Cody Rhodes Has Been In Backstage Fights Before, Nearly Scrapped With Seth Rollins

While professional wrestling and sports entertainment are just that, entertainment, the competition for prominent spots can become all too real, according to 2023 Men's Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes.

"I almost would say I like less people than I dislike," Rhodes said on "The Dan LeBatard Show" recently. According to Rhodes, the on screen tensions can boil over into the real world. 

"Backstage, it is very, very real in terms of the competition, who's gonna be on top?" Rhodes explained. "For example, 'who's gonna headline WrestleMania?' So this year it being Roman Reigns and myself, doesn't garner a lot of friends." 

Rhodes says that his return to WWE in 2022 wasn't the smoothest transition, apparently, creating friction with his WrestleMania 38 opponent Seth Rollins, saying the two almost got in a "fistfight" in front of the locker room and management.

"Him and I absolutely can't stand one another," Rhodes explained. "I'd probably try to rip his eyes out and have a situation like DDP and Scott Steiner here," Rhodes said, referencing the infamous backstage scrap between Page and Steiner, which led to Page using his sharp fingernails to get the advantage over the much larger "Big Poppa Pump."

"I've had one backstage skirmish" Rhodes confessed. "I'm not going to name the guy, but the good thing is I won." According to Rhodes, he found the unnamed WWE superstar wearing one of Rhodes's entrance vests, and making fun of the second-generation wrestler, which made Rhodes furious. "I went walking towards him, I thought I was gonna headbutt him, but a headbutt seems pretty violent these days, so then I thought 'why don't I just grapple him?' I've got a good folk-style Greco background, so I got [under him] and just swept him to the floor ... and I looked like a complete jerk in front of everybody because he was probably just having a good time."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Dan LeBatard Show" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.