Arn Anderson On Cody Rhodes’ Losses To Malakai Black: Cody’s Wearing Too Many Hats, He Needs To Focus

Arn Anderson has officially been by Cody Rhodes‘ side as his coach in All Elite Wrestling since January 1, 2020, but the two men have known each other for a long time

Following AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam, where Rhodes suffered his second defeat to Malakai Black, “The Enforcer” indirectly have his star player some tough love.

During an appearance on Busted Open, Anderson argued that Rhodes’ consecutive losses to Black might be linked to his focus on various ventures in Hollywood, from “Go-Big Show” to the his newest project, “Rhodes to the Top.”

“Cody thinks that he can burn the candle, not at both ends, but if there’s a third end, somewhere in the middle, said Anderson. “And he’s young, and he can get away with it. I’ll just say this, which I said to Cody. Right now, Malakai Black not only has his number, he’s got all of our numbers because he is thinking one thing. He’s not thinking about the ‘[Go] Big Show’, which Cody’s been starring on. He’s not thinking about his reality show. If [Cody is] thinking about that kind of stuff, he better not be going out to the ring shortly with a headhunter like Malakai Black because you know what he’s thinking about? ‘If I gotta kick a knee out or poke you in the eye, that’s what I’ll do’, just to get that kick in because that’s what he’s living for today.

“This guy wants to become the best in the world and he’s taking a fast-track for it. [You] cannot fight a guy that is as dedicated to the utter deduction of Cody Rhodes and everything that surrounds him and that’s what happening. One guy’s focused on wrestling and winning. The other guy is wearing too many hats. When you try to wear too many hats, most of them are gonna fall off and hit the floor. To me, right now, Cody’s just too Hollywood.”

RELATED: Cody Rhodes Says He’ll Retire Before He Becomes A Heel, Comments On The Challenge Of Maintaining Where He’s At

Anderson doubled down on these comments by explaining that, in wrestling, there are no reshoots or second chances whatsoever. Instead, if one loses the right time around, that’s all there is to it. “The Enforcer” then shared his belief that fans are starting to turn on Rhodes due to his recent losses because he’s not backing up his status as the face of the company.

“When you’re in the middle of a fight at the level that Cody is in most of the time, there is no second chance,” said Anderson. “You either get it right the first time, or you lose. And when you lose at that level, people start to question your validity….Wrestling fans are awesome. And the reason I love them so much is [because] they’re so honest. When you’re great, most of the time, they’ll tell you. And when you suck, they’ll let you know. They’re starting to, I can feel it, and hear it, there’s rumblings, not about Cody being the flagship of the company or the face of the company, because he carries that badge and I agree that he should.

“But the fact is, without being one of, if not the best wrestler in the company, how many people are gonna actually listen to him? Hollywood’s a grand thing, if that’s all you’re doing, is Hollywood. Right now, he needs to concentrate on getting his wins and losses turned around and earn the fact that when he opens his mouth, people listen. Right now, I’m just not too sure.”

“The Enforcer” also argued that Hollywood might not be the best thing for Rhodes’ wrestling career right now.

“Hollywood’s a positive thing in a lot of cases, [but] I don’t know if it works for Cody in this particular situation,” said Anderson. “Later on, maybe.”