On his road to finally finishing the story, the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes had a huge obstacle in his path. It was none other than the Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar. The two wrestled each other on three separate occasions and finally, Rhodes defeated The Beast at SummerSlam 2023.
Recently, while speaking on YMH Studios’ 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast, Cody Rhodes shared that wrestling Brock Lesnar was the most brutal and realest competition he has ever had.
“So, I don’t need to say this is… But I can tell you, if people ever wonder how real, wrestling can be, the three matches I had with Brock Lesnar are the most competitive. And there’s a thing when you work with a guy who’s a big monster. ‘Where they’ll make you earn it,’ is what they’ll say. You’re not just grabbing my leg, even though that might be the spot. You’re not just hitting me with that, the Cody Cutter. It’s not just happening that way. You have to actually earn it. And earn it is as close to it being in a real fight as I’ve ever been in my life. I look back at the three matches with Brock, lovingly and so proud of the body of work we put up.
“But also I remember, scared is probably an appropriate term. But just, that was the most aggressive, and I’ve been in fights and I’ve wrestled folk style, freestyle, did all that. That was the most real anything had ever been for me in the ring. And it actually gave me a whole new education on getting to the, I guess to the top of our game. What it really means is there is an element of, ‘You’re not just taking this.’ Like you… This is going to be a bit of a struggle. Because that man is a freak athlete.”
Cody Rhodes hates the phrase ‘Wrestling is fake’
During the same podcast, The American Nightmare mentioned that he hates the phrase ‘Wrestling is fake’ as he knows that the emotions the fans and the live crowd are feeling is 100% real.
“Well, I’d rather… In my case I’d rather, you come fully. Like, bring it. Because we can’t afford it not looking good on TV. We don’t have time to train you up in this moment. So, if you are outside, coming in, ‘Swing for the fences,’ is a quote I always said. Afterwards be like regret that. Regret saying, ‘Swing for the fences. Brock’s a great example. I’ll never… It’s very hard for me when… I’ll never say wrestling is fake. The ‘F’ word. I get really weird about it. And I don’t know why. I always say to people, ‘Hey, this is the reason I don’t say it is because, if you look at that dad and his son and his family over there, their feelings are real,” Cody Rhodes said.
What are your thoughts on the rivalry between Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar?
