Cody Rhodes Says WrestleMania Feud With Randy Orton Is ‘Very Real’ To Him

Cody Rhodes says that he likes wrestling when it feels real, and that his feud with Randy Orton is ‘very real’ as far as he’s concerned. Rhodes will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Orton at the two-night PLE later this month, making a battle between a former mentor and student. Orton turned back to his heel ways in the feud, attacking Rhodes during their contract signing on WWE Smackdown last month.

Rhodes appeared on Power 105.1 promoting WrestleMania and spoke about the feud and how it feels real to him. He also spoke about his generation of stars starting to get older as new talent comes in. You can see the highlights below:

On His Generation Getting Older:

“Well, it goes it goes in phases. So in like the golden ’80s, it was we used to joke [that] ‘Wrestler Prime’ for the man was 35 to 42. That’s in the golden ’80s. And that’s because they needed all that experience psychologically. They worked, they did this town to town. Live crowds are everything. ‘How do you work with a live crowd? How do you involve them with this? We’re not doing this just for each other, and we’re not doing this just for the camera. How are they involved?’

“That now has cycled back. Because a few years ago they brought in — it was what I’d say is like, all freshman on a varsity team. There’s this famous picture of me and CM Punk, and Matt Cardona. And we’re all babies, and we had won the big titles. But we didn’t have a clue really at that point. We didn’t have that experience. So now I think you’re getting back into where you’ve got — I know exactly who we’re talking about here. Roman, me, Punk, Randy [Orton], the main events of WrestleMania, right? I just like to say it’s a very experienced crew.”

On His Match With Orton:

“I think wrestling is always best when it’s real. I know that sounds silly. But it’s very real for me, because this is the guy who brought me into the fold to be part of his faction. This is a guy who I drove from town to town, who I watched him in a WrestleMania main event against Triple H in 2009. He was genuinely my mentor in the industry.

“So to stand across the ring from each other in the biggest match that we do of the year? Knowing like, ‘Hey, I need you to see me.’ Like ‘I’m not a kid anymore.’ It’s back to that. That’s that makes for great TV. And that makes great matches, and I think uh I look forward to that moment.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Power 105.1 FM with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.