Cody Rhodes Talks Kicking ‘Go-Big Show’ Contestants In The Balls
The idea Cody Rhodes can be found in two programs on TBS each week is not lost on the second-generation star. On Wednesdays, the TNT champ can be found on All Elite Wrestling's Dynamite from its new home station. Then Thursdays see Rhodes return to the judging seat alongside Rosario Dawson, Jennifer Nettles, and T-Pain.
"It's hitting me I get to be on the 'Mothership' TBS two nights in a row," he said in a recent interview for The Wrestling Inc. Daily. "It's a really charmed life at the moment. That's for sure."
With $100,000 on the line, this sharp-dressed man in the suit takes his role as Go-Big Show judge seriously. He wants to be wowed, which is harder than ever for the more than 30 competitors battling it out in season 2.
"I think I've been maybe given a license to be more of who I really am when it comes to this second season," he said. "I don't give out perfect scores. A perfect score to me is a 98 as we jokingly say. Absolutely, I was able to be a little pickier. I was able to think more too about the game involved."
For Rhodes, it's a question if the particular act is saving enough to elevate their game for the semifinals and finale. He adds that "as the show's identity has figured itself out, and we were able to cast a wider net now the show has more global penetration, the acts are even more jaw-dropping."
The wrestling veteran sees the similarities between the ring and Go-Big Show stage. One constant for success is the ability to build a connection with the audience.
"I look at who is the person. Traditionally, for wrestling, that interview is what got you in the building. That happened long before the two guys or girls locked up. I still look at everything like that.
Do I care about this person? Have they made me care in a short amount of time about them in a way that I now have somewhat of a biased that needs them to succeed? That does happen because $100,000 is on the line. You want to make sure the right person gets that, but they also have to have the right act. That connection is very prominent with the best contestants this season."
This season the Grammy-winning T-Pain steps in for Snoop Dogg on the judging panel. T-Pain already bonded with Rhodes at an AEW Dynamite where the music multihyphenate gave the assist ringside.
"T-Pain is a wonderful cat. The fact he came into this with no experience season-wise," Rhodes said. "He probably [participates] with more contestants and acts than anyone this season. And he did it with a smile on his face, even the riskier acts. He really is up for whatever...T-Pain is absolutely just a baller. Just a stud. For him to come to be a part of All Elite Wrestling, hand me that chair in the Atlanta street fight. That's a big moment for me. That's definitely one of my career moments."
A moment found in the Go-Big Show teaser is Cody Rhodes kicking a contestant in the groin. Or as the judge says, the balls.
"I have no other way to put it. His act can't be put delicately," he said. "That act is one of the acts that showcase the dichotomy of this show. When you have someone whose act is kicking someone in the groin and not sustaining an injury versus a James Carter, a motocross expert. Versus someone who trained for two decades as an umbrella balancer and dancer. There is the dichotomy of here is this absolute car crash of an act and here is this beautiful disciplined art form. Somehow they both work on this stage and make you feel so incredibly different."
Catch The Go Big Show on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on TBS
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