Cody Rhodes Apologizes For Duration Of His WWE Raw Segment
The second hour of last night's "WWE Raw" began with Cody Rhodes embracing fans at the ringside area as he sauntered to the ring to address his WrestleMania 39 opponent, Roman Reigns. Soon enough, Rhodes would once again be interrupted by Paul Heyman, a few weeks after the two promo virtuosos enthralled audiences with a memorable exchange.
This time around, Heyman and Rhodes did not come face-to-face as "The Wiseman" — wearing a neckbrace to sell injuries courtesy of a Kevin Owens attack at Elimination Chamber — addressed Rhodes from the backstage area. Heyman stressed that as "tragic" as Owens' actions were last Saturday, it would pale in comparison to Reigns' plans for Rhodes at WrestleMania 39.
"I assure you, the true tragedy of this story, that you want to finish, will befall upon you," Heyman warned Rhodes.
Heyman then reiterated that Rhodes had no chance to unseat "The Head of the Table" before painting a hypothetical picture for fans in the Canadian capital of Ottawa.
"Let's say that the stars align, the Gods smiled upon you," Heyman told Rhodes. "Then, sir, what will your life be like? Have you ever heard the phrase indentured servitude? Roman Reigns has a Wiseman, Roman Reigns has Paul Heyman. If you beat Reigns for these championships, you won't have Paul Heyman with you, will you?"
Heyman then warned Rhodes of the workload he'd need to carry as WWE's top champion, pointing out that "The American Nightmare" would have to be "on the road for 200 days a year" to defend his titles, "50 days a year" doing charity appearances and red carpet events, and another "30 days a year overseas" to promote the brand of WWE.
"Another 20 days a year to promote WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and other events," Heyman continued. "Now we're up to 300 days. That means 60 days at home – and what happens in those 60 days? 20 days on Skype and Zoom calls to promote the product and to attend meetings..."
'Is That The Life You Want For Family, Cody?'
At this juncture, Rhodes kept throwing up his hands as he gazed towards the crowd, implying that Heyman was rambling on — without giving him an opportunity to respond.
Heyman then referenced Dustin Rhodes' comments on the late Dusty Rhodes being an absentee father during his years on the road.
"Is that the life you want for your wife and child? Is that what you want for your family, Cody?"
Heyman pointed out how while Reigns was "a happily married man," he was not, and that he could "keep his wife [Brandi Rhodes] warm" while Rhodes was on the road for 300 days a year.
At this point, the crowd let out a loud boo, as a ticked-off Rhodes began storming around the ring.
The segment ended with Rhodes asking Reigns "to not send this man [Heyman] again" and to stop delaying their inevitable "face-to-face" confrontation.
It appears the segment was cut short, as Rhodes apologized to fans for not being allowed to respond properly to Heyman. After "Raw" went off the air, Rhodes sent out the following tweet, through which he also acknowledged reports of his red-hot merchandise sales.
"Sorry the mic time got cut short and apologies for losing my temper a bit," Rhodes wrote on Twitter. "...but more importantly Ottawa...I wasn't sure you'd be interested in the merch for The American Nightmare...boy was I wrong 😂, thank you VERY much and next time hopefully I'll be in action. Wonderful night."