Cody Rhodes is making major money in WWE but has revealed he had to work for free before his return to the company.
Rhodes returned to the grappling giant in 2022 and is now firmly established as its top star and reigning Undisputed Champion.
It’s a far cry from the comparatively tepid run the talented star enjoyed across ten years in the company the first time around, debuting in 2006 and departing a decade later.
Exhausted mentally and creatively, he spent time wrestling on the independent scene where, he has revealed he ended up working without the security and financial comfort afforded by an established company.
Going out on his own, the son of iconic wrestler Dusty Rhodes ended up working without being paid at all, but with a method very much behind his madness.
Speaking on Flagrant, the 39-year-old explained he refused to ‘be that guy’ who overpriced himself to independent wrestling promoters.
Instead, he backed himself to provide a quality of service that kept him in regular work.
“You can’t out-price yourself,” he explained. “If one guy prices himself at $4,500 over three days, unless you have a sponsor or somebody’s there, there’s all these little loopholes you can find.
“I didn’t want to be that guy because I knew they won’t bring me back. But I also can’t price myself too low, so we ended up, there were some shows I did for free.
“There were shows I would do for $1,500 and some for $750, it was all over the map.
“But the point was, [the fans] are gonna to have such a good time. I’m not going to be involved in your storyline here so much, so you don’t have to worry about that.
“I’m going to do so much with them at the end of the night and throughout the meet and greets that you’ll keep me coming. And I always stayed booked.
“It’s one of the things I hate the most about modern, indie wrestling, is the inflation, the money is huge in our game, so guys are saying: ‘I need First Class and six grand’, but there are 200 people there! Take a look at the room. Do you want to do this or not?
“It was far beneath where I was with WWE in terms of the bag, but if you hustle, you’ll find a lot of money.”
Far from fading away, Rhodes’ star shone brightly on the independents, and, in 2019, he was one of the driving forces behind the creation of All Elite Wrestling.
He was a mainstay of the company’s early years but, upon leaving, met with WWE supremo Vince McMahon where he was made an incredible offer.
Having established the star’s free agency, McMahon went ‘old school’ at the meeting, an amused Rhodes recalling the way he’d found out his proposed new wage.
The American Nightmare added: “He found out through the dirt sheets [online] that I was free… he came to my house in Atlanta and it was really old school.
“There were no promises beyond: ‘this is what we’re considering, you wrestling Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38.’
“[He] scribbled on a piece of paper the amount of money the contract would be for and slid it across [the table], which was unnecessary.
“I can’t tell you exactly how much it was, I can tell you it’s fifteen times more than I had been making in WWE the first time. It was a different layer.
“It was hilarious, it was slid across to me. I looked at that, [but] it wasn’t really a money thing.”
Crucially, Rhodes owned much of the intellectual property that comprised his overall package and presentation, such as his popular entrance theme music.
McMahon seemed happy enough with that, too, with Rhodes revealing this played a big part in getting the deal over the line.
He admitted: “The music is a big part of it… I have to be me, and one of the quotes that was given to me in that meeting was ‘it’s not broke, that’s why we’re buying it.
“I thought: ‘OK, then we’re on the same page.’”
Rhodes won the WWE Undisputed title at WrestleMania XL this past Spring and wrestles World Heavyweight Champion Gunther at WWE Crown Jewel this weekend.