Cody Rhodes Bleacher Report AMA: Favorite matches in AEW, AEW videogame update, career highlight, memories of Dusty

Cody (photo credit Joe DeFalco / ROH)

The following are quotes pulled from AEW EVP Cody Rhodes’s AMA on the BR app earlier today. 

-Cody was asked why someone that is not a fan of wrestling should watch it.

Cody wrote: “If you’ve never seen wrestling, the thing I’d tell you is, wrestling always has a payoff. In a world of sports that sometimes you fall in love with an individual… and your hopes are dashed… wrestling is still the prominent leader in building character good or bad. There’s always a payoff, your time isn’t wasted… this is a very hopeless period of time, and a very cynical generation, but man it’s nice to have a little hope, levity and light, and I think wrestling brings that forward.”

-Cody was asked about wrestling his brother Dustin at Double or Nothing last year.

Rhodes wrote: “I’d say it was surreal and oddly, the word would be, maternal… because he was bleeding so much, I just wanted to take care of him before it was over. I didn’t concentrate on the epic scale this match was on. It wasn’t until after I realized what we had done.”

-Cody was asked when the AEW videogame will be released.

Rhodes wrote: “I’ll give the honest update: The AEW videogame will be something all the fans know about as we begin the process and as we move forward. If we were going to make a very good game, which is our intention, it’s going to take time. Game development is arduous, it’s a very creative space, and we want to do it right. We will keep people updated. It won’t come as a surprise. We want them to take the journey with us. Be extra patient so we can deliver.”

-Cody was asked about the best piece of advice he ever got from his dad Dusty Rhodes.

Cody wrote: “It was very simple: my dad spoke like a preacher on Sunday, so almost everything was advice or a pep talk. But the thing he hit me with that was my favorite: hit your finish.”

-Cody was asked if he feels social media has helped or hurt the wrestling business more.

Cody wrote: “The pros have to outweigh the cons. The DIY wrestlers that exist out there, they were born because of social media, and a portion of AEW exists because of social media. I don’t know if it’ll be important in the future as it is now, but it’s still very important.”

-Cody was asked who is on his wrestling Mt. Rushmore.

Cody wrote: “Flair, Hogan, Rock. Leave the fourth one as a vacant silhouette… because wrestling needs to make new stars.”

-Cody was asked what his top 5 favorite AEW matches are so far.

Cody wrote: “In no particular order: One was Private Party vs. The Young Bucks. PAC vs. Orange Cassidy. Shias vs. Britt. Thought that was Britt’s breakout performance…Hangman and Kenny vs. The Young Bucks… and Darby-Cody from Fyter fest.”

-Cody was asked what his favorite finishing submission and non-submission maneuvers are as a fan.

Cody wrote: “I grew up a huge Sting fan, so I remember thinking that I didn’t like The Sharpshooter because I liked The Scorpion Deathlock, even though they’re the exact same thing. And then as a pin finish maneuver, that’s tough… I can’t really claim one, but I like when guys take a simple move, and they make it something bigger. Like Undertaker’s Last Ride. I like when you take something you can do to everyone and add your character to it… it’s the other piece of the puzzle you need.”

Cody was asked about his favorite match of all time.

Cody wrote: “Two that come to mind. My personal favorite match was my dad vs. Sting at the Clash of the Champions vs. Tully and Arn Anderson. It’s a match that the ref loses control of it, but it’s very special to me because you can see the old fans in Miami worshipped my dad, mixing with the young fans who were there to see Sting. The match itself is what we call in the business The Rub. And then I think the greatest match of all time is undoubtedly The Rock vs. Hogan. Anyone who says otherwise, it makes me question your wrestling IQ.”

-Cody was asked who is his favorite person to wrestle.

Cody wrote: There are a lot of people I haven’t wrestled at AEW that I want to mix it up with, like Jungle Boy. Someone who I really enjoy wrestling now is Scorpio Sky. And long-term, my favorite guy to wrestle on a consistent basis was Christian.”

-Cody was asked what his first memory of wrestling is.

Cody wrote: “My favorite growing up was… we used to order the PPVs from my aunt’s house in Tampa. At the time, all of my mom’s sisters were linked into wrestling. As kids, we all had our inside tracks….it was your dad or your uncle who was in that match. That was a really fun few years where we were able to see them on that platform. Life was real good during that period of time. Very fond moments for me.”

-Cody was asked if he had any advice of someone trying to break into the sales/marketing side of the business.

Cody wrote: “ ‘Do the work’ is the expression and it’s very real… and ‘don’t be afraid to let people know you do the work.’ Don’t be afraid to get that resume in front of the right person and shoot your shot.”

-Cody was asked what is THE highlight of his career.

Cody replied: “I’d say the very first AEW event, Double or Nothing. And if not Double or Nothing, stuff I can’t put my name on because I don’t need to take credit for anything. But I really enjoy watching talents take something like my suggestion and they run with it. My role in management is the biggest highlight for me. I want to be a leader of men and women and how to do it correctly and be an example. That’s how I’ve grown the most with AEW in the year we’ve had.”

-Cody was asked what he would do if he wasn’t a wrestler.

Cody wrote: “I talked about this one time with my wife when I was briefly considering getting out of wrestling. I would try to get my degree so I could coach at the high school level. I love amateur wrestling. It’s the greatest character building sport and it’s kind of a dying sport in the south and southeast. I’d love to help pass it on it’s just really fun, character building thing that kept me on my p’s and q’s when I was younger.”