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It’s been seven years since Cody Rhodes last wrestled in New York City’s premier sports venues and he’s happy to be back. The Royal Rumble winner and WrestleMania 39 headliner, against either Roman Reigns or Sami Zayn for the WWE Undisputed Universal championship, will be at Barclays Center on Monday night for Raw and then at Madison Square Garden for a live event in March.
As Rhodes continues on his road to WrestleMania, he sat down with The Post’s Joseph Staszewski for some Q&A.
(Edited for clarity and length)
Q: What does it mean to be back at Barclays Center and later Madison Square Garden after so long?
A: The entire New York market when you’re a naïve Southerner like I was, you think it’s all New York. You don’t understand the beauty that each market has when you are in Long Island or you’re doing Arthur Ashe or you’re in the hallowed ground of the Garden and I remember doing SummerSlam at Barclays. Every place has its own flavor and I’ve missed that.
I like being one of those wrestlers in the locker room who’s had this experience where I’ve hit all these joints so I have a sense of, “maybe they’ll be like this or maybe they won’t.” And then when they surprise you it’s great as well. The truest statement in the book is if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. It’s as true as it gets.
It means a lot to me because I’m not from here. It means a lot especially because we’re from the South, we’re not really hip to everything that we should be hip to. We have very little frame of reference for how a city like New York operates. I live in the suburbs of Georgia. So when you get that warm feeling, it’s one of those — wrestling is international.
Q: The last time you were at Barclays was SummerSlam 2015 as Stardust for a tag match against Stephen Amell. Is there going to be a little different feeling walking in there now that you are the Raw headliner going to WrestleMania from a very different place in your career?
A: Yes, but I’d like to walk in there like I was in my mind still Stardust because I’m a big advocate, especially at my age, of not judging anybody by where they are on the card. I’m just talking from human nature … having your head up and being as pro as you can be no matter where you are. I really just want to calmly and peacefully just walk into every arena … I told the people in Columbus, Georgia the other night at a live event, “I’m taking all your faces in.” And I really meant it, because I don’t know if going into Philadelphia (for WrestleMania 40) if it will be me in the main event again. I’ll try. Just that it is this time. I want to remember every step.
Q: When you came back, you talked about being ready for this. Now that you are in the main event of WrestleMania, do you still feel like everything that you did to prepare for this moment has gotten you ready for what’s coming?
A: All of it has been so worth it. Now, I wouldn’t trade any of it. I really wouldn’t. All the bad, and there’s a lot of bad and a lot of amazing, too, and I wouldn’t trade any of it. It really does feel like I’m ready. I’ve never been in a WrestleMania main event, but it just feels like I owe it to myself to stay in the mental state that I am of being ready and not in that sense where you’re faking it ’till you’re making it. Not in that sense where you’re on the inside panicked, just enjoying it.
Q: I’m sure you heard the chatter of “Sami Zayn is probably the better WrestleMania main event, we don’t want Cody to turn into the Batista to his Daniel Bryan.” What’s going through your mind as you’re hearing this?
A: You got to really hear ‘em, and if I had come back at the Rumble and that had been the taste or I had come back the following night on Raw and that had been the taste or last week with Mr. Heyman in the ring, if I was feeling and hearing it versus the speculation, I think I’d probably have to own it. Versus, what I like about it all is it comes across as a challenge and I think maybe Sami looks at it that way, too. We had no viable [title] contenders for forever and now there’s two. The last thing I want to do is make it about he or I. If it’s you, great. If it’s me, great. At this stage in the game, I can’t begrudge you for doing a great job and Roman obviously for doing a great job.
I really look forward to the moments I get to interact with Sami. People almost will be like, “They should be away from each other.” Hell no. Give it to them. This audience is unique in a sense that they have been amazing to him and they really have been amazing to me. I’m curious what happens. It’s also one of those things, don’t be afraid. The whole thing is like, don’t panic.
The only thing I can say to anyone who may be on the other side from me is I can’t apologize for winning the Royal Rumble. I can’t apologize for that. No doubt as a fan, feel what you feel.
Q: What was your rehab process like?
A: Doc (Jeffery Dugas) who did my surgery, he told [my wife] Brandi something I wish he hadn’t told her. He’s said, “He’s not gonna get hurt picking the kid up. And I felt like, “Oh, I’m not gonna get to pick Liberty up?” He goes, “That’s not gonna be the thing.” He said, if he falls back and tries to catch something or if he slips down the steps. Rehab is so … Triple H told me, “little goals.” Can you do this 30 times? Little tiny goals.
Also because I got injured working out, I was terrified of getting back to working out. Terrified of, “you think you can do 40s instead of 30s?” Nope. [My trainer] has had to tailor the workout to where it’s not gonna be working out that gets me. I’ll do 50 of these versus six (of something else). He’s been very good about still pushing me and not doing anything stupid. I need to give him credit as well, but DDP (Diamond Dallas Page). DDP has been telling me for years, “You’re gonna break and when you break, I’m here.” Because I didn’t subscribe to any of his stuff. Love him. I broke and I came to him and he’s been helpful with all the little things you can do as far as recovery. Almost every legend you could think of was hitting me up.
If I have to stretch a full hour before we do anything, I’m fine with that. WWE Is accommodating of that. We have all the equipment, the Game Ready (equipment), the bands, the blades, just every little modern thing you can do to get it warm and get other parts warm, too.
Q: Was it a little bit of a blessing to be away from wrestling after your daughter Liberty was just born?
A: The ultimate blessing because she was 12 months, 11 months when I got hurt. So this crazy exponential developmental period where they develop and words start, I was there for all of it. Maybe it was meant to be that way. I don’t believe in that necessarily, but if you look at everything there is a lot of destiny involved in what we’re doing. Man, I got to be there for everything. Take her to her first little pre-K. Brandi and I got to be together and there is a lot of love that’s developed. I don’t push myself on Libby. She’s a mama’s girl, but I do want the slow come to me. Her first wrestling show will be WrestleMania.
Q: So what are the chances we get the winged-eagle belt back?
A: It’s my favorite title. I like the big eagle too, but the winged-eagle is my favorite. I went to Bret Hart’s house once and he had one on his desk It was beat to hell, but it was one of the road titles. I had such luck, I was really pestering about the (white) Intercontinental championship. And when I did it, they understood it. WWE was like, “Oh, there is a whole market for this.” It wasn’t as indulgent as much as it was this retro flavor.
If we were to get to the finish line (at WrestleMania) and I punch this through, I would fight for it. And I think the argument against it is you saw Patrick Mahomes this morning with the WWE title. The argument against it is the walking billboard that is the other. Plus there is an argument against it that that’s what Roman has held for three years. There is something special about that as well and there is a whole generation that’s gonna go, “That’s mine.” But I would be surprised if I made a play for it. No one has told me to shut up about it.
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