WWE News: Bobby Roode opens up about his favorite Superstar, his thoughts on his WrestleMania debut

Bobby Roode will be stirring things up on SmackDown soon enough

What's the story?

In a recent interview with The El Paso Times, Bobby Roode opened up about various topics including his favourite Superstars as a young fan and the fact that the one thing on the back his mind right now is WrestleMania 34. On the topic of his first ever WrestleMania appearance, the former NXT Champion said:

"It's a few months away, but WrestleMania is in the back of my mind. The ball is in my court. It's what I do with the opportunity to see if I make it there. I'm just going to continue to do the things that made me successful and, hopefully, I'll have a shot at my first Mania in April."

In case you didn't know...

Bobby Roode had his SmackDown debut recently, before which he was the reigning NXT Champion, having won the title from Shinsuke Nakamura earlier this year in January. On the September 19th episode of SmackDown Live! Bobby Roode faced Mike Kanellis in a dark match before the show went on air. You can check out footage from the match here:

The heart of the matter

On the topic of his favourite Superstars, while growing up, Bobby Roode said that he was a Hulkamaniac at heart. Roode mentioned that Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and Randy Savage were among his favourites as a child but as he grew up, he started to see the brilliance in guys like Foley, Flair among others in the industry. He said:

As I got older and studied the craft, certain guys stood out: Obviously, Mick Foley and Ric Flair. I was a huge fan of Rick Rude and Arn Anderson. There's many guys, many performers in the past who turned me into the sports entertainer I am today. But, if there was one guy (I'd like to wrestle against), it would be Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig). He's my all-time favorite."

What's next?

Roode is yet to have a fully realised feud on the main roster and it will be interesting to see who will be his first 'rival' in the SmackDown roster. He already faced Mike Kanellis in a dark match but many are hoping to see him go up against Shinsuke Nakamura again.

Author's take

SmackDown just became more GLORIOUS thanks to Bobby Roode and l can't wait to find out what the future holds for the former NXT Champion.