• Cody Rhodes Comments On If NJPW Would Be Successful At Running More Shows In USA
During a recent media call conference, former ROH World Champion ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody (Rhodes) talked about if NJPW would be successful running more shows in USA, having great matches with Kenny Omega being the most important thing for him right now, and what he thinks of Omega vs. Okada series of matches.
Below are the highlights:
On if NJPW would be successful running more shows in America:
“I have no doubt they could be successful running more shows in America. I mean, look at the roster. I could be a smart a$$ and say, ‘hey, as long as they put me on the show, they’ll be okay,’ but [NJPW] don’t have to put me on the show. The roster is just flush and it has two of the top five [pro] wrestlers in the world and that being [Kazuchika] Okada and Kenny Omega. And then, if you’re including me, that’s three, and Will Ospreay is just right there chomping at the bit. It’s an outstanding roster.”
On having great matches with Kenny Omega being the most important thing for him right now:
“I’d say it’s probably the most important thing for me internally and that’s when I’m talking about inside, that feeling in your stomach, that fire in your belly. As a competitor, I’m aware of my presence in terms of what I can do on the microphone, my presentation, the smoke and mirrors, no pun intended, that comes with me. But I love professional wrestling. I love it. Matt and Nick Jackson have an expression, and I can’t be on a show if I’m not out there in the ring, what we call, bumping and learning. There are things that I’ve got to improve at.
There are things I have to get better at. And the best place for me to do that is a place like New Japan Pro Wrestling. We talked about the roster being so flush, but there’s nobody better than Kenny Omega, and again, a guy like Okada. The roster’s so good, but to me, I’m incredibly gifted in the ring, but you have to show it. It has to be there and these are the opportunities to do so. I think people really, really, really enjoyed my first outing with Kenny Omega at Supercard Of Honor and I think we want to build upon that. I want to build upon that. Anyone who [has] got me pegged as, ‘oh, he reached his ceiling as a wrestler,’ they’re out of their mind because I’m not even close.”
On what he thinks of Omega vs. Okada series of matches:
“I guess time will probably tell as far as how I feel as a fan about it and I’m talking about the whole series. I don’t think people in the late 80s/early 90s or whatever were looking at that Steamboat/Flair Chi-Town [Rumble], [WrestleWar 1989] Music City [Showdown] run they had, I don’t think they were looking at it the way we look at it today. And when we look at it today, we see how important it was.
The thing I enjoy the most about [the Omega/Okada] matches is obviously they have deep connection between the two of them, a chemistry that exists between the two of them, but the thing like is that the matches are all very different. That’s special when you can do that and I think from my standpoint, I think those matches are the best at what those guys are able to do. But every wrestler’s able to do something different.
That’s how wrestling is. Everybody provides a different element and they’ve absolutely showcased the best at what they can do, especially in the bell-to-bell sense. I don’t look at it like, ‘oh, I have to have a match with [Omega] like that.’ No, it’s a different set of circumstances every time you’re out there. And I think as we go five, 10 years from now, we’ll see how special that series of matches are and how important those matches are.”
• Daniel Cormier’s ‘Little Guy’ Asked Why He Pushed Brock Lesnar At UFC 226
After Brock Lesnar pushed the new UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier after the UFC 226 main event, a man from Cormier’s side immediately pushed Brock as well.
During the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White mentioned Cormier’s ‘little guy’ pushing Brock during the altercation. The ‘little guy’ himself appeared during the press conference and was asked why he pushed Brock. Below is what he said:
“Because you don’t mess with my fighters…that’s why.”
You can watch it below:
You can watch him pushing Brock below:
