The Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes recently sent out a message to the fans who boo him, saying he doesn't care.
'The American Nightmare' appeared on Insight with Chris Van Vliet for a sit-down interview and addressed the crowd polarization that has followed his third title reign head-on. Rather than try to win back the detractors, Rhodes says he's settled into a different philosophy entirely.
"I don't care that you boo me, because I've seen what you cheer," Rhodes told Van Vliet, drawing on a Rick and Morty reference to make the point.
He described spending energy chasing fans who were never going to come around as the wrong play — referencing a Parks and Recreation storyline about a politician who wasted a campaign on a voter who would never support her.
Feeling the Boos at WrestleMania 41
Cody Rhodes acknowledged that the crowd split at WrestleMania 41 wasn't just audible — it was physical. He described feeling the boos in his ribcage during the old-school ring introductions, noting the acoustic difference between a hostile arena and a hostile stadium.
He pushed back firmly on the idea that crowd noise is something to tune out.
The fans are in the ring with us," he said. "We are a live performance that interacts with our audience and plays off of what they are giving us. There is no sound off.
The Dark Knight Question
Van Vliet raised the classic framing — you either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain — and Rhodes didn't dismiss it.
Could be," he said. "The biggest mistake you can make is trying to discourage the passion. You should lean into all sides of it.
He added that he can already hear what's coming at WrestleMania 42.
I have a feeling I'm going to hear it in Vegas again this year," he said. "I like the idea of walking back into Vegas as champion — there's part of it that's: hey guys, it's me again.
Rhodes pointed to John Cena as the blueprint for how to navigate a split crowd without losing yourself in it.
Watching John, having my own skin really beat up and thickened up over the course of my career, has made it so I think I've got the lane I can run in and make something very entertaining for both sides of the coin.
Am I In Character?
Rhodes also revisited a question Van Vliet posed in a previous interview that has apparently stayed with him: how do you know when you're not in character?
"It should be easy," he said. "Am I in character now? No. Right. It should be easy. But is that a lie? Maybe."
He said the only moment he's certain the character is fully gone is when he's with his children. "I am not there to do anything other than be a father."
Rhodes is set to defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton in the main event of WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.
