Cody Rhodes updates WWE Universe on injury, calls Kane a "modern day Dude Love"
http://www.wwe.com/f/wysiwyg/image/2...T_HOMEPAGE.jpg
For the first time since being injured during a fierce WWE Tag Team Title Match against Team Hell No on WWE Main Event, Rhodes updates the WWE Universe on his status. Rhodes, who has not competed in a match since Nov. 14 due to injuries suffered at the hands of Kane, talks candidly about what’s next for Team Rhodes Scholars and makes eye-raising remarks about The Big Red Monster.
WWE.COM: Can you talk a little about the injury? You Tweeted that you tore your trap and your deltoid and that you separated your shoulder. Can you talk about the seriousness of such injuries?
CODY RHODES: Well, honestly, the best way I’ve heard the injury described, is that I dodged a bullet. The trap tear is a grade two (on a scale of one to three), but I don’t need surgery — the tears will heal themselves over time with proper physical therapy. The separated shoulder is an old injury from amateur wrestling, and it’s basically the area that could have been considerably worse. I could have landed on my neck, but I turned just in time to land on my shoulder. The separated shoulder is where the most pain is and it’s the AC joint, but like I said, I dodged a bullet — no surgery. (WATCH HOW IT HAPPENED)
WWE.COM: How soon did you know you were in trouble, and what was going through your head at the time? Do you remember anything in the ring or backstage after it happened?
RHODES: I thought I broke my arm, and I was in a very bad position in the ring. You know, ring awareness is something I’ve always been fond of — having ring awareness, having mat awareness. Always knowing where I am at all times. Especially in a tag team situation, knowing if I’m on my side of the ring. I wasn’t. I was in enemy territory and Daniel Bryan had me wide open.
Actually, everything after Kane dropped me, I don’t remember. I remember hitting the mat one more time, and then I thought that I immediately tagged out, but watching back, there’s a whole period of a minute, a minute-and-a-half, where I faked out Daniel Bryan, who missed a headbutt and I just laid there. I didn’t know that — I thought I was much more cognizant than I was, but watching back I didn’t know that I was on the apron, I didn’t know that the doctor was tugging at my boots.
I just was contemplating in my head — the only thing I remember thinking was if I could get in there and kick [Daniel Bryan], then tag Damien real quick and tag out, that I could offer something still. Damien looked at me one time after I said, "tag me in," after I got my bearings a little bit, but he certainly had no intentions of tagging me in, at great cost to himself. So I owe Damien Sandow a lot.
WWE.COM: Speaking of your tag team partner, are you still in regular contact with Damien Sandow?
RHODES: We haven’t had as much personal contact as I’d like. One of the things I most look forward to with Damien is our Monday, Wednesday and Friday "war room" sessions where we would discuss everything in the WWE Universe, and all of the Superstars and Divas. It was a real gripe fest, but a nice period of time to vent.
Now he’s navigating the murky waters of singles competiton and I wish him — genuinely — good luck. I just hope he doesn’t forget that Team Rhodes Scholars was on a very steep climb to the top.
WWE.COM: In your TOUT from a couple of days ago, you wished Sandow luck but you also cautioned not to forget "the bigger picture." Is that bigger picture you were referring to winning the WWE Tag Team Titles?
RHODES: It’s not about winning the WWE Tag Team Championship anymore — and I hate saying that because they are absolutely prestigious in every way, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be a four-time Tag Team Champion.
What I meant by that, is that this is a personal issue, and I hope and I think that Mr. Sandow understands it’s a personal issue. Had I landed on my neck, I would not be able to do this anymore. My boyhood dream of being in WWE and ascending is paramaount. It’s something that ceraintly could have been stopped dead in its tracks — which is something I thought would never happen, and I hope that Damien realizes how strong of a personal issue it is for me.
And I’ll be honest — it’s not so much with Team Hell No and their goofy schtick of ‘Yes! Yes!" and "No! No!" and "red rules" — it’s more with Kane. I’m aware of the monster, but I’m also aware of the fact that he’s slowly becoming the modern day Dude Love — he’s just, I don’t know, disintegrating into a novelty joke and I would certainly like to get my shots in on him before he vanishes completely.
WWE.COM: Wow, those are some strong words. Do you feel that, besides being less intimidating (which I’m gathering from what you just said), do you feel that Kane is less effective and less physical now that he’s a part of Team Hell No?
RHODES: Absolutely not. One thing I won't do, by any means, is disrparage who he was prior. He’s certainly not less physical, and he’s certainly not less intimidating. But the real thing is, what do I have to be intimidated by?
In the state of Ohio alone — just Ohio — someone brought this up to me. I lost half my blood supply, practically, in a Street Fight Match against Randy Orton, and then almost a year later, Kane drops me and I end up having the first muscle tears I’ve had in my entire life being an athlete.
I’ve given a great deal. When they talk about paying your dues, I don’t care that I’m 27. I’ve paid a good chunk of them. So coming back, I’m not easily intimidated, I’m not out there to do a "ha ha" bit on Monday Night Raw or Friday Night SmackDown. I’m specifically coming back with something. What do I have to fear?
I’m not coming back to make people laugh. I’m coming back to make people cry.
WWE.COM: So, more important to you than winning the WWE Tag Team Titles is you exacting revenge on Kane?
RHODES: I think they coincide. And as you’ve been asking questions, I realize that they coincide. Winning the WWE Tag Team Championship for the fifth time is the perfect revenge, and it’s the perfect wake-up call for someone like Kane, one of WWE’s resident monsters. [Kane is] genuinely a legend in sports-entertainment, but I would say that he’s on the back end of that legendary career and I have no problem waking the monster up, as people saw with Big Show heading into WrestleMania.
I don’t mind poking the bear. You don’t get anywhere by tiptoeing around anything. Certainly, I’d rather step on toes than tiptoe around anybody.
WWE.COM: Switching gears a bit, how do you think Damien Sandow has performed since your injury?
RHODES: I was disappointed that he was unable to put somebody like Kofi Kingston away, but in the same token, you’re only as good as your last match. And [Damien's] last match was against Zack Ryder [on the Nov. 26 episode of Raw], and he made short work of a very credible Superstar in Zack Ryder, so I think he just has to get back in the rhythm. (WATCH)
When you’ve been in a tag team, and you’ve been on a long European tour, [a singles match] is a different type of match. It’s a different type of breathing for one, and he’s getting his bearings, I hope, and he’s someone who won’t show you if there’s any rust in his singles work. He’ll manage to hide it and that’s one of the things I admire about him, certainly.
You’re only as good as your last match, and his last match ended in a victory for him, so I think he’s doing well.
WWE.COM: Finally, when can the WWE Universe expect you to return to the ring?
RHODES: I am a quick healer and I can fight through pain, but I will not rush my return to the ring. There is no hard timeline for my retur
