Cody Rhodes recently detailed a harrowing real-life incident where he was forced to flee his tour bus after it caught fire in the middle of the night. Appearing on What Do You Want To Talk About? With Cody Rhodes alongside Becky Lynch, the champion recounted being woken up by two loud bangs he initially believed were gunshots.
Rhodes explained he heard his associate Matt urging him to get off the bus before seeing a “giant hole in this fire running up and down the bus.” In the chaos, he managed to grab only a photo of his family and his wrestling boots. “I run off the bus, and I’m looking at the bus, and I’m like, I had more time,” Rhodes said. He then ran through the cold to Seth Rollins’ nearby bus, where he described himself as being “shell shocked” by the event.
While the bus incident occurred on the road, Rhodes is currently away from the WWE touring schedule for a different reason. The Undisputed WWE Champion is in Australia filming the live-action Street Fighter movie, where he plays the role of Guile. According to recent reports, he is expected to wrap filming around September 20 and could return to programming by the end of the month.
On-screen, his hiatus is attributed to a storyline injury. Rhodes’ last appearance was on the August 8 episode of SmackDown, where a post-match brawl with Drew McIntyre concluded with McIntyre striking him with the championship belt before delivering a Claymore Kick through the announcers’ table. This attack is the kayfabe reason for his time away, with McIntyre currently accusing WWE of concealing the champion’s medical status.
Due to both his filming schedule and the storyline injury, Rhodes will not be defending his Undisputed WWE Championship at the upcoming Clash in Paris on August 31.
Rhodes’ current championship run was recently a topic of discussion for Dutch Mantell. Speaking on his “Story Time with Dutch Mantell” podcast, the veteran advised that WWE management needs to be “very careful” with his booking. Mantell pointed to a recent crowd reaction he felt was not as strong as Roman Reigns’ and cautioned against a “knee-jerk reaction” to turn Rhodes heel, highlighting the champion’s strong merchandise sales to younger fans as a key factor.