"That's a Hard Pill to Swallow" - WWE Legend Offers Advice to Cody Rhodes (Exclusive)

Current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes returned to the company after leaving AEW in 2022. The American Nightmare was one of the founding members of All Elite Wrestling and helped build the promotion from scratch. He spent three successful years with them before leaving due to personal reasons.

He recently revealed in an interview that one of the reasons he left AEW was that he felt disrespected there. WWE legend Teddy Long offered some advice to the Undisputed WWE Champion about working in the pro wrestling industry. The former SmackDown General Manager has known Cody Rhodes since he was a child.

Long was speaking on The Wrestling Time Machine on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, where he was asked about dealing with feeling disrespected at work. He responded by stating that he understands how The American Nightmare feels, but says that you need to keep moving on from it.

"Well, that's a hard pill to swallow, but sometimes you have to swallow it and keep on moving. I can understand how Cody feels, if that's what it was, if he was disrespected. But you gotta move on, man." Teddy Long said.

Cody Rhodes is currently in the midst of his second WWE run after his first one ended on a sour note in 2016. However, since returning to the promotion, he has gone on to become the face of the company and is arguably the biggest babyface on the current roster.

Cody Rhodes is a two-time Undisputed WWE Champion with the company and is currently in his second reign. He has also won the Royal Rumble twice since his return and was even crowned the King of the Ring in 2025. His success hasn't been limited to inside the ring as he is also set to star in the new Street Fighter movie, alongside fellow WWE star Roman Reigns.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Faiz Ahmed