CTNow: You’ve been through so many persona changes in a relatively short period of time compared to some other guys. I can think of at least four different versions of you. Was there any one of those personas — “Dashing” Cody Rhodes, Legacy Cody Rhodes or even the one when you first debuted with Bob Holly — that you wish you would have spent more time with, or one that was particularly your favorite? Do you ever miss things, like the mask or the mustache?
CR: I don’t miss the mustache. It was a wonderful talking point at signings, and I felt very much like an ’80s professional wrestler with the mustache. It was like, you’d see me in the airport and know I did something silly. I think if there’s one [character] in particular that I miss — I didn’t realize I was ever going to take the mask off, which was kind of stupid because I was 27 when I had it. You’ve got a lot of career [left]. You haven’t even entered your prime yet. This may not be the endgame, but I really enjoyed being under that thing. There was this side of me that it brought out. There was also this eerie confidence I had with certain elements of my game. I say I miss it, but the truth is that mask is under the ring at every WWE show. I guess it’s a bit of a spoiler, but at some point in my career, I wouldn’t be surprised if I pulled the apron up and then put it on one more time, that’s for sure.
CTNow: There’s a story floating around online about you paying for the Intercontinental title to be brought back in in its old form. At what point did you decide to go through with that, and what point did management start backing you and say that they’ll reimburse you for it?
CR: Sometimes, stuff happens. Sometimes, there’s no plan. Sometimes, you’ve got to be ready for that red light to turn on and have a new look or something about you. I had been going to WWE management about the Intercontinental title for five, six weeks, and I was met kind of roughly individually each time. But to me, it’s because they weren’t my age. It wasn’t because they thought I was stupid. I think it’s initially because they didn’t connect with my generation because they aren’t part of my generation. Three weeks in, I was very confident that I was going to get them to say yes on it out of pestering them alone, so I went ahead and followed through in getting it made for that reason. I wanted them to see it and maybe they could feel it. Sometimes, your passion isn’t always there when your ideas are shared, so I went directly to them with my passion, and the rest is history. At [WWE Hell in a Cell 2011 in] New Orleans, I pulled it out of some velvet bag, and it’s there forever, and I hope it stays the way that it is.
CTNow: Let’s say you get the chance to design your own storyline. What kind of thing would you do? Is there anybody on the roster you’re really itching to work with that you haven’t had much interaction with yet?
CR: That’s a good question because there’s only so many guys who are at the top of their game. For me, I’d probably like to finish something that I left off. [At] Battleground, we got rehired, and we got right into a war with the Shield. Next thing you know, we’re kind of a little new renaissance of tag team wrestling, but it all began with Triple H firing me in the first place. I’ve always had this goal ’cause my father a long time ago gave me this cheesy nickname, the Prince of Pro Wrestling, and I always thought, ‘Well, what would it be like it if you have the Prince of Pro Wrestling versus the King of Kings, and what kind of movie-like-quality dramatics can I provide the audience?’ Before he’s done with the in-ring element of the career — and he’s long from done — I’d like to find myself across the ring from Triple H one more time.
At the root of my professional career with my brother, I think I’m better than Goldust, and in his heart, he thinks he’s better than I am. We love each other, and we’re brothers, and that’s great, but at the root of all that, you kind of want to find out who’s right, and I certainly hope that at some point you get to see that match as well.
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