Cody Rhodes appeared on ESPN Radio this afternoon to promote WWE SummerSlam and talk about a wide range of topics, including wanting to carve out his legacy in wrestling, the current WWE product, and more.
Rhodes will be addressing Brock Lesnar’s attack from last week on tonight’s WWE Raw, where their SummerSlam match will likely be confirmed.
WWE’s product is on fire from TV ratings to attendance as last Friday’s Smackdown did its highest key demo rating since March 2020. Here are the highlights:
On the WWE schedule:
“The schedule can be very daunting. It’s a gig that you have to really, really love and your family too. You, if you’re someone who has a family like myself, my wife, and my daughter, that love has to, everyone has to know about passion and sacrifice. I am very lucky in the sense that I have my own tour bus, and that’s where I’m comfortable right now. I am very lucky because after ten years of driving all over the roads with four wrestlers in a car, screaming at each other, trying to get food at two in the morning, I’m, I’m, I’m very lucky that I’m in this position. It’s tough, but I’ll say this: the tradeoff for what we do is so worth it. You know, WWE every city lately is, and one out after another, and there’s been this really special thing that’s happening with our product, which is always popular, but right now it’s even on a different level. So that’s the trade-off. Tonight. I could be as tired and grumpy as possible. The body may be a little banged up. Brock Lesner threw me all around last week. But still, like, you walk out in front of these, these, these crowds, and you can’t just be rejuvenated. It’s amazing. So for me, it’s a great trade and you’re part of royalty because your dad is the legendary dog.”
On wanting to make his own legacy:
“Well, I think a bit secret that there is when it comes to second or third-generation wrestlers, honesty this trickles down to any athlete, that your parent came before you and did something great. It’s a thing you don’t always say is, ‘Yeah, I want to honor them. I want to honor my mom or my dad,’ but also, you want to be better than they were, and not in a negative way. You want to take it a step further. For me, winning the Royal Rumble you mentioned, my dad passed away in 2015, and it’s so unique that he’s not able to really see it, but I feel like he’s still here with me. But to be able to do some things he never touched, and Dusty did everything. So to be able to win the Royal Rumble, to go to WrestleMania, and be the main event of the biggest thing that’s ever involved in the wrestling scene since the turn of the century, I’m blessed, I’m lucky. But I’m still on the hunt. You mentioned SummerSlam tonight, Buffalo, I’m excited because, hopefully, I’m gonna get to talk about what I’m gonna do at SummerSlam. But still on the hunt to find my own legacy because the tricky thing when you’re in these families is you want to look at everybody on a different page and say, ‘Oh, they were different, they did this, and he was different, he did this.’ And just, that’s my way of honoring them is trying to be better than both dad and brother, and that’s certainly a struggle because they laid a great path.”
#WWERaw Superstar @CodyRhodes recently joined @ESPNRadio to talk about his involvement with @MakeAWish and what his goals are in @WWE. https://t.co/q8UbHRb9I4 pic.twitter.com/D4re3sSojA
— WWE Public Relations (@WWEPR) July 10, 2023
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit ESPN Radio with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
