Saptarshi Sinha on February 7, 2023
Cody Rhodes eliminated five Superstars from the Men’s Royal Rumble match to punch his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 39. Rhodes will challenge Roman Reigns for the undisputed WWE Universal Champion at The Showcase Of Immortals come April. Rhodes didn’t lack moral support in his first match in over six months at the Rumble as his dear friend, Ricky Starks was backstage at the Alamodome.
Cody Rhodes has now commented on the viral photo of AEW’s Ricky Starks being with him backstage at WWE Royal Rumble 2023. The photo, which was taken from a surveillance camera, portrays Starks alongside his mentor Cody backstage at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
In an interview with Alex McCarthy of Sportsmail, Cody Rhodes addressed the photo, explaining that Ricky Starks was there to support him ahead of his gala victory in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match.
“Yeah. What an idiot, though, right? Listen, it’s one of those things where the locker rooms have crossover. People are married to other people from other locker rooms. People are friends. This is a kid I started on his journey at my former home, and obviously, I want to follow and see his journey, but I will say it’s probably best that none of my friends come and visit me at the shows anymore. We don’t need security cam footage of that. Poor dude. I hope he didn’t get in any trouble. I don’t think he did. He was there to support a friend who had been absolutely down and out with a pec injury,”
The American Nightmare also referenced the infamous AEW throne incident following the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, noting that it was “a nice little nod to our past.” Rhodes revealed that Starks wasn’t the only companion at the vevenue,nue as there were quite a few friends who stayed on the bus.
“Ricky was one of the guys who nursed me through it to a degree and helped remind me of who I can be. I was happy to have him, and I had some other friends there. The other friends stayed on the bus because they were not crazy yayhoos. Hopefully, we can watch each other from a distance. I don’t want to cause any strife between any places. We all love the same thing. It’s the squared circle, it’s the wrestling industry, and I always think I don’t have any rules. There are rules, so.”
Ricky Starks previously reacted to the photo, posting it on social media and referencing the “GTV” storyline that played out in WWE in 1998-99. While the GTV storyline never reached a conclusion, speculations suggest that Goldust was the one to set up surveillance cameras in different areas of arenas.
Ricky Starks is currently engaged in a feud with the Jericho Appreciation Society on AEW programming. As for Cody Rhodes, the winner of the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble was confronted by Paul Heyman this week on Monday Night RAW, who turned The American Nightmare’s WrestleMania storyline with Roman Reigns deeply personal.
What’s your take on the story? Sound off in the comments!
February 7, 2023 1:36 pm
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