Cody Rhodes discusses WWE’s injury culture, Seth Rollins’ injury at Crown Jewel
Cody Rhodes discussed WWE’s injury culture during a recent interview.
Rhodes was a guest on All The Smoke with Matt Barnes recently and discussed his rivalry with Seth Rollins, which includes Hell in a Cell 2022 where Rhodes wrestled with a torn pec, and last month’s Crown Jewel, where Rollins suffered a similar injury.
Rhodes addressed not taking much pain medication before Hell in a Cell, noting WWE’s strict drug-free policy, saying:
“WWE is very adamant about there is no substance abuse in this company anymore. None. The 80s are over. We’ve got to be healthy, we’ve got to be clean. So people ask all the time, if I had any pain medication or anything of that nature. I had four baby Aspirin because they didn’t even have regular Advil.”
While looking at a photo from the match, Rhodes continued:
“I remember at the time being told, ‘Hey, if you’re in pain we are going to stop it. There is nothing to prove here.'”
“I’m walking this tight rope the whole match not sure if they are just going to ring the bell. But Seth was the perfect person to be in there with me. And the crazy thing about this photo is Seth Rollins and I recently wrestled at Crown Jewel and Seth finally beat me,” Rhodes said, before noting he wasn’t sure about the exact nature of Rollins’ injury.
“I want to say he tore his rotator cuff. We don’t have an actual answer on what’s with Seth. I know he’s gone under the knife and got surgery so at this point real, not real, however you look at the industry, him and I aren’t good for each other.”
“We don’t need to wrestle ever again. He’s lost his shoulder. That was the first major injury I ever had. But I was glad to be in the ring with him that night. It was special.”
Rhodes continued to say of WWE’s approach to injuries today:
“We don’t power through anymore. That might have been the very last example of ‘Hey, let’s power through.'”
“You just have more athlete-conscious people today.”
Rollins was injured on a coast-to-coast headbutt during the Men’s Crown Jewel Championship match on the October 11 show. His injury led to a change in creative direction for Raw, with an angle that Monday seeing The Vision turn on Rollins, something that hadn’t been expected to happen until after WrestleMania.
In the October 20 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote that Rollins had been scheduled to face CM Punk at Saturday Night’s Main Event and then captain the heel team in the men’s WarGames match at Survivor Series.
Rhodes’ full appearance on All The Smoke with Matt Barnes is available below:
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.