Cody Rhodes

“Every time someone told me I couldn't, I did. I'm still the same guy who's responsible for one of the better Intercontinental runs of all time and changing that title.”

“We've been very lucky with the 'Being the Elite' crew that everyone is very passionate about pro wrestling. There's no crooks in the group. Everyone's ideas are valued. And everyone who has something they pick and put on the map, they are fully going to commit to that.”

“A lot of times when people are released or, unfortunately, get fired, they almost scramble for what it is they are going to do next. I think when you are no longer working under a big, corporate umbrella, you have to be your own brand, your own enterprise. That was my thought process before I left.”

“You go real long in this business, and then you have these light-bulb moments. I just had this fleeting moment of fearlessness and a moment of trust in myself that I'm not going to listen to anyone. I'm going to do it how I want to do it. And how I want to do is what people are going to want to see and promoters want to pay for.”

“WWE is the biggest, most wonderful company, and they have WrestleMania, so almost any professional wrestler is going to seek that goal.”

“To have a record crowd for What Culture, to be in there with Kurt Angle and not to be just, like, Kurt Angle plus garnish, for it instead to be Kurt Angle v. Cody Rhodes, our second match, actually - it was very vindicating. It's also nice, you know: the greatest revenge in all the world is success, so it's nice to be vindicated.”

“Pro wrestling is what provided for my family.”

“I had adapted to the blonde. So when they told me I'm going back to do these five episodes of 'Arrow', I was clearly really excited, but when they said I couldn't be blonde, it stung a little.”

“After a world title run, you can't really call someone else your leader.”

“My dad had a habit of giving me the Abdullah the Butcher matches as well as the ones with tables and chairs - basically, the matches that went all over the building.”