WWE: Cody Rhodes on His Goal to Become “The Face of WWE”, Carmelo Hayes Head Injury Update, More News

Cody Rhodes Comments on “Being The Face Of WWE Is Another Level I Need To Attain” for WWE Career Goal

Sports Illustrated held a recent interview with Cody Rhodes. One of the topics discussed included Rhodes’ thoughts about becoming the “Face of WWE” being the next goal he wants to achieve for his current career in WWE.

“The milestones keep building. We keep climbing to new levels. Now the question I keep asking myself is, ‘Who is the face of the place?’ That’s what I want. That’s another level I need to attain. Hopefully, that starts at the Royal Rumble.”

Following Sports Illustrated’s interview, Rhodes responded to a fan on Twitter who claimed that he already has become the face of WWE based on his booking. This fan stated “In an interview with @SI_wrestling, Cody Rhodes has stated that he wants to become the face of WWE. I’d argue that he already is. #WWERaw.” Rhodes responded stating “Can’t be a king without a crown though.“

Can’t be a king without a crown though https://t.co/CMkljceDL9

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) January 15, 2024

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Carmelo Hayes Head Injury Status Update

As noted before, Carmelo Hayes and Austin Theory suffered facial contusion injuries during their match at this past Friday’s SmackDown show in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that there have been no new updates from his sources regarding Hayes’ current health status for Tuesday’s NXT show.

Hayes is currently scheduled to team with Trick Williams against Edris Enofe & Malik Blade in a 2024 Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament First Round match on the show.

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WWE News & Notes

Gable Steveson reportedly is currently scheduled to work in a dark match at this Friday’s SmackDown tapings in New Orleans, Louisiana, according to the Wrestling Observer. This will be the third week in a row that Steveson will be competing in a dark match prior to the start of a SmackDown show.

TMZ reported that WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan helped rescue a young woman who was trapped in her car following an accident over this past weekend in Clearwater, Florida. It was reported that Hogan and his wife Sky Daily and his friend Jake were driving down the highway and witnessed the accident as it happened. It was reported that one of the cars involved in the accident flipped over and Hogan and Jake pulled over to help out and safety helped the young female driver out of her car. It was reported that everyone involved in the accident seemed to be feeling okay afterwards.

In a political rally held this past Sunday in Indianola, Iowa, Republican Presidential candida Donald Trump and Knox County mayor Glenn Jacobs, Kane in WWE, endorsed each other’s current Republican primary races for their respective election campaigns. Besides Kane, Trump also referenced WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker in his speech at the rally.

Post Wrestling’s John Pollock reported that wrestling researcher Cory Gibson recently uncovered an article from American Amusement which featured an interview with Pontiac Silverdome official Mike Abington. In the article, Abington stated that WWE’s announced attendance of 93,173 for WrestleMania III at the venue in 1987 was counting every person in attendance, including wrestlers, WWE personnel, and staff workers for that day. The article reportedly stated that WWE had sold around 88,100 tickets for the event which ranged in price from $9 to $100. Pollock reported that the current figure of 78,500 was something that was told to the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer many years later by former WWF event promoter Zane Bresloff who had the building document as proof for his number.

In a recent interview with the Busted Open Radio podcast, R-Truth gave his thoughts about his current work with Judgement Day. R-Truth stated “I was happy. I was ready to get out of the house and go back to the sport that I love. When they said I was working with Judgment Day, I was like, ‘Let’s do it. What are we doing?’ They could have said I was working with anybody and I was ready. I will say this, Judgment Day, they all want me.“R-Truth also stated that Damian Priest was the person responsible for his continued work with the group. R-Truth stated “Just the first promo. I will say Damian Priest, he was like, ‘Bro, we should keep you around. This thing is working.’ He actually went to, I think it was Hunter [Triple H] and the writers. Damian Priest fought for it.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

In a recent interview with WWE India, Jinder Mahal gave his thoughts about CM Punk’s return to WWE this past November. Mahal stated “I have mixed emotions [laughs]. The fan in me is excited, excited for CM Punk’s return. I’m excited for the matches, I’m excited to get in the ring with CM Punk. But I do see Seth’s point because I was there when CM Punk was in WWE the last time, and Seth also has a point. But nonetheless, let’s see what CM Punk does. Let’s see his attitude, let’s see his reaction. Let’s see if he offers up the opportunities to younger superstars. Let’s see. Overall, I’m excited. But I could see Seth’s point. But at the same time, we have a new generation of fans. Some people watching haven’t seen CM Punk before, and this is the first time they’re seeing CM Punk. But CM Punk is one of the all-time greats, and I’m curious to see if he still has it. So let’s find out.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

During Monday’s RAW show in North Little Rock, Arkansas, WWE announced that next week’s Royal Rumble go-home episode of WWE RAW on January 22nd will be featuring a face-to-face segment between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes.

WWE also announced three matches for the card of the January 22nd WWE RAW show in New Orleans, Louisiana:

• Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest
• Ivy Nile vs. Valhalla
• Chad Gable vs. Ivar