WWE has a crew of dozens that keeps its massive machine running around the clock, including management, talent, and producers, among others. The world occasionally throws a wrench in World Wrestling Entertainment’s plans and unprecedented changes are made, as just revealed by Cody Rhodes and another top Superstar.
The WWE crews, along with several million citizens, were impacted by several snowstorms during Winter-Spring 2023. After a live SmackDown in Lincoln, Nebraska on April 14, the blue brand traveled out of Omaha, NB as they had a Saturday live event in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and a Sunday show in El Paso, Texas.
Cody Rhodes and Damian Priest told the story of the live event debacle on the latest episode of Cody’s “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” podcast. The American Nightmare began the discussion by poking fun at Priest’s fear of flying. Rhodes then revealed how he arranged for a jet to fly talents into the El Paso area.
“I have always wanted to ask you this: are you afraid of flying? [Priest laughs] Because we had a situation, and I hope you don’t mind, we had a situation where we needed to get to, or out of, Omaha, and I thought I’d be a big baller and save the day. There was no commercial flights, they were clearly going to delay or cancel, so I got the crew a jet. We were heading to El Paso, actually, that was the trouble. We needed to get to El Paso from Nebraska in the middle of a snowstorm, and the only way we could do it is flying private. Ultimately, WWE, thank gosh, stepped in, they covered it for me,” Cody Rhodes said. [From 44:46 to 45:32]
While WWE did cover the cost of the flight later on, Priest pointed to how cool it was for Cody to step up and help.
“But the fact that you were willing to do it was pretty cool, and I think people should know that that’s who you are. You’re that guy,” Damian Priest said. [From 45:33 to 45:37]
Cody Rhodes And Seth Rollins Produced WWE Event
Cody Rhodes flew the roster to El Paso for the WWE live event, but he forgot to include the producers. Speaking to Damian Priest on “What Do You Wanna Talk About?,” the second generation Superstar recalled how this show was a bit different due to the El Paso Sports Commission. The Sun City is one of the few regions that still have sports commissions with rules for pro wrestling.
“We had a show to do, and remember… no producers. Me and Seth [Priest: what a crazy day!] were producers and it was a show that had a Commission… where we actually had to do work. It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, you’re good, we know your match,’ or, ‘Hey, 23 minutes!’ None of that, that was all pretty much taken care of [Priest: this is WWE! that’s how crazy the circumstances were] but we had to tell people, ‘Please go see the Commission for your heart.’ [both laugh],” Cody Rhodes said. [From 45:38 to 46:08]
The Archer of Infamy recalled how it was confusing at first to see Rhodes and Rollins walk around with their clipboards, but noted how the roster took them seriously that night. Cody and Damian gave praise to the WWE producers, but Rhodes confessed he just didn’t think right as he knew they had a show to do, and you need talent for that.
Priest and Rhodes agreed on how great Rollins was at the job, adding that he has a serious future behind-the-scenes when he retires. The discussion wrapped with a few jokes about Priest’s fear of flying.