AEW star Anthony Ogogo recently spoke to the Wrestling Inc. Daily about a variety of topics, most notably his off-screen relationship with Cody Rhodes and how much he respects the American Nightmare. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
Calls Cody Rhodes his favorite wrestler in the world:
Prior to me joining AEW, he’s my favorite wrestler in the world. I actually think the best wrestler in the world. He is genuinely, and before I got into the ring, I saw an AEW Dark. I commentated for six months, and I said 20 times in six months that Cody’s the best wrestler in the world, but Cody’s a yardstick. I got to watch him daily at the trainer school training and putting the work in still even though he’s so good. The way he can tell stories, the things he can do in a ring.
Respects the way Rhodes brought him in prior to their on-screen feud:
He’s a big dude. He can do top-rope huricanrannas, which I wouldn’t. My a**hole squeezes up watching him do that. I’m never going to do that. He’s really really good. I respect the hell out of him as a wrestler. I respect the way he does his management. Since this thing kicked off, we haven’t spoken. Prior to that, I respect the way he managed me. I respect the way he signed me. I respect the way he went about talking to me. He talks to me on my level rather than talking down to me, and I respect that. He knows that I’m a man on my own way, and I’ve got respect on my name.
How Rhodes is authentic:
Why I like Cody is because he’s very real and authentic. His promo with [Chris] Jericho last year before the title, how he’s doing it for his sister, his mom, ah, mate, tingles, tingles. He’s so real and authentic, and I can get behind that. People can like me or not, I don’t care. I don’t care. They don’t like me because I’m going to be me. I’m 100% authentic to me, and what I say is how I feel. They’ll never say to me, ‘Oh, say this,’ and I’m never going to go, ‘Oh yeah, but that’s not how I feel and say it anyway.’ I just won’t say it, and I will say what I want to say because in my boxing career, I was me, but I was a shaped version of me. Now, I’m going to be unapologetically me, and it might get me into trouble sometimes, I don’t care.