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Interview with WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes

WWE Extreme Rules Preview

Interview by Bill Jones – Images courtesy of WWE

Cody Runnels, better known by his ring name Cody Rhodes, is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, a fact he played into with the multi-generational stable The Legacy. Cody Rhodes cut his teeth in the WWE in tag team competition with Ted DiBiase, but in recent years, Rhodes has made a name for himself as a singles competitor poised to be a main eventer. He has had great feuds and even better matches with the likes of Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton and Booker T. But his current feud sees him up against the 7-foot 441-pound Big Show, upholding the time-honored pro wrestling tradition of fighting a giant, in this case a giant who beat him Sunday, April 1, for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania.

Rhodes will get his rematch Sunday, April 29, at the Extreme Rules pay per view, held at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. (Chicago). Rhodes was kind enough to take 15 minutes out of his busy travel schedule Thursday, April 26, to chat on the phone about the upcoming show and his career, delving into his mask, video games, his father, Chicago, twitter, the return of Attitude Era Superstars, dream matches, mystery stipulations and, of course, the Big Show. (more…)

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Title: Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2011

Format: Three-Disc DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

World Wrestling Entertainment continues its now-annual tradition by releasing its own collection of Best Pay-Per-View Matches, this time for 2011. The latest three-disc set from WWE features the company’s picks for the best matches previously shown on pay-per-view in the 2011 calendar year, starting January 30 with a World Heavyweight Championship Match between Edge and Dolph Ziggler and ending Oct. 23 with a World Heavyweight Championship Match between Big Show and Mark Henry. (more…)

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Title: Vengeance 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

Vengeance is an exercise in disappointment, with one major saving grace. This is where CM Punk’s original momentum started to taper after he got trapped in a pointless storyline with Triple H, tagging with him here to take on The Miz and R-Truth. Meanwhile, spoiled on the front of the box, Big Show and Mark Henry recycle an old bit in which the ring breaks under there weight. Not too original. But the interesting twist this time around is that the show does not end when Show and Henry break the ring. Instead, John Cena and Alberto Del Rio start their last man standing match for the WWE Championship in the broken ring. But it’s ultimately a cherry on top of a shit sundae. (more…)

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Title: Hell in a Cell 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

Yet another specialty match turned pay-per-view, Hell in a Cell has effectively done its best over the last few years to neuter the danger and appeal that the match once had. This year’s big selling point — the WWE Championship on the line for the first time ever in a triple-threat Hell in the Cell bout, featuring CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio and John Cena. An interesting twist sees Cena locked outside the cell, unable to compete. But ultimately it is a lackluster match, the finale of which serves to show how bad of a place the WWE writing staff was in at the time. The after-match activities don’t help. Mark Henry versus Randy Orton is a much better bout, but still altogether commonplace for something as “brutal” as Hell in a Cell. The undercard is unforgivably weak. (more…)

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Title: SummerSlam 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

SummerSlam 2011 was a practice in killing momentum, plain and simple. World Wrestling Entertainment came off of its most buzz-worthy pay per view in a decade with Money in the Bank. But then rather than letting the true WWE Champion CM Punk sit off television for awhile, they brought him back just more than one week later, after sloppily returning the title to John Cena to set up a title-vs-title match at SummerSlam, with Triple H as the special guest referee. SummerSlam essentially amounted to a one-match show in terms of buzz, and WWE really dropped the ball on that match. Again, CM Punk and John Cena put on a good wrestling show, but the ending essentially negates that all, and furthermore began a spiral of directionless storytelling in WWE, effectively killing a good portion of CM Punk’s buzz in the process. Meanwhile, Christian and Randy Orton have yet another solid bout, but again that ends in a dead end when Orton simply wins back the belt he lost just last PPV. (more…)

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Title: Money in the Bank 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

Money in the Bank was a second-tier World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view, potentially on its way out, after diluting the awesomeness of the titular match with a yearly pay-per-view treatment, which had proved underwhelming in recent years. But then along came CM Punk, on the end of his contract with the company and the show taking place in his hometown, and with that as the setup, the WWE put on its best PPV in years.

Less than three weeks before the event, after proclaiming he was leaving the company and taking the title with him, CM Punk cut a promo at the top of the ramp on Monday Night Raw, a promo that shook up the wrestling world with an edgy delivery the company has been lacking in recent years. CM Punk reiterated his intent to leave the company with the belt, but proceeded to bash his employer, talking about Vince McMahon’s yes-men — along with comments directed toward McMahon’s daughter and son-in-law — suggesting the business would be better off after the wrestling promoter is dead. (more…)

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Title: WWE Extreme Rules 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

Extreme Rules was introduced to WWE as the ECW pay-per-view of the year, but since going PG, it has become more about gimmick matches – cages, ladders, last man standing – than anything truly “extreme.” And while 2011’s iteration still finds itself stuck in that rut, it has a few gems. While it never tops the bill, Christian and Alberto del Rio put on a solid (not classic) ladder match, with the great story of Christian’s first championship win behind it. CM Punk and Randy Orton also have a knock-down drag-out last man standing bout. The triple threat main event cage match between The Miz, John Cena and John Morrison also has its moments, but feels awkward all around, and the end of The Miz’s reign is a disappointment. (more…)

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Title: Over the Limit 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

Over the Limit has been a strange pay per view for the last few years in World Wrestling Entertainment. Its speedometer and car theme seems entirely random, in comparison to its wrestling theme, which mostly seems to be that John Cena has an annual “I Quit” match that mostly consists of him being whooped for an unbearably long time, only to refuse to quit and eventually prevail. It’s like the writer of The Passion of the Christ is called in to handle this PPV once a year. This time, Cena’s getting whooped by The Miz and his protégé, Alex Riley. It’s unbearably long and boring, and like a superhero, Cena takes a ridiculous amount of punishment and never gives up, only to slap a quick finisher on The Miz, who taps immediately. WWE should not be allowed to have these matches anymore, if that’s how they book them, because this is an awful excuse for sports entertainment. (more…)

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Title: WWE Capitol Punishment

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Videos

Review by: Bill Jones

WWE Capitol Punishment. If nothing else, it was one of the more entertainingly named pay per views in awhile, and the Barack Obama skits had potential, if ultimately put together seemingly lazily. R Truth’s turn toward craziness was also an entertaining build to the show, and his match with John Cena wasn’t half bad. Alex Riley and The Miz also put on a good show, as do Rey Mysterio and CM Punk. Randy Orton and Christian have another solid World Heavyweight Championship bout. None of it is particularly groundbreaking, and it still has the feel of a second-tier PPV for WWE, but it’s a solid show from start to finish. (more…)

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Title: WWE Royal Rumble 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

Royal Rumble marks the official start of the Road to WrestleMania in the WWE, and this year it was bigger than ever, upping the traditional 30-man over-the-top rope affair to a 40-man match for the first time. Though it is bigger, the massive cadres of jobbers that are Nexus and The Corre essentially take up the additional 10 spots. Still, WWE found the space for some fun surprise returns, which spiced up an otherwise middle-of-the-road rumble. The two championship matches – The Miz vs. Randy Orton and Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler – also provided enough entertainment value. Which is good, because the four-way Divas Championship bout was little more than filler and a chance for the live crowd to do a beer run. The special features, as per usual, are also disappointing. (more…)

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