Cody Rhodes has discussed what could have happened if he was the one to be aligned with Paul Heyman.
Heyman’s abilities as an Advocate and Wiseman have been integral in elevating the star power of those he was associated with. If a champion had Heyman in their corner then big matches felt even bigger and the odds of defeating whoever Heyman was backing became even greater, something that Rhodes is very familiar with.
Returning to WWE at WrestleMania 38, Heyman had already backed Roman Reigns for more than 18 months at this point and would remain alongside The Tribal Chief throughout Reigns’ 1,300-plus day reign as champion. However, if Heyman was hypothetically available to represent The American Nightmare, how does the Undisputed Champion think it would play out?
Speaking with Jimmy Traina on the SI Media podcast, Rhodes stated that if he were ever paired with Heyman then it would be a very successful partnership:
“In another lifetime, I probably would have made the best Paul Heyman Guy. I probably could have been his absolute Ace. It just didn’t work out that way. It worked out that I was the adversary for his number one guy, Roman Reigns. There is part of me that looks at that, even with the questionable decisions that Mr. Heyman makes, part of me looks at that and goes, ‘that might have been fun. That might have been a good car to be in. That might have been a good person to lean over to right before one of the bigger moments in your life and have something to share.’
Rhodes continued, stating that he did gain valuable experience from Arn Anderson and went on to show his admiration for the content of Heyman’s Hell of Fame speech:
I had that same enjoyment when I had Arn Anderson with me. Just to have someone who has been there before. There is also beauty in being there totally by yourself. There is a specialness to that. All that said, even with the blood and violence and how bad things had gotten, I was very understanding that he was going to mention Dusty. I stood up when Mr. Heyman walked out. All of this was a conscious decision because of what we were celebrating and how he looked and how he revered my father. I’m not a Paul Heyman Guy, that never happened, but we do share the bond that is Dusty.
He’s one of the very few guys that when they talk about Dusty, I don’t roll my eyes or bang my head against the table. He did know him. He knows some things that I don’t even know. I was glad he was present in Mr. Heyman’s speech, as wild of a speech as it was,”
Cody Rhodes Discusses Non-PG Promo
In the build-up to his match with Reigns at WrestleMania 40, Rhodes crossed paths with The Rock, who would go on to become The Final Boss and do everything possible to make The American Nightmare’s chances of victory virtually impossible. With The Rock dishing out non-PG content on TV and on social media, Cody Rhodes cut a non-PG promo of his own, something that he admits he was a little guilty about.
In a separate interview, Cody Rhodes revealed what it would take to get The Rock to return.
H/t to Fightful.