Tommy Dreamer Addresses Exchange Between Cody Rhodes & Gunther On WWE Raw

With a match against WWE World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER on the horizon, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes returned to "WWE Raw" this week, and in doing so, came face-to-face with "The Ring General" himself. The tone of this encounter was overall respectful, as evidenced by Rhodes and GUNTHER shaking hands at its conclusion. At the same time, Rhodes and GUNTHER didn't hold back on lacing some verbal jabs in there too. On "Busted Open After Dark," ECW legend Tommy Dreamer laid out his assessment of the Rhodes-GUNTHER exchange.

Overall, Dreamer enjoyed it; he did, however, also raise some questions about it, one of which centered on a line about Rhodes potentially being called a "politician" for thanking the WWE Universe. "I did not understand where [Rhodes said] some people could say [he was] politicking," Dreamer said. "Why would you not want to thank the fans that started something for you? So just that one line I did not understand, but hey, the guy's on top and he's on top for a reason.

"Great promo, great in-ring work. Why I want to say he's on top for a reason is, well, also because GUNTHER said exactly what most of us talk about. GUNTHER saying he's the quarterback of this brand, makes all the live events, does all the PR. He is on top of his game, and he kind of really put him over. And, normally GUNTHER sets you up and then hits you with a nice left-handed compliment, but tonight he waited, waited, waited. They had a real verbal exchange. I really, really enjoyed their verbal exchange. It was nice, refreshing, not so much heat, and then once we get the dig, the dig makes the people go, 'Ooh.'"

In furthering evaluating the Rhodes-GUNTHER faceoff, Dreamer compared the ways in which GUNTHER and Rhodes — heel and babyface, respectively — conveyed their messages. While both men told the truth, Dreamer points out that Rhodes sounded more intense in doing so.

"Right now, our heels are all telling the truth, and there's not a deviation from it or a twisted form of reality. They're really stating how they feel. And my babyfaces are being a little bit more aggressive in their truths towards my heels, but my heels are saying rightful things," Dreamer said. "And this is where I say this part sometimes worries me because yes, when everything is going great and you don't really start to think about it because you could get away with a lot of things. However, it could cost you.

"I'm going to point out a lot of times tonight [on the podcast] where I was just like, 'These are the people I root for?' Cody was not that case. Cody's promo was excellent. His tone is a little bassier in his voice, which I get, but what he said to GUNTHER was real."

Regarding GUNTHER's verbal delivery, Dreamer suggested that he could have also ventured down the self-serving route, as opposed to highlighting Rhodes' successes in WWE. Specifically when GUNTHER referred to Rhodes as the company "quarterback," Dreamer believes he could have instead questioned the legitimacy of the statement, rather than accepting it.

Rhodes and GUNTHER will soon meet again at WWE Crown Jewel, though this time they will battle over the newly-minted WWE Crown Jewel Championship.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open After Dark" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.