During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes admitted his mother still believes he chose the wrong career path. She had hoped he would pursue amateur wrestling at Penn State, a road he never went down.
Rhodes clarified that he was never committed to wrestle for the university, despite some reports. His actual plan was to study at the Howard Fine acting studio. Even now, he says he “feels bad” about not following his mother’s wishes, adding, “I think Mama Rhodes wanted a Runnels in Penn State for sports.”
His father, the legendary Dusty Rhodes, played a key role in shaping his motivation. Cody explained that critics often dismissed Dusty as “not a real athlete,” which pushed him to take amateur wrestling seriously as a teenager. “Everything [Dusty] did, he was a great athlete, but when it came to me, I wanted people to know the wrestling was as real as it gets,” Rhodes said.
In high school, he built an impressive 101-2 record, though he admitted Georgia wasn’t a hotbed for the sport. Summer wrestling camps across the country showed him tougher competition, experiences he described as getting “dogwalked.”
Now at the top of WWE, Rhodes continues to chase excellence. On the October 3 edition of SmackDown, he’ll team with Randy Orton against Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. The match sets the stage for his champion vs. champion showdown with World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel on October 11.