Cody Rhodes Reveals What Nearly Made Him Quit WWE
Cody Rhodes has opened up about a pivotal and painful moment from his early WWE career that he says was the first time he "mentally checked out" from the company. The current King of the Ring winner recalled the last-minute cancellation of his scheduled match at WrestleMania 29.
Speaking with his guest, Nikki Bella, on the What Do You Wanna Talk About podcast, both stars relived their shared experience. They discussed the deep frustration of having a WrestleMania moment taken away from them.
A Painful WrestleMania Memory
The planned match for WrestleMania 29 in 2013 was an eight-person mixed tag team bout. It was scheduled to feature Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, and The Bella Twins against the team of Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay and Tensai) and The Funkadactyls (Naomi and Cameron). However, due to time constraints, the match was infamously cut from the show at the last minute.
Nikki Bella expressed her lingering hurt over the decision. Cody Rhodes then shared his own intense reaction to the news, explaining it was a breaking point for him. "I was so angry, and at that point, I think that's the first moment where I was like, 'I'm out. I am out,'" Rhodes recalled. "Out didn't come till years later, but I thought, no, I'm out."
More Than Just A Match
For a WWE superstar, being on the WrestleMania card is the culmination of a year's worth of hard work. It is not only a chance to perform on the biggest stage in the industry, but it also comes with the biggest financial payday of the year. Having that opportunity taken away at the last second is a significant creative and financial blow.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 20: Cody Rhodes is introduced before his match against John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship during WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium on April 20, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 20: Cody Rhodes is introduced before his match against John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship during WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium on April 20, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.For the women in the match, like The Bella Twins and Naomi, the cut was particularly painful. During that "Divas Era," it was a constant struggle for the female superstars to get meaningful time on major shows, making the loss of a WrestleMania match even more disheartening.
More news: WWE Superstar Announces Retirement Match
The Seeds of The "American Nightmare"
For Cody Rhodes, this moment was a crucial turning point in his first WWE run. At the time, he was part of the popular heel tag team "Rhodes Scholars" with Damien Sandow and was a featured performer on television. The cancellation of his match was a sign that, in his view, his hard work was not being valued by management.
While he would not leave WWE for another three years, he identifies this incident as the moment the seeds of his discontent were planted. This frustration would eventually fuel his decision to leave the company in 2016 to reinvent himself on the independent circuit, a journey that ultimately led him back to WWE as "The American Nightmare."
Today, he is one of the company's top stars, preparing to challenge the heel John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship in a Street Fight at SummerSlam.
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