Cody Rhodes Says Royce Keys Offered to ‘Have His Back’ Over Pat McAfee Angle

Cody Rhodes says that Royce Keys offered to be in his corner over Pat McAfee being inserted into his WrestleMania feud with Randy Orton. McAfee’s involvement in the feud with Orton has been — divisive, to say the least. That includes on the WWE roster where the likes of Damian Priest expressed his displeasure with it and Charlotte Flair gave a telling “No comment” about the matter.

Rhodes was asked about the matter on the SI Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina. He declined to note if he had the ability to push back on the decision, but was happy to hear that Priest expressed his thoughts on it. He also recalled Keys delivering his support in a fairly funny way to him. You can see the highlights below:

On the Realness Aspect Of the Feud:

“When I was talking over at ESPN, one of the things they asked, ‘What’s different about WrestleMania [42]?’ And I said, ‘For me, it’s real.’ That’s the best way to put it. There’s elements of it – sure, if you’re a suspension of disbelief person or if you’re adamant about pointing out the fabricated elements of what we do, great. But for WrestleMania season, for me this is as real as it gets.

“Having to explain to Brandy, for example, ‘Here’s what’s happening, here’s what I’ve been tasked with.’ ‘Okay, we’re walking into that.’ ‘Yep, we’re walking into that.’ That — it’s real. So that’s when it’s the best. I mean, chasing the championship, the title that Dusty never got was a real thing. Ended up being the best moment of my career. So when it’s real, it’s at its best and this is real.”

On If He Can Push Back On Decisions Like McAfee’s Involvement:

“That’s an interesting question. Yeah, I’d say that’s an interesting question. I’ll just leave it at that, that’s a fair question.”

On Talent Publicly Criticizing the Angle:

“I didn’t know the boys were out there. Priest though, I love that. That’s funny. He’s a good egg.

“I had a wrestler yesterday — I’ll go ahead and say who — who basically told me, whispered in my ear like it was the 1980s and we were going into a fight. I’m going to shout him out. Royce Keys told me, ‘I got your back no matter what.’ And I was in the middle of signing my weight belts. Like, ‘We’re good. We’re — it’s okay.’ But now I know that, so that made me feel real good. I thought, ‘Oh, man. The respect of your peers can’t beat that.'”

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