Wrestling, her Dusty Rhodes tribute in ROH, her future with them and more. She also touched on some of her disappointments she had when she was with WWE.
Thanks to Chuck Carroll for the embedded video and the quotes included below:
The interview is here: http://sports.cbslocal.com/2017/08/10/brandi-rhodes-interview-ring-of-honor-debut-leaving-wwe/
Recently, you left Global Force Wrestling. There was a report that the company wanted a cut of your revenue from a non-wrestling-related television show. What’s the story there?
Unfortunately, that story is kind of a mess. There are some valid statements that I’ve seen, but it’s really not as dramatic as people want it to be. Basically, Cody and I were very candid with what we were doing after WWE as far as contracts go. People are confused. I never signed the contract that people think I signed with Global Force stating that they got percentages.
What I did sign was a tentative contract with Impact Wrestling when they were still Impact. That contract had a clause for me, because I was already working on some stuff in other areas of television. That clause basically said that if something else in television were to happen for me, they can’t be uncooperative. And if they were uncooperative, we would be able to part ways. And that is honestly what happened. So, I am filming something awesome in Atlanta, but I can’t say what it is.
You’re getting all sorts of opportunities now, and it makes me think back to your time in WWE. You initially joined Florida Championship Wrestling, you were training to be a wrestler. And then somehow ended up transitioning into an announcer. Were you disappointed with the way things turned out? Maybe feel like there were missed opportunities?
Yes, and no. I really enjoyed ring announcing and had a lot of fun with that. I had many different ways to challenge myself with that and make it fun and interesting. But when you’ve been an athlete and used to being a physical person, sometimes that takes over. And you’re kind of like, ‘Okay, when am I going to get my chance to do my thing?’
While I was announcing I was the same person I am now, who was in the gym, eating right and doing all of these things. Being physical [is] something I’ve always done. I figure skated for 17 years on a highly competitive level. So, sitting down and watching other people compete is a difficult thing for me. … I felt like there was potential for more, and I did try.
People have seen some of the backstage shoots with myself and Cody doing these different characters. It would have been so much fun. Just not being able to get there got a little frustrating. Being able to do all of the stuff now, it’s so much fun and confirms for me I was able to do more, and I was ready to do more.
In your ROH debut, your ring attire was a tribute to your father-in-law, Dusty Rhodes. Talk to me about the decision to do that. It must have been emotional.
When people want to honor other people, it’s a wonderful thing. But there are a lot of factors that you have to take into consideration when you do that. A lot of time it’s the families of those people. How do they feel about it, how are they dealing with things and what does it mean to them? It took me awhile to do this, even though I am family. It took me some time to decide that I was ready to wear the polka dots.
I wanted to make sure it was going to be a match that meant something. For me, stepping into a Ring of Honor ring was going to be the biggest match I ever had. So, I wanted to commemorate that in a great way, and the best way I could think to do that was to wear these polka dots. That was for me and for Cody. It was an emotional thing.
But I was so shocked at how well received it was. It was like they were waiting for it. I’m so glad I was able to do that and people can appreciate it. It encourages people to then be more open about their feelings about things and say, ‘Hey, I was the biggest fan of Dusty, and I got to meet him one time.’ I love hearing things like that. It was really cool for me. It’s something I will continue to do sparingly. I’m a fashionista, I have a lot of ring gear and different looks I’m going to be trying. But those will definitely be around for some time.
Check out the full interview at http://sports.cbslocal.com/2017/08/10/brandi-rhodes-interview-ring-of-honor-debut-leaving-wwe/
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