Interview with Cody Rhodes, WWE Champion - BONUS

And I don't want to go into anything. The off limits are embargoed.
Here are we are? Is that story one you don't want people to know
about? Because that jacket also is related to a very specific story in one
of the most shocking meetings that I've ever said and in my entire life.
Yeah, he's as Dingo podcast the show Sucking March Lot Job. Welcome everyone
to a very special edition of the Major Wrestling Figure podcast. I am your
host, always ready, Matt Cardona, and I'm your host the most professional
wrestler Brian Myers of the show Smart Marks Sterling. But Matt, you've got
to do the intro. I can't do it this, guys. We have
a big get this week. This is my get one of, if not
my best friend, the w w E champion, the American Nightmare, Cody
Roads. Wow. Wow, thank you so much, thank you so much
for the introduction. I uh, I've got to jump right on it though,
because you said one of how did you word it, one of my
best friends, one of if not you know, so a kid be both.
I've never that's been Cody. I've known about for twenty years. I've
never heard him call anyone his best friend. So that's that's a big step.
Well, I don't want to. I don't want to. It's such
a nice thing to hear. But we're that's tested at the moment for sure.
Really, because I have tried to hang out with mister Cardona at least
now thirty three separate times when I come to Orlando, when we go to
the parks, and he is always too busy, always the schedule, jacket,
my schedule. He's clearly in his backyard smoking cigars. It's all documented
on Instagram. He's not that busy. Well, I had replaced him with
QT. Was gonna be my new best friend, right, But then that's
a bad way to go about anything. QT replaced me with Billy Gunn.
So I'm really I'm on the market, Cody. Look I'm wearing I'm wearing
the American Nightmare Nightmare Family jacket that you gifted me all those years ago.
Did you notice that? I did notice it? Right, I've only I've
only heard of this jacket. I've never seen it before. I know it.
I was saved. I was saving it for a very special occasion.
We have a w W E champion d W champion on the show. What
a better time. There's no better time than right now. Well do you
and I don't want to go into anything the off limits or in bargoed?
Here are we are? Is that story one you don't want people to know
about because that jacket also is related to a very specific story in one of
the most shocking meetings that I've ever said and in my entire life. I
think this might be Listen, I know you're a guest in the show,
but this might be a Cody Cody. I don't want to say the word
lie, but I we even have heard the Matt Cardona version of this in
public, have we I really? I would, I would welcome his There
are elements. Okay, So a Cody lie A has two rules. There's
just two rules to a Cody lie okay. One it has to be partially
true. It has to be partially true. The other is it can never
be about anything serious. It can never be about anything serious. It always
has to be something that's more banter related. I have added over the years
to the Cardona jacket meeting story I have and people like it. You get
the crowd going, that's what that's That's what I'm trying to do. We're
telling stories. We should also we should also pump the brakes and acknowledge that
Mark is still very nervous to be around you because it used to be his
boss. He hasn't been able to shake that. I thought that's why you
couldn't do the intro for me. You didn't want to open the door.
I just knew Matt was very excited to do. We're gonna talk about Cody
Lies. What about the time we first met cod Do you tell this tale?
Because it's so embellished that it's fun it is, it's a perfect Cody
Lie. But are we going to get you the exact, true to form
what happened that night? Let's hear let's for the people who don't know.
Can you tell us that first night at ov W Yeah, yeah, sure,
uh We OBW and Deep South were the developmentals for w W E.
The major brothers were at Deep South OVW. I was there with Sean Spears,
Punk, a few others and basically, and this is a part of
the story that you guys don't always know. Everybody in the entire wrestling world,
except for the people at Deep South, knew that Deep South was closing.
It was only the people at Deep South that didn't know what was going
to happen. Ultimately, when it happens, there's this big talent surplus that
takes place at OVW where guys are coming in. They're gonna move from their
developmental and deep South OVW. There's all new cars in the parking lot.
It's it's kind of a little bit of a shock, a little bit of
a you know, the status quo has been disrupted. The major brothers yourselves
at the time, had just debuted on e CW and this was what Tuesday
nights on sci Fi Live May Tuesday Night Live sci Fi. You've debuted,
You've you've gotten to the main roster, as we say. And Wednesday is
the OVW television show and it has a pretty rigid schedule on when you get
there and what you do. And uh, everybody who's come over from Deep
South is there. They were there the day before, they've made their introductions,
we know where they're living. We're starting to click with one another.
Not YouTube. YouTube decided at I think the semi main event that that is
when you were going to walk into the door of the Davis Arena in the
middle of the show. But we already knew you were in town already,
so this was a unique choice that was made. We knew you guys were
in town. Good, so you come in and I specifically remember you both
had really nice leather jackets on, really nice kind of like when DDP was
doing The Stalker that like leather, right, you know, so you got
these nice leather coats on, and there was a man in talent relations Mike
Boucie correct, yes, yes, And at the end of the show,
we do a big meeting talking about the TV what we did great, usually
just a good high like boost morale type, and here's what we did great.
And we're trying to get everyone's minds wrapped around the future. They could
be future ww champions, future superstars, whatever it may be. But he
decides to give a speech where the exact verbiage of the speech was, I
want to introduce you to two of the most important people in WWE. And
I want to introduce you to two people who you already know because they debuted
last night on television. But make it clear they don't know who the f
you are. This is said to a room of us, and then there's
no microphone, there's no production. He literally g's up like Mike Rome and
goes he's like japing and this whole thing and to no pop the smattering of
So shortly thereafter I left OVW. I always had great relationships I felt with
both you guys, but your OVW experience that followed wasn't great. Correct.
That was our our fault admittedly though, Yeah, you know, we were
we were We thought we were on the main roster. Were very checked out.
And to give a little backstory context that story, Mike was in charge
you know ECW original Nova for those us who don't know. Uh, he
had already brought us to MOCAP and we spent like ten days with him in
La just us and like had this we got It was a great we became
friends, you know what I mean. It was like a ten day trip,
you know how that used to be. It was we get we got
out of Deep South for it was unbelievable. So I think that was the
problem there is that he was a little too friendly with us. Also,
like you said, these people are in our colleagues, they don't even know
who we are, so they're not proud of us at all. They were
like, oh the fuck are these guys, and I might have had a
little bit of credit that Live Sci Fi was in Birmingham, Alabama. We
drove all night back to our apartment that we shared with Danny Inferno and uh
packed our ship, slept for like two hours, drove all day to Louisville.
Sorry, I can't curse on here. All day to louis Bill no
sleep. And that's like when we got there, got there for real.
We were trying to show that we wanted it. We were trying to show
face and say, oh we didn't have just didn't work. It didn't work
out. Good, totally good. We were have the thought you'd been there
already. And then when your boss at the time, uh, Mike Butchie
says they don't know who the f you are and then dug an intro for
you like you would get on a SmackDown. It was just a shocking turn
of events. And Shore and barbecue man, that's that's you know, it's
the business. Yeah yeah, well, oh my gosh, good memory.
What about another Cody Lie. There's this this famous uh myth in the wrestling
figure world. We're here on the Major Wrestling Figure podcast that the Hasbro Dusty
Rhodes that there's a yellow there's a yellow boots version. Now, the yellow
boots it's just from sun damage. But but no, it's one fact sun
damage, right. But Cody swears that he has a mint on card,
brand new version, and he told me it was in his bag. He
brought it to TV and he's going to show it to me, and eventually
he said, no, just go in my bag and look for it.
So he set me to go through his bag. He wasn't in there,
and then he tells the boys that I'm looking through his bag this figure.
He set me up. He set me up. Wow, I there there
is truth in that. I was setting you up to tell the boys you
were feeling from my bag. That was ultimately the goal. However, I
do think the yellow Boots Dusty exists. I do. I don't think I've
seen the sun damaged ones, but then there's ones that I think perhaps the
yellow Boots Dusty has bro does exist. I don't know. I don't know
if I have any evidence of that, but I thought it did. If
we're getting deep down the nerdy rabbit hole here, I think it's just because
that the legs of that dusty figure are cast in white like most of the
other ones are like whatever the character skin tone is. Yeah, think it
just doesn't age. Well, that's what I think. But anyway, listen,
we're here to talk about all days. Cody, big premium live event
coming up this Saturday. I was about to call it a pay per view
premium live event. Wow, don't do that. Look at that clash at
the Castle. Uh you defending that title? I quit aj styles. Yeah,
we have the graphics here, code, we're very professional. Big match.
Are you gonna you have some toyatic gear planned? Cody? Oh yeah,
I do believe that. That's a that's a great question. I would
say my gear lately, and then this is more of a feather and Sandra's
cap. Miss Sandra, what she's been churning out for the last two years,
I feel is all very toy etic, very uh and not just you
know, when you have a set of gear that involves other elements that you're
gonna get multiple figures out of it, You're gonna get multiple looks out of
it. And I think Miss Sanders has just been on a roll. This
will be the first time. I don't know if I'm gonna wear it over
or not, But she put a hood on this one for the first time,
right, a little, But then also maybe the fact because your AJ
styles always with the hood and doing doing the business there, I'm not I'm
not sure if that was her thought behind it. But uh, I don't
know if I'll have the courage to to wear to wear the hood up my
my big brand guideline with those jackets and with the gear. And I think
I might have told you this, Matt is it just has to have the
scales. It doesn't have the scales. It's not a cody robe. It's
just a robe, you know, so those scales. I try to really
hold hold on my own. I did not know the miss I thought Sandra
retired. So is she like exclusive to you? Yes, wow, that's
right, mayor seemstress. But she's a imagined She was doing WW stuff in
the early nineties, late eighties, right, She's a legend. And she
told me she was going to put together a coffee table book of a bunch
of different works. She's done concept art pictures with wrestlers because she's been doing
it since w CW. And she she wants to go to I think Wrestle
Con this year. And I told her I go. You would love it,
You would have a blast all these This is a an eye into a
world that people don't know anything about. I mean, she's done everybody's gear.
She's done so many people's gear. People forget that Sandra did it.
Yeah, she every now and then she'll slip somebody you know, classic gear
seamstress, They'll slip somebody else's gear in your bag. Hey, can you
deliver this monteze board? You know that move? Yeah, yeah, that's
that's a that's a classic seamstress move. But for the most part, she's
retired and puts out unbelievably good stuff for me. Awesome. Now since you've
been since you returned to WWE, you've gotten a lot of awesome figures from
Mattel, including two ultimates and that debut Ultimate that you had with the very
special packaging the entrance. Yeah, check that out right there, the Ultimate
edition Hotail Creations exclusive from your This is from WrestleMania where you return, right
Cody, that is, and you actually have you can take some credit in
terms of we we had a couple of discussions on what are things that would
be important to collectors. You mentioned the velcrow at the top and this,
and it coming down in the fashion that it does to keep the box mint
as far as ment as it can be. So I have I often.
I don't know if Matt shares this with you guys share specific exclusive toys that
I'm probably would get sued if they knew I was sending out photos and ask
him questions. Because this is a world that up until my Masters of the
Universe collecting, which was short lived, the whole figure world is a whole
new thing for me. I didn't understand it. I didn't. I didn't
get it, and then I found the things I like and having him in
my hands, and now I feel like I get it a little bit more.
But Matt Cardona has been my guide to the boy world, not unlike
I have tried to be his guide into the cigar world. You have,
hey, I will give you credit. I'm a cigar guy. Now.
Gotta gotta roll X now all thanks to the American Nightmare. He's your biggest
fan, Cody. I got the jacket. You know, I got the
jacket right here. Every time you bring up the jacket, I'm terrified to
tell the story. You have to tell the story. We've heard it.
Can we hear it. I'm just gonna zip. I actually have never heard
Cody's version of it. I've only heard. Well, I don't want it,
you know, I think it's okay, Bridge, Now, I think
you could tell it. If we tell this story, I don't want it
to be edited. It's because, all right, I can tell the story
the best way, uh from from in terms of how I giving Matt the
benefit of the death. Let's hear, let's hear this story. No lies,
I uh. At the time, when I was working at a W
had asked Matt if he wanted to be part of a tag team situation with
me, do something together, and then I think we worked it out,
talked about just doing what was it, five three or five shows. It
wasn't a long term commitment anything like that. But I wanted to bring him
in and I wanted my friend, as you heard earlier on the introduction,
my best friend. I wanted him to be part of what I was doing,
and he had WW and him had parted ways at that point. So
this was, Man, what a free agent that's out there. This is
just a win win as a the agent he'd be. I mean, you
have a specific audience that follows you everywhere you go. You're an entrepreneur.
You take care of all your people. This is a no brainer for a
place to look at you and roll up the brinks truck. So I had
scheduled a meeting between mac Cardona and Tony Kahan, and the best I could
do because of this, the climate in terms of the pandemic and fourth floor
and the after party, which was always nice. There was a lot of
food for everybody. It was just good for morale. I thought they could
meet there, and Tony said, that was a great idea. The setting
isn't great. We should have flown to Matt, or we should have done
it in an office somewhere. The setting is not great. But I noticed
though it was gonna be a private meeting. You had every right to think
it would be private, and it should have been private, but this was
I got candids of Brosky and Tony Khan just awkwardly sitting at each other,
all different people. How I'm so it's so great that you got those,
because it was so insanely awkward for such a period of time. Because I
noticed that Matt was like, you know, when Matt gets kind of nervous,
you know, like the shoulders tense up and his face gets a little
more red than it already is, Like there's like this. You can feel
his energy getting nervous. So I noticed he was a little nervous about this,
this meeting, which whatever makes I'm not judging that by any means.
But he hasn't told me anything that he's gonna say. And of course I
trust my best friend is going to be just fine with this, and I
don't have to do anything other than hey, guys, here you are.
That's it. They have a conversation. This is how the conversation opened up.
And this if I could have taken a frickin' back bump on the cement,
I would have taken a back bump. It was so shocking. Tony
starts talking and before before long, Matt goes, well, let me stop
you right there. So we're already he's already got a bullish fortune favors the
bowl approach to this. He goes, let me stop you right there.
I want you to know that I don't want to be here to be Cody's
French. I want you to know that I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a
nightmare family jacket. This is this is this is like, this is happening
in real time to me, And this is the guy I suggested come in
as my friend. And I remember, to his credit, uh Tony being
such a nice guy. He just kind of like, oh okay, and
the meeting was done and it was over. We sat there for probably another
hour and nothing of substance was said because it just just tore me to shreds
before or after the meeting. Good question. I think I gave it to
him after knowing knowing he would never wear it, be caught dead wearing it,
and then here he is now wearing a this is You know, Cody
is doing us the honor be on the show. I'm not going to contradict
what he's saying. Next week I'll tell my version of the story. But
let's let's just be talking about a Let's talk about that. Let me stop
you right there is still is still the part that shocks me the most.
Let me stop you right there. He had just started talking this meeting like
as well are you had stepped away and you just heard it. I said,
hey, we've got everyone here together. We don't want to take much
time. I wanted you guys to have a moment to talk, and I'm
sitting between them. Okay, I think this is a no brain as slam
dunk the easiest decisions ever made. Find out there were strings attached. All
right, guys, we'll tell my version on another story. But since you
brought up a let's talk about that. That Blood Brothers two pack one of
the coolest wrestling figure two packs of all time, You and Dustin, Uh,
the Blood and Guts ring. I mean, this is I don't collect
modern figures, even my friends, sorry Cody, but I had this in
my collection. That's how cool this is. So I thought you were going
to make a joke about it. No, No, I think it's incredible.
What the height difference. My gosh, Dustin is taller than me for
sure, but this is yeah, I know, that's yeah, this is
like what Billy's done. And but to give a credit and give you credit,
this match is so beloved and revered in this moment, I think that
even wrestling figure fans have given it a pass, and most people kind of
I've seen them and I did it too. They pose them in like the
hug, So it doesn't really matter right there, right there in the box.
It looks a little you know, you see that, but I mean
I was, you know, lives on past that. It's very fun to
see, you know. Blood. Blood is part of sports entertainment, part
of pro wrestling. It's in a weird way. I don't mean to sound
toxic at all. It's nice to see it celebrated in the packaging and in
this moment. And actually I gave myself a nice pat on the back for
recently going into WrestleMania. I was the first w w E shirt that got
a little blood on it as well with they had done the skull with a
little cut up top after a rock beat the hell out of me in the
in the rain. But yeah, this is a I don't have any figures.
I don't think I have any really in terms of collecting them, but
I was. I liked this a lot because I liked Jeremy a lot.
He's a good dude. He's sent me some Swish mellows and I think I
think something that I was really proud of I was telling Matt earlier is as
I was trying to come up with stuff, I wasn't good in the e
VP role. I wasn't good in management or anything like that. But I
was trying to come up with things, and one of the things I helped
come up with was the luminaries idea, and I was just I'm I'm glad
it happened. It was more based on legends like Jeremy had done, but
Dana Massey and Jeremy and all those people were involved in the very beginning.
They did such an exceptional job. I I love those figures a lot.
I can't lie though the current, the current matel stuff blows it away.
Let's look at your new ultimate let's pop up, Yeah, hook it up,
Let's show it here on the screen. This is from last year's WrestleMania
against Roman. Awesome figure, the belt, the entrance jacket, the interchangeable
arms heads, one of, if not the best Cody's out there. For
sure. I don't have this one in my collection yet, but one of
the one of the more favorite robes that Sandra had made. And WrestleMania thirty
nine that the first WrestleMania main event that I ever ever did, So it's
it's exciting to see it in ultimate form. Let me ask you, because
what do you guys prefer in your figures in terms of somebody getting their face
scanned, or when it's animated, when it's when it's based on basically just
what you can see in a photo. I think, now do they even
do the scanning anymore? Like it's been so long, I think now like,
yeah, I think now they're just able to the technology is so great
they can just create it off an image, right or just I haven't been
scanned since I've been back. Maybe I was dead. I remember they I
feel like remember that they brought they brought in like a thing to rush to
do Ronda. So maybe that that was like the deathbed of it. But
spectacular, Like it's definite. But look at exactly if they're just animating this
all photos the technology you said they're they're that talented. The matel folks are
great. There's actually one that I've I've scooped to matt in terms of a
crossover that's happening with another Mattel property. Uh that I'll have a new figure
and hopefully that gets announced in the next few weeks before I accidentally. I'm
sure they're going to show the new WrestleMania. I'm sure they're going to make
it with the mask win in the title I mean, that's going to be
the definitive Cody Rhodes figure. For sure. There might be a funko with
the mask on the way too happen. So you also randomly, this isn't
big time secret or anything. The Pharaoh plushes sell incredibly well, I've been
told and they made one that he has the man. Well look at that
that son. I don't know if it will be too scary for kids,
or if they'll dig it, or if it's since it's part of mania,
but that's fun that it's coming. So I heard you say you don't have
this currently, are you? Are you just like, is there just so
much Cody product that you just kind of tapped out? Or like, what's
your current situation with you know, it's your own stuff. Everything ended,
So I'm starting really like I kind of my midlife crisis thing was the MO
two collecting, and I was really diving into MO two collecting. I'm still
on the hunt for the uh in the package Bluebeard Stratos. I did the
crowd you know, the crowd funded Eternia. It's just sitting in the box.
I get all this and then I became a dad and that just it's
not that yeah, I don't think it's cool. And they're all laying there,
they're ready to be It's just the time is not there. You you
spend the time hanging out and and the time's not there. I actually,
uh, because Mattel will send you figures to the house. They sent the
suit Cody's the other day. It was cool to see liberty, you know,
take one and understand. Yeah, court rings I collect was I'm codied
out here. I got all your current stuff that they had. Where do
you guys stand on the old business adage that the suit figures don't sell?
But I think we've gotten the suit over. Like if I was a kid
playing with w W figure, I would need a Cody in a suit.
I yeah, yeah, I think I think you you know, Oh yeah,
I forgot. You have two by the way, a basic and an
elite. Yeah. Matt had to explain to me what basics were. Well,
now they're now they're not called they're not called basics anymore. They're called
main event. And I have a current one right here. And they actually
added a little bit more articulation, so a little more fun to play with
than what was going on. I noticed at the top of the interview.
Matt, you had a little issue with the vernacular p l E. Do
you not like the I just didn't want to mess up. I just Cody.
We're Ruth's aggressionary guys. You know we're not We're not up with all
the new terms, you know, but I get it. But the thing
is, there's no pay per views anymore. Nobody is not buying it on
pay per views. Everyone everyone can watch it on Peacock. Is a big
match you and aj Styles clash the Castle, I quit match. Let's talk
about the time you quit following me on social media. He's been playing that
one all day. It was after The Roads Brothers stack Down came out,
before you had left w B, and I tweeted the photo because at the
time you were portraying Stardust on w W television. But well, I don't
think we've ever confirmed that I was playing startups. Okay, well the po
that probably was the issue. Yeah, the official package says The Roads Brothers,
and I had tweeted that out. I said something along the lines of
this is proof that Stardust is Cody Rhodes. And you blocked me on social
media, and to this day you do not follow me, whoa to this?
You've been just sitting on this for ten years. Ross you're trying to
explain yourself. Well, I you know, I think it's a little weird
if we're best friends that I'm not even followed on social media. I didn't
know that I didn't follow you. I thought I did. I don't know
you would know. Maybe that's why you're not seeing the cigar picks, man,
Yeah, well you did well. I saw. I saw enough of
the cigar picks to tell him that he was smoking it the wrong way.
I have admitted that publicly. I told Frankazarin and Eric Young that story,
and they lost their minds like that was true. Also, also, I
turned him on to flavor and fuse cigars, which are a great starting cigar.
But I think it was a mistake because now he's it's like a reestling
wine compared to a Murleou or a cave. There's a total different palette.
And I feel you're two into the sugar stuff. I'm trying it all.
I don't know what I like until I smoke it, you know what I'm
saying. I'm not sure, but thank you, okay, correctly smoking correctly?
It was backwards, Matt, Yeah, and a selfie. It's funny
to me that you're into cigars now, because I remember at missus New Year's
party, I said, I got some cigars, you want to go out
back and smoke them? And we were sitting there at that nice table with
the fireplace, and miss is so absurdly rich and just everything so nice,
and uh, we we lit up and we're sitting there talking and we're smoking,
and he, uh, he decided to he literally worked. We're two
minutes in, he goes, So what do we do now? I don't
know if it's good for a New Year City party. It's good when I'm
outside the pool, like an hour to chill and relax and collect my thoughts.
It's great at a party. You can't be social if you're outside smoking
a cigar, you know you can. What do you collect when you're collecting
your thoughts outside? Are you thinking? Uh? What are you? What
are you thinking of? Because I'm very curious because your schedule is as is,
very very You're booked until to win till January at this point, you
know, twenty seven not that far out, you know, but you know,
I'm just planning, you know, thinking about life, reflecting goal setting.
He's probably he's literally texting every person that works for us to do something
and do this. Yeah, no doubt that some of that might happen.
Yeah, some of that might. I took my family to Lego Land this
week, and I said, Matt, I'm at Lego Land for two days.
Do not message me in our work, in our official tech tech.
I mean that's true. He did say that. Yes, how do you
how do you feel having that power? Matt? We were just talking about
this before we came on the air. A little bit of power. Do
you feel you abuse it? Or do you feel your power hungry? Man?
No, there's no power. I wouldn't ask anybody to do something I
wouldn't do myself. You know what I'm saying. Oh my gosh, here
get ready for another cool segue, because right now I'm out with a torn
but someone else who wants tore their peck the American Nightmare Cody Roads and here
has many figures with that torn peck. I mean, we got the the
funk Go Pop, we got the defining moments rings, that exclusive rings.
I couldn't it's crazy. So that comes in like that set of four as
you see in the screen Mankind, bred Hart, Shawmichaels. You know,
not some schlubs there, some pretty heavy hitters. They know they could not
keep that Cody in stock. I think it's gone to like two or three
rounds. The others are readily available on the website, you know, wrestlingfigures
dot Com use code major safe ten percent. But that Cody just keeps going
and going going. It's like probably one of the hottest selling wrestling figures in
years. You know, It's one of those things where when it comes to
this match, it's uh. I can tell it means something to the fans
who watched it there in the arena and the fan who watched it at home.
But for me, because it was just an embarrassing, dejected, awful
feeling going through that day and then knowing in the few days leading up that
it clearly was torn and it was getting worse. I don't know, I
just I have a weird I love that people love it, but also it's
a weird feeling when I see it, and I'm I'm glad it catches on
with people. They did an incredible job with it, but it's just a
strange, strange thing that it's documented in your life in terms of that bruising
and how it looked. And I'm really glad, I was saying this the
other day. I'm really glad that nobody asked me to see it on the
day of the ple, on the day of Hell in the Cell, nobody
asked me to see it, because I feel like had I shown it to
the right person, they would have said, oh, no, no way,
absolutely not, you're not flying, you're lying. And I just kept
that thing covered up and stayed on the bus. And because I think the
first person who really did see it was Seth and his reaction is all there
for the world to see. But yeah, that was that was I mean,
it looks I'm glad to figure it out. It looked disgusting, dude,
like you've ruined torn pecks for anybody. I couldn't even post a pick
of my torn peck because I looked like a baby compared to you. You
ruined it. I couldn't even like exploit that I told my peck the unveiling,
the unveiling of the tendon. I tore the tendon off the bomb.
You tore the tendon. You didn't get the big Dumbledore bruising. I got
the bruising, but it wasn't like yours, so I couldn't post it.
You ruined torn pecks for everybody. It's crazy because my mom I had texted
her saying, hey, uh we need she needed to pick me up from
Birmingham from the surgery. There was something where Brandy or the bus or she
needed to be at the house. We were just calling all hands on deck.
I major surgery happening and I told her that. Then she watched the
match and asked me if it was makeup? Asked me if it was makeup
after we've already talked to you about a surgery. No makeup? What was
I like physically working with that? Awful? I think something that I get,
I get a little. You know, Matt can tell you I'm a
fairly petty individual, and I get very petty. Uh when I see on
social people people think I had some sort of medication. Uh. And I'll
tell you the god honest truth. I was hoping for some extra strength tile
on all. I was hoping for something. But when I went to it
was Larry in the training room looking for some anti inflammatories I was given.
And I kid you, not two two baby aspirins, that is too baby
aspirins, and I was happy to have them. And then right in the
early part of the match, I thought I was gonna puke, because it's
that feeling like when you've been punched in the nose, or when it's like
when you've been hit so hard that your body wasn't ready you took a fall
from way higher up whatever it is. I thought that we're this won't go
much longer. I thought for sure I was gonna just literally vomit in front
of the audience. And then I found kind of a second wind. And
then near the end of it, I felt like I could have benched that
three point fifteen and just been just been repping it out. But short shortly
thereafter all that pain set in. Damn wow. So know this is the
major recipe for your podcast. We talked about some of your figures. Do
you have a right if you use? You want to thank you host,
thank you? But do you have time? Do you have a favorite Cody
figure for sentimental reasons, for for any reason whatsoever? Is there a favorite
of yours that you have? I probably should have been prepared for that.
Yeah, I do, And it's a it's a it's a Jacks figure.
That's right, baby, it's a It was my first WW figure John Deere
Green Trunks with my dad. It's the two pack. Yep, there it
is. Yes, I you know, at the time that was happening,
I thought I would have so many of those. I thought they would do,
you know, a lot of stuff like that, and really, in
the end, it just came down to that's the that's the two pack there.
There might be might be some more two packs coming in the future,
but yeah, that one plus Jack Jack's made you look so insanely Jack.
Yeah, so that was nice when I was you know, at the time,
I'm literally twenty one years old and you know, can barely put any
weight on my body. Just a pure babyface and a sense of how I
actually looked. I was so jealous because there were no major Brothers two packs,
but you gotta figure, I was so jealous. That's a great two
packs. It's an unbelievable two pack. And hopefully MATEL does something down the
line with you and Dusty that'll be magical. What's what scared you? I'll
tell you something that really scared me. When I was at OVW as I
lived right by a Walmart, and I would go in there on the regular
and get into everything I needed. I'd get it at this Walmart, and
I'd always peruse the toy section. I feel, you've got to take the
wall and see what w tow figures have. I was at OVW for just
a little over a year. The entire time I was there, a set
of figures never moved. They never moved. It was called warms. It
was a two pack of a tag team it might have been. And I
was terrified that if a figure goes up on the shelves, like how many
is acceptable? Until you're like, oh, we got to buy some of
these, Like is two acceptable? Is three too many? How many of
you were up there? You know, like I was in there. I
was in Target the other day and I saw a couple of mine out in
the wild, and I thought, do I buy it? I'm glad you
brought that up because you were a peg warmer by design, because you're so
popular. This is called a top picks. Okay, So it's literally a
marketing scheme that they want if a kid gets into wrestling and they want to
Cody Roads, they want it to be on the shelves, so it's readily
available. So that's like next level. As a kid, that was the
thing. You'd go to the store and you'd be bummed out if they didn't
have the specific figure. It's like and especially if they had like the ancillary.
I'm a for example, I got the Yellow Ranger. I didn't want
the Yellow Ranger, one of the Red Ranger, one of the Green Ranger,
but the Yellow is the one they had. Yeah, you don't want
Booster, you want turbo man. You know what I'm saying. You want
you want turbo, Cody. We have a rule. You don't leave your
friend on the pegs. You see, you don't. Friends don't leave your
front of the pegs. You can't. What about your what about your best
friend? Well, your top picks, I'll leave you. But you're in
a better place. You have a lot of good you're a top pick.
Uh, well, Cody, listen one more question? All right? Well,
yes, Cody. One of the things that I love about your popularity
is how deep it runs with children, which is very noticeable. I go
to Ringsye Collectibles, it's our business partner, and there's just stacks of the
figures going out and you are always there. I mean, you're the top
thing, top seller all the time when they come out. What what how
does that feel to reach that, you know, that hogan Esque like echelon
of popularity, especially where it hits children, You know what I mean.
You know it's so cold and rock retights that to there, it's a different
vibe, like you're specifically with smaller children, which I think is the coolest
thing, especially now your dad. It's something really cool. I I mean,
that's honestly a gift anytime you have one of these experiences, like you
go to the show and the kids are in the cosplay? Are you see
the kids with the figures themselves? But I think kids are one of the
one of, if not the smartest fan we have in a sense when I
say that, I think they can see through when you're not authentic. I
think they can see through when you're not really trying to be their buddy,
when instead you're trying to get that hug on camera. I think they see
through it. And to me, I want to make sure I never do
anything that's not authentic. I want them to believe, like, hey,
I really am going to go in there and I'm gonna make aj styles pay,
I really am gonna go in there and I'm gonna beat this guy.
I'm gonna do it for you, And I want them to know. It's
not pandering, it's not political, it's a real thing. So I didn't
expect it. When I came back to WW this onslaught of young kids diving
in, particularly with the weight belts. I didn't expect it. It was
all just dreaming out loud of Oh, I hope this really catches on.
I hope this is big. But I'll also say, when you see all
these little kids loving it, and you think about I think about myself.
I'm a cynical wrestling fan because I've been watching it so long. I'm a
hardcore fan. I'm looking at all the nuance, all this. When I
see them watching it, I wish I was just watching it like they are.
I wish I could just see it from their perspective and love it.
And I try to share a little of that with them and love it like
a little a little nightmare. A little young kid is gonna enjoy the business
and enjoy the matches. And man, I look at them and I can
tell ten to fifteen years from now they're going to grow up and have a
podcast to their own. They're gonna, you know, like I'll give you
here's a prime example of something that I can that's kid linked. It's not
me linked. This is their title. This is the title they are growing
up with. This is the one that you see them by. The replicas
have gone through larof lately on the WWE Championship with the big WWE logo.
I had said many times I really loved the Winged Eagle. I still often
talk about it and hint about it and am looking to do something with it
and all that. But I do know that this is their title and that's
very special to me, and I don't want to I don't want to hurt
it or anything like that. But man, sorry, you opened up an
absolute question so much with the kids, because it changes everything. I don't
want to curse. I felt bad when I finally bit back at Rock after
just just absolutely devouring us up with with very you know, non PG stuff.
And he's the literal boss in addition to being the final Boss, so
he can do that, and I felt, all right, if he can
do it, I can do it too, And I felt bad. I
wouldn't, you know, I just I want to set a good example for
them. And you guys were both there in two thousand and eight, two
thousand and nine, whatever it was when John was doing it, and how
good John was at being being somebody for the young young fans. So he's
just set a good standard and I'm very happy hopefully to be carrying it forward.
Well, if you're a great parent, go out and get the brand
new knuckle Cruncher Cody Road. Oh yeah, look at this bad boy.
Can you get those for with the with the promo code? Not yet?
Yeah, that's how you know you made it when you're the star of the
kid friendly toy line. Man, we're proud of you. It's a knuckle
Cruncher's way. Man. I got to send you some of the secrets that
it's coming up. It's it's it's all real fun. And don't forget to
order the premium live events. Mark. You got to open up the forbidden
door and ask me a question. I was going to ask you what figures
you collect? Or Actually here we've talked many times, me and you about
the the MO two stuff, So you just kind of put that on pause
now and and is that the only thing outside of your own figures that you
would consider collecting or that you look at nowadays. No, MO two is
the thing that I liked the most. Then I saw what MO two Classics
A shout out to our friend Pixel Dan who put that whole book. They
put that whole book together and how to what you're looking for what to shop
for MO two Classics was Oh my gosh, it's like a window into my
childhood. But it's also made for the adult collector. I really like all
of the MO two stuff, but actually the X and stuff from the nineties
animated series era and now I'm sure they've gone through the roof with X Men
ninety seven, which is and that's asurdly good, good show. But that
that archangel figure was one of my favorite things I ever had as a kid.
Shot the Little two deals out the wings. I could revisit the uh
the X Men toys for sure if I if I ever build Eternia, it's
in a box in my basement, untouched. I had to slide it buying
the bar because Brandy she would throw it away. I think so I stood
it buying the bar. If I ever set it up, I'll add some
X Men into it. Yeah, well you get some time coming up.
I mean once once the once the kids get a little older, you'll get
some time to yourself for sure. I don't know, man, I I
I had this. I'll tell you this, this this, Uh, as
long as I have this, I don't think I have any time. I
think it's true. I think it is what I think it is what it
is, and you wanted it your whole life, so all right here it
is. Take it. So yeah, no, but but maybe I'll open
the collection up. Obviously I'll ping you if I do, because you're you're
the resident Mochu expert. Sure. Yeah. And actually Joe Shoes, who's
part of our family here. He he knows everything. Is that the guy
that Matt takes you guys on VIPs with my guide? Yep? I heard
that was telling me about all right, well, let's hurk Kirk is one
of my favorite guys in all of the Disney VIP tours. And I feel
like I worry when Matt goes out with him, because you know how Matt
likes to get. He's been drinking a little, he said some crazy stuff.
You know this, you know, But yeah, Kirk's a good guy,
great VIP. Well, we got Kirk by accident. Matt was that
was startled. I thought that asked for him. Kirk saw me and he
asked for me. Got he knew it was you. It was Kirk.
Wendy Liberty really likes Ted. They don't They don't miss there. Yeah,
people are amazing, Yeah, exactly all amazing. I want to take my
family from like Christmas time to New Year's Broski said, way too busy,
don't do it. Mark said it would be absolutely magical. What do you
think, what are the actual specific dates. M I don't know. I
don't have that excitsly, I just said it would be those are the busiest
times that you I didn't say. Don't go in between Christmas Day and New
Year's Eve is like going to a different park in a sense of the amount
it's packed, the amount of people that are in there. It even takes
like those days are blacked out for even the most exclusive of season pass holders
to a degree. But if you're taking them during the Christmas you know,
the the Christmas period where the castle's all done up and stuff, it is
really it's euphoric. Yeah, it's exactly. It's it's the Disney High.
You can get nowhere else, but that Christmas Day to New Year's is tricky.
I'm actually getting ready to take Liberty to Tokyo. Dizzy in the seat.
Yeah, so we got to ride that Rapunzel thing. She told me
she's pretty into it. So yeah, well tangle, that's a big one.
Yeah, that's it right. Yeah, Well a day long pal w
W Champion taking on aj Styles Premium Live event class with the Castle. Thank
you so much for coming on the major rest of her podcast. We'll do
it again one day when you have some more figures, because we know when
you have way more Cody figures. Because you're the w W champ, you're
Toyotek, you're the face of the company, and you're one of, if
not my best friends. So wow, I'm so proud of you and being
your best friend. Here you are having torn your peck and you're wearing that
jacket. I feel like it's really I that jacket meant a lot to give
out, you know, and then when you said what you said, it
hurt. It hurt me so for you to have it, for you to
have it on uh, that that changes a lot of things. I really
appreciate it. Your guys show is amazing and I've been begging Matt to be
on it. He did not beg me to be on it. I wanted
to be on it, and it's oddly one of the few things written in
my contract that I can do, uh anytime I want to do. So
we got to do a live one eventually. Oh yeah, Oh Elliott man.
We had QT on the one of them recently. Do you know Qt
QT Marshall? Yeah, you know, QT. Dude's unrecognizable. I saw
him today at the Nightmare Factory. I guess he's getting ready for some competition.
He's got the face thing where his face is all leaned up. Now
that's the goal if you're cutting, you know, and you get that slice
alone stuck in faith. Oh yeah, his major Bendys is going to be
outdated. Oh man, can you get his major Bendies with the promo code?
You can't actually know? Oh, Cony Roads. Everybody appreciate, Thanks
boy, Thank you. Guys. Join the community at major marks dot com
and get access to exclusive content, behind the scenes footage. I become a
member of the Major family. You get bonus episodes on our careers, wrestling
figure history, and exclusive interviews with our friends and legends in the business.
Each month. You also get early access to YouTube videos and of course the
weekly podcast, ad free and breaking news updates, brand news shows featuring Come,
Oh, Baby and You. Each month you could interview someone in the
wrestling business with the Captain's log. Also by selling trade in our exclusive Facebook
community where people have become friends in real life. Certain memberships include merch like
monthly trading cards and quarterly mystery gifts. Become a major market. Joinmajormarks dot com today