Cody Rhodes On WWE In The UK: "There Is No Secret Plan To Destroy The Indie Scene In The UK"
Cody Rhodes did an interview with the
Mirror. He talked about how his knee injury, WWE restricting NXT UK wrestlers on where they can wrestle, and about his wife Brandi's wrestling career. Here are some highlights from the interview:
How his knee is doing:
"It's okay. The bad news was that? so a meniscus tear is commonly known as a severe sprain. So I thought, 'Oh, I will be okay.' Then I got the MRI and there was good news in that I don't have to get reconstructive surgery because all my ligaments are intact, but that meniscus had a second tear. That second tear is why I heard a 'pop' in the ring and why I knew something was wrong. But I'm doing everything I can. I've got a brace for it, like one of those big Steve Austin braces, I don't know if I'm going to be comfortable in it or not, but I'm trying to kind of wear it around the house and get used to it. It's coming along, I'm trying to be very careful with it, just because, I don't want to be that wrestler ... The guy who trained me told me 'you'll always work hurt, but never work injured.' And that's very good advice. This I could tell was a little bit more severe."
Been difficult to train for final battle(essentially on one knee) but I'm pretty happy with the progress. Kilos to pounds I'm about 222 midday. W/water trim & carb depletion I imagine I'll walk into Hammerstein at 208! ?????? pic.twitter.com/TMQe7LJaux
? Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) December 8, 2018
His thoughts about WWE NXT UK contract restrictions on where they can wrestle:
"Well, I think it just means more opportunity. There is obviously a deep roster of talent and maybe some talent we're not seeing because we're seeing so many NXT UK guys, that we all know are wonderful. I saw a tweet that Pete Dunne put out that I really liked too though. There is such a tendency to jump on WWE and talk bad about them in terms of these contracts and what they are doing. But with the people they have in place, Johnny Saint, William Regal, and Triple H, and how he is, there is no secret plan to destroy the indy scene in the UK. They just see a wonderful product and they want to protect their guys.
"It was a bit of a Wild West situation, where somebody like me from Ring of Honor and New Japan could go over to the UK and mix it up with somebody who was one of the NXT UK talents. It was a little Wild West for a bit and it was really cool to see that. But I think also you've got so many heads involved and so many egos, this might be good. I saw another tweet I really liked that Will Ospreay put out, just have the signed guys wrestle the second half of a show and the unsigned guys wrestle the first half! There is plenty of talent and maybe it just means more opportunities for those who haven't signed anywhere yet."
Watching Brandi Rhodes' wrestling career develop:
"Yeah, I'm over the moon with all of it because it snuck up on me. She asked for advice and whatnot from me, but she does all her training at this place here by our house in Atlanta with QT Marshall [at the One Fall Power Factory in Georgia]. She goes every week, and I don't go, she goes every week and this is what she wants to try, she looks at who she's wrestling, she was looking at stuff with Viper last night, and all that you have to be real quiet when you're in the role I play, because you have to let her do her own thing and actually let her sink or swim.
"We were sitting backstage on this recent tour in Australia, it was me and Marty Scurll and Joey Ryan, and it was really great to see them bantering, they didn't know I was right with them, to see them kind of banter about how much she has improved and how every match ... she has hit her stride. As wrestlers, when we get into our stride it's the best, it's like finding your stance in baseball, it's huge. I'm just happy she has hit that stride, she's worked for it, and I'm really looking forward to seeing her matches on the Fight Forever tour because they're very different.
"I couldn't be more proud watching her. I had tears in my eyes in Australia just because she already has a connection with the fans, the fans like her, and that's a gift. But man, when you can back it up and you can tell them 'Hey your time, your investment, your money was well spent on me,' that's the ultimate thing for a wrestler. So I'm very proud of her and her continued efforts to go forward in wrestling."
Rhodes also discussed NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis. You can read the whole interview here.