Cody Rhodes says he never took offense when Roman Reigns once labeled him a “politician” during their heated WWE rivalry.
The comment came during their storyline feud when Reigns mocked Rhodes’ public persona, joking that he was constantly “kissing babies and shaking hands.” While the remark was framed as an insult on television, Rhodes explained that he actually understood the point Reigns was making.
Speaking on What Do You Want To Talk About?, Rhodes said the label did not bother him because politics exist in every wrestling locker room to some degree.
“Roman Reigns called me a politician one time, and I remember thinking, ‘I’m not mad at that,’” Rhodes said. “I grew up in the business. Everyone is, to a degree.”
Rhodes explained that throughout his career he has seen how wrestlers naturally advocate for themselves behind the scenes, which can sometimes resemble political maneuvering.
However, he believes there is an important distinction between normal professional positioning and more toxic backstage behavior.
“To me, there is politics and posturing, and then there is snaking and backstabbing,” Rhodes explained.
During the discussion, Rhodes also spoke positively about the current WWE locker room environment, suggesting that today’s roster tends to be more transparent than in past eras of the industry.
He pointed to Gunther as an example of the type of straightforward communication that is common among many performers today.
“One of the great things about you as a peer and as a wrestler in the locker room, just straight up,” Rhodes said. “A lot of guys on our modern roster are straight up. ‘This is what I think is better. This is what I think isn’t. Let’s talk about it.’”
Rhodes acknowledged that while wrestlers openly discuss ideas and creative directions, they can usually tell when a suggestion backstage might not truly benefit them.
“You can smell when you get around the ones today,” he said. “‘This is going to be really good for you,’ and you can already tell, ‘No, it’s not.’”
The rivalry between Rhodes and Reigns became one of the defining storylines of recent WWE history, with both stars delivering promos that frequently blurred the line between scripted tension and real-life industry dynamics. Rhodes’ comments suggest that even the sharpest verbal jabs sometimes contain a degree of truth about how the wrestling business works behind the scenes.
