Cody Rhodes was recently a guest on Matt Barnes & Stephen Jackson’s All The Smoke podcast, where he discussed things like his Mount Rushmore of WWE, his feud with Seth Rollins, and retirement, among other things.
On the show, Matt asked Rhodes if he had any self-doubts in his career before he returned to WWE again. Cody Rhodes said, “all the time,” but the fans still showed up and stayed for him, so he knew he was doing something right. Later on, The American Nightmare explained his interactions with fans and how he never gets upset even when they’re booing him.
Cody Rhodes Talks About Never Getting Mad At The Fans
During his final few months in AEW, Cody Rhodes heavily teased a heel turn. Many fans argued that this is what his character needed at that time. They had outgrown him and wanted to see him embrace his darker side. At times, it seemed like Rhodes was finally going to turn, but he never did. The fans grew impatient eventually, and every time Rhodes showed up, they booed him.
And just a few months later, Rhodes left the company he helped create for a better opportunity in WWE. Since his first match upon return against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania to today, Rhodes has consistently been a major draw for WWE. He’s the biggest face they have right now, but it all happened because Rhodes believed in himself and didn’t change his character’s direction due to the audience.
On All The Smoke, Cody Rhodes said he owes everything to the fans. Without them, he wouldn’t have his career or his confidence, and it’s why he never gets mad at any one of them if they sometimes boo him or walk up to him in public. He said:
“I never get mad at fans. If fans had booed me in the past, and maybe they weren’t supposed to boo me, or if fans had gotten to me in a social space, whatever it was. I never could go to sleep mad at them because they are also responsible for everything I have. And that’s not just my career, but the confidence. You can’t do it for silence, right? The live audience is what we do.” (H/T Sportskeeda)
The fans don’t always cheer the good guys on television. The audience has booed stars like Ronda Rousey and The Rock despite being babyfaces, and they didn’t take it well. In Cody’s case, he doesn’t care as long as the fans are reacting to him. He recalled advice he received from Tully Blanchard, who told him his job is to make the fans “the loudest the longest.” And so far, Cody Rhodes has done it successfully.
Ishaan Sharma has been following wrestling ever since he was 8. That was over a decade ago. He loves to write about this pretend sport and has worked with online publications such as Sportskeeda and TheSportster, where he shared his insights about the wrestling business.