Why did Cody Rhodes call WWE's Triple H his role model?

On February 15, 2022, it was confirmed that Cody Rhodes, along with his wife Brandi, had left AEW. Cody posted on social media to give thanks and show his gratitude for the time he spent with Tony Khan's promotion.

As it stands, it is speculated that Rhodes will be reunited with Vince McMahon and WWE. The door is wide open for him to return to where he made his name between 2006 and 2016. Right now, he is a free agent, and an appearance could come at any time.

During his initial run with the company, Cody was mainly a midcard talent, winning multiple tag team titles and winning the Intercontinental Championship twice. He will also be remembered for his "Dashing" and Stardust gimmicks that he portrayed.

When Cody Rhodes walked away from WWE 2016, he revealed that he became frustrated behind the scenes. His issues came specifically with the creative team, who would not allow him to drop the Stardust gimmick despite his pleas and requests for a new direction.

At the time, WWE Executive Paul "Triple H" Levesque was shocked and couldn't understand Rhodes' request to leave. "The Game" thought he'd done enough for his family to avoid warranting Cody packing his bags and leaving.

Despite this, "The American Nightmare" has a lot of praise for "The King of Kings" and even stated that Triple H was his role model:

"So I don’t know if I should share this, but, at some point, it’s going to come off my chest: Triple H is probably my favorite wrestler and was a role model."

So why did Cody Rhodes call WWE's Triple H his role model? Cody elaborated:

"I only watched from a distance, but he reminded me a lot of my dad in the sense that I watched him do all the work, be this executive, and then go out there—and he was only part-time for the most part other than when I first started and had that run with him and Teddy and Shawn. He really was a model in terms of, “OK, you can do both, you can do both, but you have to be really disciplined. You have to take it really seriously.” And that doesn’t get you many friends when you’re the Hermione Granger of the company, and you just take it so seriously and are just a little bookworm." (h/t 411 Mania)

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Did Cody Rhodes and Triple H ever face each other during his run with WWE?

Cody and Triple H have collided before inside the WWE ring. They clashed during the D-Generation-X and Legacy rivalry in 2009. On the March 16 episode of RAW that year, the pair collided one-on-one in a Steel Cage match.

It has been suggested that if Rhodes was to return, he should immediately feud with Triple H, bringing in real-life aspects to the storyline.

Live on AEW television, for example, "The American Nightmare" mimicked Triple H, using a sledgehammer (Triple H's speciality weapon) to smash up a king's throne. The throne was similar to what The Game used for the King of Kings entrance.

It would make for a personal rivalry that would be highly anticapted by fans all over the world.

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Would you like to see a Cody Rhodes-Triple H feud in the future? Let us know in the comments section below!