Cody Rhodes addresses controversial WWE promo line
Cody Rhodes hopes he didn’t offend anyone by referring to himself as “Raheem” on a recent SmackDown episode.
The February 6 edition of SmackDown included a promo segment where Rhodes — speaking about a “you-know-what measuring contest” between himself, Roman Reigns, and CM Punk — said that he “didn’t get the nickname Raheem for no reason.” The line drew a mixed response from fans online with some finding it funny and others not liking how Rhodes played on Black stereotypes.
During an appearance on Under the Hood with J-Hood, Rhodes said he gauged his wife Brandi’s reaction before saying the line — and she urged him to go through with it. Rhodes’ intention was to respond to Reigns and Punk in a lighthearted way that wouldn’t escalate things too much given that he is not involved in their WrestleMania feud.
“I had told [Brandi] that I might say it, and I felt bad because I told her, and then she said, ‘Oh, you have to say it. It’s funny.’ I didn’t want to come at Roman or Punk in an adversarial way,” Rhodes said. “I’m not wrestling either of you. You guys are wrestling each other, and it’s awesome. I feel that those things will come. I wanted to come at it with a little bit of levity, because I knew others were going to come at it from a different perspective. And I thought that was funny. But then I felt bad because I don’t ever want anybody to get married to a line. Like, ‘Oh, well, if I can’t say that.’ You know?
“I did my field testing of it, and I hope I didn’t offend anybody with it. I very much stood by it. And when you see [anonymous people on social media with] Manchester United in the bio and an anime picture as the avatar complaining about it, I’ve got to ask, like, what are we really complaining about here? This is more of a positive joke than there could ever be about gifted men. Yeah, I can’t really be mad at that and I can’t really walk that one back. But also that was my entire, I knew — I said I’m not going to spend my road to WrestleMania talking about two other guys. This is where it ends for me. And I picked a great place to do it. Charlotte, North Carolina was the place. So, yes, I said it. And that’s where I’m at.”
When he was feuding with Anthony Ogogo in AEW, Rhodes cut a promo about the history of race relations in the United States. That led to Rhodes becoming a meme on social media with fans joking about Rhodes “ending racism.” Rhodes has said it’s “truly special” for him and the Rhodes family to be welcomed by fans in the Black community.
The World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 42 will see Punk defend against Reigns (if Punk retains against Finn Balor at Elimination Chamber this weekend). Rhodes’ path to a Mania title bout goes through Saturday’s men’s Elimination Chamber match, which Rhodes needs to win to earn a WWE Championship shot against Drew McIntyre.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.