Being intercontinental champion doesn't mean you're a champ. It m... by Cody Rhodes

Being intercontinental champion doesn't mean you're a champ. It means you're the future.

Cody Rhodes

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Categorized in : Mean Champion

I wanted to be a world champion of some sorts since I got into the industry, when I was 15 years old, and I was able to do that.

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I had seen a lot of people who had been released from WWE, or asked for their release, and gone out into the wild unknown. There's more cases of it being unsuccessful than successful.

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When I wasn't wrestling, I got back into school a little bit. In Dallas, there was VIP Wrestling, and in Atlanta, AR Fox has a great school, so it's good to get back in there and continue to learn.

back great good school

A lot of times when people are released or, unfortunately, get fired, they almost scramble for what it is they are going to do next. I think when you are no longer working under a big, corporate umbrella, you have to be your own brand, your own enterprise. That was my thought process before I left.

thought think you people

There are fans who just like their indie stars, and then there are your more casual fans that are more familiar with somebody like Kurt Angle, and their interest might be piqued.

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I had a habit of watching classic wrestling pretty much on repeat in the locker rooms. With the influx of talent at WWE, with guys like Kevin Owens, he was one of the first people to open my eyes up to the world that is PWG and BOLA.

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I like to think of Christopher Daniels as one of those who's a great professional wrestler, but I like to think of myself as one of those people that's great at everything.

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I think Christopher Daniels' first championship reign with ROH is about 20 years too late, and I fully embrace the role that I've naturally been given here as spoiler for that reign.

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It's my whole life, brother. It's a world title. It has been something I've worked for and quested for, and now I have the opportunity to compete for one.

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I think one of my biggest attributes as a person and a businessman in wrestling is I'm very self-aware. There's a reason why I like all of the negative comments on social media. It's because I'm not delusional about my skillset, about my consistency and what I have to offer.

why social-media consistency negative

I reached a point where nothing scares me in this industry, mainly because I grew up in it. My earliest memory is 4 years old, getting in a wrestling ring.

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I'm a second-generation professional wrestler. My family, the Rhodes family, has been wrestling for 50-odd years.

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I had several decorated characters within the WWE that I was really proud of, coats of paint that changed that I could show a different side to the audience, because I've been in front of them since I was 20 years old, and none of them were necessarily the right one.

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