Brandi Rhodes Joined TNA For The Knockouts Division, Talks Teaming With Cody & More

– Brandi Rhodes spoke with Sports Illustrated for a new interview, which you can check highlights from below:

On the difficulty of announcing: “I don’t think people realize how difficult that job really is. Whenever the show is live, it’s usually still being written as it is going on. Many times, I would be on live television and have no idea what the next match is, and I’d have no clue who was coming out next. The last person to know is always the announcer, and it’s always your fault if you make a mistake—even if you didn’t know. I was always on top of everything and never said the wrong name or the wrong town. It’s definitely not an easy task, and people think we wear headsets, but we don’t. It’s either figure it out or go. I had a pretty lucky run there getting out all of the correct information.”

On her decision to join Impact Wrestling: “I was brought into WWE many, many moons ago as a developmental talent. Developmental means you’re training to wrestle, and I did that with FCW, and then with my second run at NXT as a wrestler. I spent a lot of time wrestling at NXT. That was not seen because I was also an announcer. When you’re an announcer, they try to protect you and make sure you don’t get hurt or injured, or anything that would hinder you from your TV work. I was hired to be a wrestler, and I spent all that time training, learning, and working, so this is my chance to showcase that. Impact has always had a focus on their Knockouts. Back when WWE was not so focused on their Divas, Impact was still focused on their Knockouts. They were actually the stronger women’s division for a long time, and that was the place to watch a match more than a couple of minutes. I’m excited knowing that the attention will be given to what I want to do.”

On if the Wrestlemania VI mixed tag team match with Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire and whether she’b be open to teaming with Cody: “That match was incredible, but Cody and I—even though we are a real-life couple—are not necessarily a team in wrestling. I would love the opportunity to get in the ring with my husband and mix it up a little bit, but we are both focused a lot on our individual careers and cheering each other on that way, as opposed to being a team. My decision to go to Impact and be a Knockout is a decision I made for myself, and I’m very excited about it. As soon as I walk in the door, I’ll be seeking out the Knockouts title.”

On how she knew Cody was the right one for her: Cody and I had a connection pretty quickly. We were engaged pretty quickly, but my moment where I knew this was definitely the person for me was when Cody asked me on a date to Halloween Horror Night at Universal Studios. Nobody had ever asked me on a date to Halloween Horror Night, and I had never been even though I am a horror fanatic. I go to all the haunted houses that I can get my hands on, and I grew up in Michigan, where there are a lot of back-woodsy haunted attractions. I had wanted to go to Halloween Horror Night for years, but no one was ever interested. That was our second or third date, and that’s the moment I realized that that was the best thing to happen in a while. We made a weekend of it, had the best time ever, and now we go back every year. It’s kind of our place. I think it was pretty mutual that that was our place.”