Cody Rhodes Speaks On WWE Fans Wearing His Paper Bags

In a new interview conducted for Times and Transcript, WWE Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes had the following to say concerning his current gimmick and fans wearing his paper bags:

"What we do is entertainment, but my nose was genuinely broken, and it was the luckiest unlucky thing to ever happen to me because it gave me time to think, it gave me time to reflect and actually, it gave me time to genuinely get a little (angry), and that's what you need to work in the WWE. The paper bags are slightly backfiring on me, I would say. You go out and you tell an audience that they're unfit and that they should conceal their repugnance, and then when you go hand them the paper bag to do so, they stick out their arms openly with a big smile on their face. It's just funny how the fans have taken it. They want to be involved. And regardless of what people may think, I want them to feel involved too. And if that means wearing paper bags, OK." You can read the entire interview by clicking on the above link.

ENTIRE INTERVIEW:

Most people wouldn't see having their nose broken as a good thing.

WWE superstar Cody Rhodes, however, does.

Rhodes' nose was accidently broken during a match with Rey Mysterio in January. After some time off, he returned to the wrestling ring with a protective mask on his face and a new, twisted persona.

"What we do is entertainment," he says in an interview with the Times & Transcript, "but my nose was genuinely broken, and it was the luckiest unlucky thing to ever happen to me because it gave me time to think, it gave me time to reflect and actually, it gave me time to genuinely get a little (angry), and that's what you need to work in the WWE."

Rhodes, 26, and about five years into his WWE career, says he and his fellow performers need to make the most of every opportunity.

"You have to not just want to rip (World Heavyweight champion) Randy Orton down from the top spot, you have to literally grab his leg and yank him down for all its worth."

Playing a bad guy, or 'heel' in wrestling terms, on camera, Rhodes speaks in a deliberate, nasally tone and often hides his face, ashamed of his "damaged" looks (while the audience is well aware he looks perfectly normal). He also brings paper bags to the ring, demanding the audience put them on to hide their own "ugly" faces.

You can bet Rhodes will have some of those bags - along with plenty of insults - for the Moncton audience when the WWE Smackdown brand storms the Moncton Coliseum Sunday afternoon. On the card, Rhodes is set to face his former tag team partner Ted Dibiase, Jr., while the show is headlined by Orton, Christian and Mark Henry in a three-way battle for the World championship.

While the television shows and pay-per-views feature lights, pyrotechnics and massive stages, Rhodes says audiences at non-televised events get a more intimate performance where the wrestlers are able to better interact and play to the crowd.

And as much as the paper bags and insults are Rhodes' way of trying to rile up the audience much the way an old school wrestling bad guy would, they're actually having the opposite effect on many people.

"The paper bags are slightly backfiring on me, I would say," Rhodes explains. "You go out and you tell an audience that they're unfit and that they should conceal their repugnance, and then when you go hand them the paper bag to do so, they stick out their arms openly with a big smile on their face.

"And really, I can't say anything meaner than what I've already said, so I just hand them the bags," he says with a laugh. "And I'm always cautious about giving them to kids, because they're not going to be able to see the rest of the show if they're wearing this big paper bag."

The bags may not be having their desired effect, but Rhodes is going with it.

"It's just funny how the fans have taken it," he says. "They want to be involved. And regardless of what people may think, I want them to feel involved too. And if that means wearing paper bags, OK."

Wearing the solid, clear mask to the ring has also brought out another unexpected element of Rhodes' character - a nasally, somewhat deliberate way of speaking.

"It's just kind of funny ... people think I'm putting on this voice as of late," he says. "They think I have developed this Christian Bale/Batman voice when they see me on Smackdown. But actually, the voice stems from the fact that my whole nose and nasal passages are constricted behind the mask that I have because it's contoured to my face. It was made for my face. Trust me, Hornswoggle, in the locker room, has tried to put that mask on, and literally with his big, fat melon, nearly broke it. The thing is meant for my face and it creates a little bit of that nasally (sound)."

When Rhodes called the Times & Transcript, he was in Wichita, Kansas for a Smackdown television taping, but he wasn't even sure what town it was because the WWE travel schedule is simply so hectic. The RAW and Smackdown brands tour North America constantly, with annual trips to other parts of the world. There is no off-season like sports teams get and no summer break like other television shows have.

Despite this, Rhodes was chatty and cheerful, saying the road doesn't get him down.

"I get more sleep on the road than I do at home," he says. "I'm very good about travel, and I have a crew that travels with me that's very good. We don't party, we sleep, we go to the gym, we do all the things that pro wrestlers or sports entertainers are supposed to do."

Rhodes, the son of pro wrestling legend "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and younger brother of Dustin "Goldust" Rhodes, says wrestling is the "family business" and "as real as it gets for me."

A driven individual, Rhodes says wants to continue to grow his character on television and prove himself. He won the Intercontinental championship last month and hopes to one day be World champion. While the storylines and match outcomes are scripted in wrestling, "winning" championships typically means more TV time, more spotlight in front of fans and more money.

Rhodes says he simply wants to be the best performer he can.

"I got to watch (WWE Hall of Famer) Shawn Michaels grow from a guy wearing pants with hearts on them to being honestly one of the most captivating entertainers of all time," he says. "I want the audience that's growing up with WWE now to say (about me), 'He never got stale, he never slowed down, he always kept trying to entertain us, and that's why he was better than everybody else.' And that's kind of my goal."

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* WHAT: WWE Smackdown
* WHEN: Sunday, 1 p.m.
* WHERE: Moncton Coliseum, Killam Drive
* TICKETS: Range in price from $22.60 to $73.45, available at the Coliseum box office, online at tickets.moncton.ca or by phone at 857-4100
* Matches: Following are the matches set to take place at the show. Card is always subject to change.
Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship:
Randy Orton vs Christian vs Mark Henry
Intercontinental Championship Match:
Ted DiBiase vs Cody Rhodes
Also:
Sheamus vs Wade Barrett
Daniel Bryan vs Brodus Clay
The Usos vs Jinder Mahal and The Great Khali
Ezekiel Jackson vs Heath Slater
Sin Cara vs Tyson Kidd
AJ vs Natalya