Ex-WWE World Champion Reveals Brutal Aftermath Of Gruesome WrestleMania Injury

WWE WrestleMania 42 delivered a brutal moment involving Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. Rhodes won their match, but Orton punt-kicked him afterward. The vicious attack left The American Nightmare dealing with a gruesome orbital injury.

Speaking on CVV’s “Insight” podcast, Rhodes opened up about its lasting effects. He admitted that the injury slowed down his work and left him frustrated with himself. The former WWE World Champion also acknowledged that he should have handled the situation differently. Cody Rhodes said,

“I think we skated by with a little bit of an orbital fracture, and that’s not on anyone’s fault but my own. It was bad. I think we skated by a little bit of an orbital fracture, and I think I am mad at myself for doing so because it’s affected my work since, super slowed down.”

“Yeah, just to a degree, to a little bit, and I feel like that’s you can’t go out there QB 1 and saying you’re in your prime, and you’re the best you’ve ever been if you’re dealing with something that’s a bit of a hindrance like that, but at this point we’re out the woods. I got through it and I showed up the next night. I am toxic as can be when it comes to physical stuff. Toxic as can be. I can go. Tape it up. I can go.”

“I’m letting you know that’s not good. If you’re a young wrestler, don’t do it. Don’t! Live to fight another day. Something about me can’t not want to go. I don’t know what it is. I love it too much. Maybe it’s ego. I don’t know, but I just can’t not. Yeah, that was a nasty one.”

Rhodes Comments On Win At WWE WrestleMania 40

At WrestleMania XL, The American Nightmare dethroned Roman Reigns to finish his story and become the WWE Champion. During the same podcast, Cody Rhodes reflected on the magnitude of that night. He said,

“To me, wrestling is never a dirty word for me, right? But I’d actually say it’s peak art, and I tell people all the time who misunderstand wrestling and think, oh, there’s goofiness to what we do. There’s a lot of goofiness to what we do. There is, and some nights it’s what you think. Then other nights, it’s better than any other story you might have ever seen, and I’m not saying that was, but I know when you’re in one of those moments, and there have been so many significant moments throughout history, and they’re not always loaded with drama.”

“Just think about Steve spraying the beer. Think about Hogan slamming Andre, like that. Those moments, they rise to the highest points of- I’m using the word I never thought I’d use, art. It’s one of the reasons all the great wrestlers that I grew up loving were big-time film buffs. This is their way of telling stories, and this is their canvas-the squared circle, the ring. But you name it. Somebody who is a big film buff or a huge music fan, and not that everyone isn’t, but even on a deeper connective level, how do I put this together? How do I entertain?”