Hill: WWE champ quit football only to star at Allegiant Stadium

WWE superstar and undisputed champion Cody Rhodes can’t help but think about the role football played in his career and his relationship with his famous father as he looks around Allegiant Stadium.

In fact, it was his decision to quit the sport that helped shape the rest of his life.

Rhodes, the son of wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes, was the kind of kid who tried his hand at every sport. His dad loved watching him play football, however, and was disappointed when high school sophomore Cody told him he wanted to quit to focus on his amateur wrestling ambitions.

“I told my dad I was going to win state that year,” Rhodes said. “That’s a very difficult competition in Georgia. I don’t think he didn’t believe me, but he didn’t know what to believe.

“That whole junior season is such a pivotal moment in my childhood and my relationship with my father because I went undefeated and I was absurdly only taken down twice. I just had a ‘Vision Quest’ level of a season. When I won that tournament, our relationship changed forever. He had trust in me.”

‘That was my dad’

Rhodes said his father knew from that day on that Cody possessed the focus to accomplish anything he set his mind to and became one of his biggest fans and advocates.

“That goes all the way to my WWE career,” said Rhodes, whose real name is Cody Runnels. “In a room of a hundred people in 2008 when I was just starting out in WWE, if you asked, ‘Is Cody going to be taking the ball as the quarterback of WWE at Wrestlemania 40, 99 would have said absolutely not. But one would have said, ‘Yes. Trust me. I wouldn’t bet against him.’ That was my dad.”

Dusty Rhodes died in 2015.

All these years later, Rhodes is somewhat ironically plying his trade in football stadiums. His crowning moment came at Wrestlemania 40 when he headlined sold-out shows on consecutive nights at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia last April.

Now he is looking forward to being one of the stars of the show, along with the retiring John Cena, when Wrestlemania 41 comes to Allegiant Stadium for a two-night event April 19 and 20.

Rhodes is in town to promote tickets going on sale for the event, but he probably doesn’t have to do much. These things are incredibly hard to get, certainly more difficult than the last time Wrestlemania was in Las Vegas outside of Caesars Palace in 1993.

That’s particularly rewarding for someone like Rhodes, who has not only wrestled in fire halls and bingo parlors but has heard the stories of his elder family members getting their start in the most obscure venues imaginable.

“Growing up in the business you almost have this imposter syndrome in terms of where you fit in the pantheon of entertainment,” Rhodes said. “For me, whenever those big stadium events come up, it’s really validating for someone who grew up in the business telling people, ‘It is really cool’ and ‘It is really popular. You’ll see.’

“To have moments like this where we’re going to fill this place up for two nights and show just how mainstream WWE has become, the little kid in me who is wanting to be so proud of what we do as a family, it’s extremely validating.”

Now it’s a global phenomenon with a full week of events built around its marquee event.

“It feels like it’s very apt it’s here in Vegas because it’s going to be a tall order to top what we did at Wrestlemania 40, and this is putting us in a place to meet that order and exceed it,” Rhodes said of Allegiant.

“And you’ll see when the week starts, it brings in so many fans internationally. Vegas is already a destination, but now it becomes a double destination for wrestling fans and I’m very excited for them to get to be here. It’s the perfect spot for Wrestlemania 41 because, again, it’s a tall order, but we aim to beat what we’ve done.”

While it will be just the second WWE event at Allegiant Stadium, the company has a long history in Las Vegas. As does Rhodes himself. He fondly remembers old television tapings at Sam’s Town and Orleans Arena. One of his most famous matches was a bloody battle against his brother Dustin at the MGM Grand as part of AEW in 2019.

“I’ve had some wonderful moments all across the town,” said Rhodes, an avowed fan of the city for business and pleasure. “I’m most excited for wrestling fans to come who have never been and experience not only Wrestlemania, but one of the great cities. I’d encourage them to take it all in, take their time and enjoy a wonderful place.”

The fans at Allegiant Stadium those two nights will undoubtedly heed his advice.

‘The quarterback’

Full disclosure, I’m not much of a wrestling fan. But I have grown to appreciate the storytelling, something Rhodes talks about eloquently and with such dedication to that part of the craft.

There is also something so unique about the performers’ ability to control a crowd. Rhodes compares that aspect to a lead singer with sometimes more than 60,000 backup singers. It’s remarkable to watch in person.

WWE commentator Michael Cole had a different comparison. Perhaps because of the success Rhodes has had in football stadiums or the way he can take control of the action in the ring and with all the fans in the arena, Cole has taken to calling Rhodes “the quarterback.”

“Nothing could be funnier because I’m not a football player,” Rhodes said as he sat in a suite and looked out over an empty Allegiant Stadium. “But I get the responsibility of it, and I get the parallel. So for me to go from, ‘I’m not playing this anymore,’ to looking at this stadium and knowing we’re going to be performing right where that Raiders logo is, right in the center with a record crowd watching, I’ll be the quarterback that night.

“I’m back in football somehow.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.