Cody Rhodes on AEW All Out incident: ‘I just hated seeing that’

  • Ian Carey
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Cody Rhodes says he was “bummed out” when he learned of CM Punk’s press conference following AEW All Out and the backstage scuffle that occurred shortly after. 

Rhodes appeared in-studio for The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani on Monday. He was asked for his thoughts on what happened after AEW’s pay-per-view last September. 

Rhodes responded: 

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. I liked that, that contention is what made us bond, we’re bonded forever because of things we did.

But I also had a great relationship with Punk. He was my dinner buddy. They’d order dinner for me at AEW every week as 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 too, salmon or sushi. We didn’t talk a lot but [we] had a great realtionship, would sit and chat, and I was so excited to have him back. 

So when I watched it, just from my sitting there. There was some people texting me, I remember, somebody texted me, ‘Man, you’re the smartest guy in the room.’ And I wanted to write back like, ‘F you man.’ I don’t feel that way, I feel this thing we built got damaged. 

And I’m not putting any blame on anybody. Sorry, I”m super, super Switzerland on this one. I’m not putting any blame on anybody but 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, why we were there, and 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. 

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. 

That was a situation that was so big and heavy, I don’t think it was helpful. Maybe you can make it helpful, maybe you can do something with it but that’s just how I felt. No heat on Punk, no heat on Matt, Nick, Kenny or Tony, I was just bummed out when I saw. That’s not how we envisioned it. 

The spirit of All In, if you ever lose the spirit, you’re lost and I think the spirit was gone in that moment. Doesn’t mean you can’t get it back but it was just a bummer.

Earlier in the conversation, Rhodes was asked about his father’s legacy playing a role in his current storyline. 

I was watching WWE with my dad and he told me, he goes, ‘When people say like he would have loved this, don’t ever let anyone say that about me,’ and that’s burnt into my brain. 

There’s a rule, it’s my rule, it’s not a big serious rule. If you don’t know Dusty, if he didn’t train you in NXT, if he didn’t work with you, if you’re just, no pun intended, going for some cheap heat, you can’t use him because he’s not coming out here and making the bionic elbow, he’s not with us, right?

I think about him so much heading into this situation solely because I think he was one of the few people who thought this could happen for me. But he would lose it if he knew I was wrestling Roman, one of his guys, in Hollywood, a place where he wanted me to be in the first place. He would lose it.

Rhodes then mentioned it might not be Roman he faces at WrestleMania and spoke about the “unique scenario” regarding Saturday’s Elimination Chamber event. 

I can’t compare anything to Montreal other than Punk in Chicago. As composed as Roman is this is a very unique scenario. So, the idea that it could be Sami Zayn is not remotely off the table for me, at all. And if it’s Sami Zayn vs. me in Hollywood, just the idea of all this, I think my dad would be stunned by. 

I feel that when you are second-generation, or third-generation, whatever, you do want to be like them, sure, but you want to be better than them. When you say that, people are like, ‘How could you be better than Dusty? What a d**k.’ No. It’s how you honor them. 

However, Rhodes would continue to say that both Bruce Prichard and Paul Heyman told him that his current popularity is not about who his father is. 

Mr. Heyman said the exact thing – I don’t think he knew I needed to hear this but I heard him – he said it’s not about [Dusty] and Bruce Prichard told me that too. He said nobody loves your dad more than me but this is about you. That nightmare logo isn’t polka dots. All these kids with these little foam weight belts, that’s not red, white, and blue Dusty Rhodes tour shirts, they’re into you. That’s an interesting thing to hear.

Helwani asked Rhodes about the possibility of doing a triple threat at WrestleMania. Rhodes responded:

I don’t really have a preference. Soley 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 1 or 2, enjoy it all. And that’s really been, kind of, the challenge. I can’t begrudge a dude getting super hot.

I really look forward to the moments when I’m in there, if they happen, with Sami, whether that’s just on the Road to WrestleMania because I think it’s different than people think. He’s doing amazing and I feel like I’ve been able to really do some great stuff too. So bring it all together. 

One of the reasons I keep the serene and the peace and the calm is I don’t know – I’m not the executive vice president – I think some people still think I have 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 was also asked about working with Paul “Triple H’ Levesque since returning from injury. 

So far, A+.

Nothing has been forced. I’m not trying to force my ideas or a friendship. He’s just been, everything he has said to me or we’ve talked about has been very deliberate. I get the sense he’s expecting me to hit a homerun every time.