Cody Rhodes Praises Two WWE Executives For Helping Him Through Recent Injury

The 2023 Royal Rumble was a career-changing night for several different stars, but one man in particular now has a guaranteed ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 39 — Cody Rhodes. "The American Nightmare" suffered a horrific torn pectoral muscle injury in the buildup to the Hell in a Cell premium live event last June, which put him on the shelf until Royal Rumble. 

Following his Rumble victory, Rhodes told BT Sport that he had doubts about recovering from the injury, but named two WWE executives who kept him motivated. 

"You know, everyone has doubts, even the most confident people. 'Maybe I didn't have it.' And I'll tell you two people that kind of kept me in check were Nick Khan and Bruce Prichard. I don't know why they've got reputations because, man, they've been nothing but angels to me. I mean, Nick Khan and Bruce both don't see Dusty when they see me; they see me. That's big, that's big with me."

Cody continued to reflect on the day the injury occurred, remembering that he knew his time in the ring was going to be limited just due to the discoloration. This forced him to swallow his pride and go in for surgery, kicking off his long road to recovery. He said that he was "embarrassed" something so devastating happened at the peak of his wrestling career.

"I was at the top of my game. All the measurables that make you like, 'Oh, this is working. We're selling this. People are tuning in –- oh my gosh, I'm doing it. I'm doing it.' And then I got hurt bench pressing at my gym, and probably a lot of wrestling was involved with that, but I didn't know," Rhodes explained.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "BT Sport" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.