If there was any doubt about Cody Rhodes’ dedication to WWE, the company’s Undisputed champion and “QB1” sought to put it to rest during his appearance on the All The Smoke podcast recently.
As John Cena,
AJ Styles, Hiroshi Tanahashi, El Hijo Del Santo and other major names getting ready to leave the business (at least as active performers), a lot of veterans are being asked how much they’re planning to wrestle. All The Smoke’s Matt Barnes didn’t ask Rhodes that point blank, but it came up as they were discussing Cody’s legendary father Dusty, his own family, and trying to find time for his wife and their two young daughters while serving as one of the main faces of a huge entertainment company.
“You can only go so long — and I think I know my number, where I’d like to get with this.
”I was lucky that my dad, who I thought was the best dad ever, he was out of the game. He was in it as a producer and in it as a creator, pop in here as an old man wrestler every now and then — but he was out of the game. So he was #1 Dad, at every game. He coached our football team. He’s known in Cobb County as ‘Coach’ more than ‘The American Dream.’ I’d like to make it by the time I hit that age that I’m not gone that often or I can’t really walk around that much.”
Dusty Rhodes full-time in-ring career wrapped up in 1990, when he was 45 and Cody was in high school. Cody turned 40 this past summer; he & Brandi’s eldest daughter Liberty is 4, and their new baby just a couple months old.
As for where the American Nightmare will end his career, there were no surprises:
“The next contract I sign with WWE is probably going to be my last, and finish my days with WWE. It’s the house that built me, and it’s the house that brought me back.”
It’s mostly been kept under wraps, but there do seem to be some resentments and hard feelings lingering between Rhodes and AEW, the promotion he helped found while away from WWE from 2016-2022. It’s hard to imagine Cody spending much time somewhere other than those two promotion as he wraps up his career, and he just made it clear again which one he’s sticking with.
Check out Cody Rhodes’ entire appearance on Up In Smoke here.
