Cody Rhodes Says His NJPW G1 Special Match Isn't Going To "Steal The Show" It Is "The Show"
Cody Rhodes spoke with Sporting News before tonight's match against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega. Here are some of the highlights:
Why wrestling doesn't have better stories:
"You have to have all the proper components for it, and it is difficult. If you're WWE, it's going to be difficult because of the amount of saturation. You've got a Monday live TV, live TV on Tuesday, you have a pay-per-view every month and you have a [NXT] Takeover every quarter it seems like. It is difficult to continue to put the same faces out there and for those faces to continue to capture your imagination.
However, I don't think wrestling was meant to be as saturated as it is. Just like any sort of prizefighting entertainment, you have to build to these events. Less does mean more. Every time there's an NXT show, people are like, 'Oh, that's the greatest thing I've ever seen. It's the greatest show on Earth.' One of things that they have going for them is the fact they make you wait. They build to it properly. That's a good way to go at this."
If he is looking to steal the show in his IWGP Heavyweight Championship match against Kenny Omega:
"Steal the show? I don't think anything else has a chance. I think it is 'The Show.' I'm happy that people's eyes are on Juice Robinson, Jay White and The Bucks with the heavyweight title rematch. But I don't think anyone in there is coming to see but what Kenny and I are going to do. This is the second outing. I think people will be genuinely surprised at this type of match ... and how grueling and physical we make it. Whether it steals the show or not, it still is 'The Show.'"
Leaving WWE:
"If I look like a different person, it's because I am a different person. I really got struck by lightning when it came to my decision to leave WWE. If I literally think about that day and who I was then, it's drastic. It almost happened overnight for me. You go real long in this business and then you have these light-bulb moments. I just had this fleeting moment of fearlessness and a moment of trust in myself that I'm not going to listen to anyone. I'm going to do it how I want to do it. And how I want to do is what people are going to want to see and promoters want to pay for.
That fearlessness of not being scared about a damn thing has created quite an ego, which is rather prominent with Kenny and I and how we go about things and Kenny on a much humbler note. I am a completely different person. I don't know if I'm there just yet, but I'm growing into the wrestler that I dreamed of as a little kid. That's the boyhood dream."
Rhodes also discussed Being the Elite and cross-promoting in pro wrestling. You can check out the full interview by clicking here.