May 20, 2024 • 11 mins
We are back with a surprise episode and our biggest guest to date as we welcome on current WWE Champion "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes! We talk about finishing the story at WrestleMania, returning home to his original wrestling roots in Louisville for SmackDown here in a few weeks, and much more. Including a never before told story about The Undertaker at WrestleMania 40! Enjoy
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is Austin Theory and you're listeningto the baby Faces podcast only on iHeartRadio.
Mit w Superstar right the waller andyou are listening to the baby Faces
on iHeart Radio. What's going ony'all is WWE Superstar Kobe Kingston and you'll
listen into the baby Faces on iHeartRadio. Bab do you hear that music?
(00:31):
That means we are back with aspecial Monday episode. We have probably our
biggest story yet defending WWE Undisputed Championthe American Nightmare Cody Rhoades. Cody,
what's going on, man? Howyou doing? I uh, I'm good.
I feel like what give me anotherreally big star that came on the
show. Oh, we've had yourfriends like Al Snow on the show.
(00:55):
Aaron, Yeah, Yeah, that'sthat's our guy word from here in Kentucky,
Ohio Valley Wrestling. Hearing the idolStevens on your old tag partner and
even the guy that played your fatheron a Young Rock, Daniel Hill.
He's a guy we had on beforetoo. So that's a lot of a
deep cut that is. Give ashout out. I like, Al's are
(01:17):
you such a unique individual? Imean you guys know that owl's unique.
Al knows he's unique. I amone of the few people that try and
bang the drum from my time fortyfour hundred Shepherdsville Road, Louisville, Kentucky,
OVW. I try and bang thedrum that Al trained me, I
mean really trained me from scratch.My dad had hip tossed me and body
(01:41):
slammed me. That was it.And then he walked back into his office
at the training school he had whenI was fifteen year old, and I
refereed, and I learned a littlefrom the refereeing, but even the refereeing,
he'd have me do old school.Just count three, just count for
real. And Al was the firstguy to speak to me on the level
of psychology, and I always appreciated. AL would tell me, hey,
(02:05):
I did this once in my careerand it was a bad choice and it
led me down this path. Don'twhen you get in that spot, make
the right choice. And I've hada few of those moments even recently,
where I'm thinking, like, man, dude was right, kind of a
magneto was right? When it comesdown snow, like right, right,
yeah, right? What would Aldo? Right? Right? We've also
(02:27):
had some of your your friends onSmackDown on as of late Austin Theory last
week, Jake Cargill on SmackDown,I'm going to be making its return here
to Louisville on June seventh. Ofcourse, we've been promoting that shows as
it's coming up here, so youknow a little bit of a homecoming for
you, right, Like, howcool is it when when you do get
to come back to Louisville to yourto your roots of wrestling with OBW and
all that. Oh, it's it'sone of those at the plane ride,
(02:51):
in the drive everything. It's justkind of every mile there's a memory.
Because my experience in Louisville and Ilived a little out the out skirts Hillview,
Kentucky. Yeah, my experience waslegitimately the most college experience I would
get. It was so much funand the wrestling that that was the most
(03:14):
fun part about it. Because I'dfind other people who liked wrestling. We'd
watch WW twenty four to seven ondemand. This is before the network,
before Peacock. You'd pay seven ninetynine and then the same people would be
like, Hey, we're going tothe gym at eight am. And they
taught me how to work out andto be there when seam Punk was on
top, and you know, comingout to Afi and the crowd losing their
(03:36):
minds for him and just seeing like, oh, I want to I like,
I like what he's doing. He'sthis is a good, good representative
of what we do. But yeah, just just it's every mile of memory.
And and I mean, like mytwenty first birthday, Fourth Street Live
miss missed through me this big party. I'll tell you something this. I
mean, I'm not embarrassed about itnow, but I was pretty embarrassed about
(03:59):
it then. Uh twenty one,you know, so this is the kind
of the you know, that's thefirst time you're drinking and uh, and
I just had too much. Youknow, It's my twenty first birthday.
And I remember mis was like,I got your back, don't worry,
just going the go in the restroom, get settled. I got your back.
What he meant was he kept thedoor open while I vomited violently in
(04:20):
front of the entire Fourth Street Ithink was Sully's was the name of the
bar at the time. Oh yeah, and uh and yeah, that was
my twenty first birthday. But itwas a great It was a great night.
Miss threw me a wonderful party.I will for all forever be grateful
for it. Well, dude,that's awesome, and you're returning as champion.
And I've even heard you say beforelast time you guys came here was
(04:42):
obviously for the Uh the Bray Wyattand the Terry funk Uh Memorial. And
he even said after the show youhad you didn't have a college experience.
You had a Louisville experience. AndI remember even going back to the OBEW
days, back when I tell Billythis all the time, your rivalry with
Deuce and Domino, with Sean spsome of the best stuff that I've ever
seen. And now you're on topof the world, just off of two
(05:04):
fresh WrestleManias and you finally finish yourstory at this last WrestleMania. So kind
of talk a little bit about thatwas it? Was it everything that you
hoped to be the two years inthe making and coming back you're finally crowned
the champion. You finally get theWWE champion in the road's name. What
was that like? That moment foryou in Philadelphia? You have your life's
(05:27):
work kind of come together in amatter of three seconds, even though it
takes years and years. And there'sa promise I made when I was eight
years old. But I was surroundedby just such wonderful people, and WrestleMania
forty, I think, is justgoing to age like wine in a sense
of what we all did that night, And it was very prominent that here
(05:48):
this most successful period that ww hasever had. It's not just one person,
you know. I know mister Haymondwould like to give Roman all the
credit. I get it, butit's not just one person. And that
that's what was seen in that thatmatch. And I'm so glad I got
caught up before your question. Youmentioned Sean Spears. Yes, so Sean
(06:10):
Spears during the deuced Domino Cherry.During this rivalry, I had no fundamental
experience, like I couldn't tell youlike a top ristlock from a double quarter
like I couldn't I had no fundamentals. Wow, But they didn't mind because
they were teaching me from the storiesperspective first. That's how I would like
to teach. And Sean was thereto lead me through it. And he
(06:35):
does not get enough credit from mefor how special he is. He is
the only person that I regret Ididn't have in the ring after WrestleMania,
because I saw him that day andwe just took a picture together and he
was just like he always was.He knew what this day was, he
knew it was big and the opportunityto go and I could take it all
(06:57):
if I wanted to. And gosh, dude, I wouldn't be where I'm
at without without Sean Spears. Heis he has a blessing of the business,
and I'm so glad to see himin NXT. Absolutely, I mean,
one of the best WrestleMania made eventsof all time, Cody. We
were there in person for it.It was emotional. It was just chilling,
and especially the moment where the gonghits the Undertaker comes out from the
(07:19):
ashes to take out the Rock.What did that feel like for you in
that moment, just hearing that popand the crowd just become on glued.
I got a little kind of secretabout that spot that I had never actually
shared. So here's the first timesome breaking news. When the blackout happens
on TV, it's completely dark whenthe blackout apps in the arena, your
(07:44):
eyes are adjusted to where you actuallycan see kind of what's going on in
the ring, and so the gonghits the place loses their mind. But
I'm I'm Roman has leveled me priorto this, So I'm just kind of
laying there, almost dead to right, you know, like hanging on trying
to catch my breath. But Isaw out of the corner of my eye
(08:05):
the Undertaker roll in the ring ata speed that was like a ricochet would
roll in the ring, a ChadGable would roll in the ring like a
speed that if anyone's wondering, oh, I wonder if it's still there.
Oh my gosh. It was likea lion. Legit, like watching a
lion who'd been sleeping on the youknow, on the rock all day and
then he just went out and didit. But when he choke slams the
(08:28):
rock, I got to make eyecontact with him, ever so briefly,
and I think he maybe wanted tohave a moment. Maybe not. I
could be overestimating my importance to theUndertaker here, but he winked at me.
He winked at me, and thenthe lights went out and it was
(08:48):
like legitimate magic had just happened,Like this guy, actually, no,
you know what all the times hestruck people with lightning, all the times
he did it. It's literally justas he gave me in Nice the lights
went out and I couldn't believe it, and it's to me one of the
most special things ever. He's toldthis story before. I didn't sleep the
night after WrestleMania. I left hima rambling, good four minute voice memo
(09:16):
about just what that night meant tome. And him showing up to be
part of my crew was unbelievable.Yes, and like as Billy said,
one of the most memorable WrestleMania momentsall the legends coming in and culminating an
amazing story was it was really personal. I got personal at times off the
thirty nine and then coming back toforty it was really awesome to see.
So we're definitely proud of you herein Louisville, dude, and just I
(09:37):
guess go ahead and wrap it up, dude. Like we said June seventh,
KFC Young Center Friday Night SmackDown,it's not the Davis Arena, it's
a little bit bigger. So youknow you've been you've been in You've been
in arenas like that, So whatcan the fans expect when the American Nightmare
makes his return as ww UN disputedchampion, and when Friday Night SmackDown is
a back in the city. That'sme and Billy's birthday weekend, so we're
(09:58):
excited to be there Birthday weekend.Well, right, there's the Davis Arena
where the people would stomp their feeton the floor and it would sound like
it was thousands. There's been FreedomHall, which to this day is the
loudest reception I've ever heard when JohnCena ran into the ring and the entire
building was shaking, not unlike itdid for aj Styles and Leon France,
(10:20):
a legitimate shaking of the building.I expect the same energy, uh.
When it comes to the Young Ciner, I expect the exact same energy because,
like I said, it's not acollege experience, it was a Louisville
experience. There was something I foundout that no one in my family had
ever found out about that place onEarth and Louisville's importance, and just the
(10:41):
fact that I get to go backand come back you know with the deal
is U is the yeah there thereshe is is UH is the greatest gift
ever and I look forward to seeinga lot of faces who were there for
all those other shows in the pastand should be a great night. Well.
He is the American Nightmare. CodyRhads. We are the Baby Faces
(11:01):
Podcast. Cody. We'll see youhere soon in the bill Man. Thank
you guys so much. Hey everybody, this is the American Nightmare Cody Roads,
ww Champion and you are listening tothe Babyfaces on iHeartRadio.
This is Austin Theory and you're listeningto the baby Faces podcast only on iHeartRadio.
Mit w Superstar right the waller andyou are listening to the baby Faces
on iHeart Radio. What's going ony'all is WWE Superstar Kobe Kingston and you'll
listen into the baby Faces on iHeartRadio. Bab do you hear that music?
(00:31):
That means we are back with aspecial Monday episode. We have probably our
biggest story yet defending WWE Undisputed Championthe American Nightmare Cody Rhoades. Cody,
what's going on, man? Howyou doing? I uh, I'm good.
I feel like what give me anotherreally big star that came on the
show. Oh, we've had yourfriends like Al Snow on the show.
(00:55):
Aaron, Yeah, Yeah, that'sthat's our guy word from here in Kentucky,
Ohio Valley Wrestling. Hearing the idolStevens on your old tag partner and
even the guy that played your fatheron a Young Rock, Daniel Hill.
He's a guy we had on beforetoo. So that's a lot of a
deep cut that is. Give ashout out. I like, Al's are
(01:17):
you such a unique individual? Imean you guys know that owl's unique.
Al knows he's unique. I amone of the few people that try and
bang the drum from my time fortyfour hundred Shepherdsville Road, Louisville, Kentucky,
OVW. I try and bang thedrum that Al trained me, I
mean really trained me from scratch.My dad had hip tossed me and body
(01:41):
slammed me. That was it.And then he walked back into his office
at the training school he had whenI was fifteen year old, and I
refereed, and I learned a littlefrom the refereeing, but even the refereeing,
he'd have me do old school.Just count three, just count for
real. And Al was the firstguy to speak to me on the level
of psychology, and I always appreciated. AL would tell me, hey,
(02:05):
I did this once in my careerand it was a bad choice and it
led me down this path. Don'twhen you get in that spot, make
the right choice. And I've hada few of those moments even recently,
where I'm thinking, like, man, dude was right, kind of a
magneto was right? When it comesdown snow, like right, right,
yeah, right? What would Aldo? Right? Right? We've also
(02:27):
had some of your your friends onSmackDown on as of late Austin Theory last
week, Jake Cargill on SmackDown,I'm going to be making its return here
to Louisville on June seventh. Ofcourse, we've been promoting that shows as
it's coming up here, so youknow a little bit of a homecoming for
you, right, Like, howcool is it when when you do get
to come back to Louisville to yourto your roots of wrestling with OBW and
all that. Oh, it's it'sone of those at the plane ride,
(02:51):
in the drive everything. It's justkind of every mile there's a memory.
Because my experience in Louisville and Ilived a little out the out skirts Hillview,
Kentucky. Yeah, my experience waslegitimately the most college experience I would
get. It was so much funand the wrestling that that was the most
(03:14):
fun part about it. Because I'dfind other people who liked wrestling. We'd
watch WW twenty four to seven ondemand. This is before the network,
before Peacock. You'd pay seven ninetynine and then the same people would be
like, Hey, we're going tothe gym at eight am. And they
taught me how to work out andto be there when seam Punk was on
top, and you know, comingout to Afi and the crowd losing their
(03:36):
minds for him and just seeing like, oh, I want to I like,
I like what he's doing. He'sthis is a good, good representative
of what we do. But yeah, just just it's every mile of memory.
And and I mean, like mytwenty first birthday, Fourth Street Live
miss missed through me this big party. I'll tell you something this. I
mean, I'm not embarrassed about itnow, but I was pretty embarrassed about
(03:59):
it then. Uh twenty one,you know, so this is the kind
of the you know, that's thefirst time you're drinking and uh, and
I just had too much. Youknow, It's my twenty first birthday.
And I remember mis was like,I got your back, don't worry,
just going the go in the restroom, get settled. I got your back.
What he meant was he kept thedoor open while I vomited violently in
(04:20):
front of the entire Fourth Street Ithink was Sully's was the name of the
bar at the time. Oh yeah, and uh and yeah, that was
my twenty first birthday. But itwas a great It was a great night.
Miss threw me a wonderful party.I will for all forever be grateful
for it. Well, dude,that's awesome, and you're returning as champion.
And I've even heard you say beforelast time you guys came here was
(04:42):
obviously for the Uh the Bray Wyattand the Terry funk Uh Memorial. And
he even said after the show youhad you didn't have a college experience.
You had a Louisville experience. AndI remember even going back to the OBEW
days, back when I tell Billythis all the time, your rivalry with
Deuce and Domino, with Sean spsome of the best stuff that I've ever
seen. And now you're on topof the world, just off of two
(05:04):
fresh WrestleManias and you finally finish yourstory at this last WrestleMania. So kind
of talk a little bit about thatwas it? Was it everything that you
hoped to be the two years inthe making and coming back you're finally crowned
the champion. You finally get theWWE champion in the road's name. What
was that like? That moment foryou in Philadelphia? You have your life's
(05:27):
work kind of come together in amatter of three seconds, even though it
takes years and years. And there'sa promise I made when I was eight
years old. But I was surroundedby just such wonderful people, and WrestleMania
forty, I think, is justgoing to age like wine in a sense
of what we all did that night, And it was very prominent that here
(05:48):
this most successful period that ww hasever had. It's not just one person,
you know. I know mister Haymondwould like to give Roman all the
credit. I get it, butit's not just one person. And that
that's what was seen in that thatmatch. And I'm so glad I got
caught up before your question. Youmentioned Sean Spears. Yes, so Sean
(06:10):
Spears during the deuced Domino Cherry.During this rivalry, I had no fundamental
experience, like I couldn't tell youlike a top ristlock from a double quarter
like I couldn't I had no fundamentals. Wow, But they didn't mind because
they were teaching me from the storiesperspective first. That's how I would like
to teach. And Sean was thereto lead me through it. And he
(06:35):
does not get enough credit from mefor how special he is. He is
the only person that I regret Ididn't have in the ring after WrestleMania,
because I saw him that day andwe just took a picture together and he
was just like he always was.He knew what this day was, he
knew it was big and the opportunityto go and I could take it all
(06:57):
if I wanted to. And gosh, dude, I wouldn't be where I'm
at without without Sean Spears. Heis he has a blessing of the business,
and I'm so glad to see himin NXT. Absolutely, I mean,
one of the best WrestleMania made eventsof all time, Cody. We
were there in person for it.It was emotional. It was just chilling,
and especially the moment where the gonghits the Undertaker comes out from the
(07:19):
ashes to take out the Rock.What did that feel like for you in
that moment, just hearing that popand the crowd just become on glued.
I got a little kind of secretabout that spot that I had never actually
shared. So here's the first timesome breaking news. When the blackout happens
on TV, it's completely dark whenthe blackout apps in the arena, your
(07:44):
eyes are adjusted to where you actuallycan see kind of what's going on in
the ring, and so the gonghits the place loses their mind. But
I'm I'm Roman has leveled me priorto this, So I'm just kind of
laying there, almost dead to right, you know, like hanging on trying
to catch my breath. But Isaw out of the corner of my eye
(08:05):
the Undertaker roll in the ring ata speed that was like a ricochet would
roll in the ring, a ChadGable would roll in the ring like a
speed that if anyone's wondering, oh, I wonder if it's still there.
Oh my gosh. It was likea lion. Legit, like watching a
lion who'd been sleeping on the youknow, on the rock all day and
then he just went out and didit. But when he choke slams the
(08:28):
rock, I got to make eyecontact with him, ever so briefly,
and I think he maybe wanted tohave a moment. Maybe not. I
could be overestimating my importance to theUndertaker here, but he winked at me.
He winked at me, and thenthe lights went out and it was
(08:48):
like legitimate magic had just happened,Like this guy, actually, no,
you know what all the times hestruck people with lightning, all the times
he did it. It's literally justas he gave me in Nice the lights
went out and I couldn't believe it, and it's to me one of the
most special things ever. He's toldthis story before. I didn't sleep the
night after WrestleMania. I left hima rambling, good four minute voice memo
(09:16):
about just what that night meant tome. And him showing up to be
part of my crew was unbelievable.Yes, and like as Billy said,
one of the most memorable WrestleMania momentsall the legends coming in and culminating an
amazing story was it was really personal. I got personal at times off the
thirty nine and then coming back toforty it was really awesome to see.
So we're definitely proud of you herein Louisville, dude, and just I
(09:37):
guess go ahead and wrap it up, dude. Like we said June seventh,
KFC Young Center Friday Night SmackDown,it's not the Davis Arena, it's
a little bit bigger. So youknow you've been you've been in You've been
in arenas like that, So whatcan the fans expect when the American Nightmare
makes his return as ww UN disputedchampion, and when Friday Night SmackDown is
a back in the city. That'sme and Billy's birthday weekend, so we're
(09:58):
excited to be there Birthday weekend.Well, right, there's the Davis Arena
where the people would stomp their feeton the floor and it would sound like
it was thousands. There's been FreedomHall, which to this day is the
loudest reception I've ever heard when JohnCena ran into the ring and the entire
building was shaking, not unlike itdid for aj Styles and Leon France,
(10:20):
a legitimate shaking of the building.I expect the same energy, uh.
When it comes to the Young Ciner, I expect the exact same energy because,
like I said, it's not acollege experience, it was a Louisville
experience. There was something I foundout that no one in my family had
ever found out about that place onEarth and Louisville's importance, and just the
(10:41):
fact that I get to go backand come back you know with the deal
is U is the yeah there thereshe is is UH is the greatest gift
ever and I look forward to seeinga lot of faces who were there for
all those other shows in the pastand should be a great night. Well.
He is the American Nightmare. CodyRhads. We are the Baby Faces
(11:01):
Podcast. Cody. We'll see youhere soon in the bill Man. Thank
you guys so much. Hey everybody, this is the American Nightmare Cody Roads,
ww Champion and you are listening tothe Babyfaces on iHeartRadio.
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