When Cody Rhodes first debuted in AEW in 2019, the crux of his character’s narrative was “generation vs. generation,” and “killing the WWE Attitude era.” This included taking shots at WWE Creative director Triple H, who Rhodes believed unfairly mitigated his success in the WWE. Whether these shots included cutting shoot-like promos or smashing a throne at AEW Double or Nothing 2019 that looked conspicuously like the one used by Triple H for his persona and entrances, Cody made it clear that he wasn’t going to be purposely held down by the previous generation who was “afraid” of letting he and his peers put their “feet on the gas.”
Notwithstanding, Rhodes made it clear that while he did his best to “rattle the cages,” it was always from a place of respect.
“I smashed the throne, I took a lot of shots, always light-hearted, but I think he knew where I was coming from. I was hungry. He’s the one guy, I don’t think he remembers this, but I’ll never forget it. I talked to him in Gorilla when I was really frustrated doing Stardust,” Rhodes said in a press conference after he won the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble. I went to walk out, and he said, ‘rattle the cages.’ That could have meant a lot of things. ‘Go talk to the writers.’ I took it literally and went out and rattled (the cages) as much as possible. I’m so glad that relationship gets to develop now. Clearly, you guys see how I model my presentation and performance. I’m clearly a massive Triple H fan. I’m glad he’s the coach, and I get to play. I want to play quarterback. I owe him a lot for how he handled my dad. I don’t want him to look at me and see my dad. I want him to look at me and see me. Today, I felt like he saw me,” Cody continued. “That’s very important. My last name has done a lot of things for me, but we’re at a point in my career where my first name has to do those things as well. It’s off to a great start. Let’s see where we go from here.”
Rhodes further clarified his relationship with Triple H now that he’s returned to the WWE after his successful stint in AEW, stating that he knows that he and Triple H won’t always see eye-to-eye, but the respect is still there and he enjoys the dynamic and rapport that the two share.
“So far? A plus. In terms of not, I hope this isn’t too divulgent, nothing has been forced. I’m not trying to force my ideas or a friendship. He’s not trying [either]. Everything he has said to me, or we’ve talked about has been very deliberate,” Rhodes told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “Very much I get the sense [that] he’s expecting me to hit a home run every time. [I’m like] ‘Okay,’ I have had great education and great experience. I want to go out there and do that every time.”
Rhodes stated that while he and Triple H haven’t “hit any roadbumps” as of yet, he sees their relationship as being analogous to a coach and a quarterback in the sense that Triple H will “call the play” and Rhodes will go out and perform his job to the best of his ability.
“We’ve yet to really hit a road bump. They’re gonna come,” Rhodes continued. “I keep using different sports analogies, but we’re gonna fumble the ball. We’re gonna have these moments. They’re gonna come but right now, it’s been a very good relationship. Because it’s not performative. Right, it’s you call the play, and I’m gonna go out there and try to do the damn thing.
I’ve really enjoyed that because I don’t think there was necessarily bad blood. But that was a contentious thing on Wednesdays in a way for a while. If anything, I hope he would look at that and respect the hustle. I don’t think I’ve ever said respect the hustle. Respect what I was out there trying to do. Cause what I was out there trying to do then was for everybody.”
What do you think of the comments made by Cody Rhodes on his current relationship with Triple H in the WWE? Do you think the two will be able to work well together like they have thus far or will Rhodes be dissatisfied like he became in his first run with the WWE? Let us know in the comments.
