"A nuisance to work with" - Cody Rhodes' honest take on life after his WWE exit

Cody Rhodes recently admitted that his “terrible temper” became even worse after he left WWE in 2016.

Rhodes was granted his release from WWE after growing frustrated with his position in the company. He performed on the independent scene and for several promotions around the world, including IMPACT Wrestling and NJPW, before joining AEW in 2019.

Now that he has returned to WWE, Rhodes said on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast that his daughter has helped calm him down:

“I have a terrible temper… terrible temper, and it got worse when I left WWE because no one stopped me. I was a lunatic and I had that fear that I didn’t speak up when I was in WWE, so now I’ve gotta overly speak up. I’m snapping on people left and right, just a nuisance to work with the first few years until I kinda calmed myself down.”

Cody Rhodes has been married to fellow wrestler Brandi Rhodes since 2013. Brandi gave birth to their first child together, Liberty, on June 18, 2021.

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What happens when Cody Rhodes dislikes his booking?

In previous years, Rhodes would have asked questions backstage if he took exception to certain booking decisions.

However, with Liberty now his priority, the former AEW Executive Vice President has learned to keep his composure when presented with ideas he disagrees with:

“With her, I’ve calmed way down. As long as she’s safe, happy, healthy. [If decision-makers say] ‘Hey, we’re doing this on TV.’ ‘That sounds cool. Okay, maybe not my cup of tea, we’ll make it work, whatever.’ It’s calmed me down, calmed the house down, and it’s gave us a specific thing, a goal, and our outlook is all about her,” said Rhodes.

Moving forward, The American Nightmare has aspirations to win Roman Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. He is also due to face Seth Rollins in a rematch at WrestleMania Backlash on May 8.

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Please credit After The Bell and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.