There are WWE superstars who end up in the squared circle by chance and there are superstars who were always destined to end up in the ring. Cody Rhodes falls in the latter category. ‘The American Nightmare’ had his priority set in life from a very tender age. He was determined to make his mark in WWE, the promotion in which his family already has a storied history.
However, his life moved in a completely different direction, far away from the ring, affecting him deeply. Thanks to his formidable passion for the entertainment-based sport, he finally turned back and embraced his destiny. While most fans are aware of his switch from AEW to WWE, few may be aware of his time in Hollywood.
Cody Rhodes underwent depressive episodes while sacrificing his WWE dream for a potential Hollywood career
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
From his very early childhood, the son of Dusty Rhodes established himself as a gifted wrestler. But right after high school ended, his wrestling endeavor saw massive resistance in the form of a growing Hollywood aspiration. We have seen a handful of superstars jump ship to Hollywood after a marvelous in-ring career. But Rhodes took a drastic step and decided to do it much earlier than his peers.
That said, it wasn’t him but his father Dusty Rhodes who wanted him to join his sister who pursued an acting career in Los Angeles. He also had to lose his Rolex watch for this purpose. Rhodes took his father’s advice and set out for Hollywood. But it was never something his heart felt at home with, hence it didn’t ultimately bear fruit.
In his recently released ‘‘The American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes” documentary, the WWE heavyweight recollected those moments. Explaining how it left him in a depressive mental state, he noted, ”In Hollywood with no real prospects, especially when you come off of you know having such success with amateur wrestling in high school definitely was a bit depressed.”
However, it proved to be a blessing in disguise as it helped Rhodes to realize his passion for wrestling more intensely. ”Without it, I wouldn’t have known what I was missing. You can’t fabricate a dream. It’s not something that’s in your head, it’s in your heart. I couldn’t fabricate what I was out there to do. I knew what I needed to be doing was being around sports, entertainment, and pro wrestling, and needed to get back to that’‘, Brock Lesnar’s arch-rival added.
”I had driven home from LA in almost 48 hours…. barely stopped, just kept going. I needed to get to my dream.” Thus, Rhodes managed to save himself from ending up in an unsuitable profession for life. However, it is not only his father that prompted him to try an alternative career option, his own insecurities played a great role here as well.
Cody Rhodes was initially doubtful of his potential to make a promising WWE career
No matter how unrealistic it might sound now, the super muscular fighter with a billed height of 6’2” and a billed weight of 220 lbs once had a serious inferiority complex about his size. There’s no doubt that a bigger size gives an extra edge to the wrestlers, but the possibility of Rhodes sacrificing his dream career because of this is hard to believe.
However, he didn’t think he could reach this stage back then. So, getting some movie roles first and then attempting a transition into WWE seemed more realistic to him. However, he himself termed his plan an ‘odd-level strategy’ later.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Now we need to see if he ever resumed his old plan of a serious Hollywood alliance or not. It doesn’t seem off the card at all, given he recently teased playing Johnny Cage in an upcoming Mortal Kombat film.
What’s your take on Cody Rhodes’ Hollywood debut plan going wrong because of his ardent passion for WWE? Let us know in the comments.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Watch this story: Paul Heyman Calls Cody Rhodes The Fourth Best Wrestler In His Family
