‘The Stuff Cody Says Is Very Arrogant & Offsetting’ – Mark Henry Thinks Cody Rhodes Rebuttal To GUNTHER’s ‘True’ WWE SmackDown Promo Made Him Come Across Like A Heel

WWE

WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry has weighed in on GUNTHER and Cody Rhodes’ promo exchange on last night’s episode of SmackDown.

Taking place in front of a raucous crowd in Barcelona, Spain, the Clash in Italy go-home episode of SmackDown ended with GUNTHER and Undipsuted WWE Champion Cody Rhodes verbally sparring ahead of their title match this Sunday.

GUNTHER’s ammunition in his attempted teardown of “The American Nightmare” centred around Cody being and “spoilt brat,” someone who has been one phone call away from every opportunity in his pro wrestling career, whereas he has earned everything he’s gained through his own hard work.

Cody Rhodes’s rebuttal saw him call out GUNTHER’s apparent lack of drive to receive mainstream attention and become the face of WWE, suggesting that this was all an act, and GUNTHER did, deep down desire to become everything Cody is right now as Undisputed WWE Champion.

Following their face-to-face, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry shared his two cents on the exchange during Busted Open After Dark, stating his belief that that everything GUNTHER said to Cody was “true”:

“What GUNTHER said was true to a lack of a better term. GUNTHER is not lying. What he’s saying, there is no lies.

“The promo that he had in the ring tonight was basically him saying that Cody was handed everything. That he was one phone call away from going and getting wrestling training. That he was one call away from getting a job in WWE. That he was one call away from title matches and that success he achieved.

“There was no lies but Cody did not rebuttal the way that I would have.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

Mark Henry would then critique Cody Rhodes’ response to GUNTHER’s comments, offering an alternative retort to the “arrogant and offsetting” promo that the Undisputed WWE Champion ending up delivering to his Clash in Italy opponent.

Henry said:

“He (Cody) made reference to GUNTHER being ‘big’ GUNTHER. In my opinion, Cody shouldn’t have been worried about GUNTHER being refined and him losing the weight. What’s wrong with wrestling the indies? What’s wrong with wrestling in front of 250 people? You’ve gotten so refined that you’re above wrestling in front of 250 people now? It made him sound like a heel to me. I’ve been saying this for months, almost a year. The stuff that Cody says is very arrogant and offsetting… He is 100% Homelander now.

“If Cody wanted to resonate with the masses he should have said ‘GUNTHER you’ve evolved. You’ve changed. You’ve had it rough. But you don’t have it anywhere near as rough as you used to. You talk about me being one phone call away, you still have your father, you can make that one phone call. I don’t. You talk about me making one phone call to get it done, in order to make one phone call I’ve got to be close enough, good enough, refined enough, not troublesome, in order to make that phone call.’

“‘And even then, I got fired. I got told to hit the road, and then I had to reinvent myself. There was nobody to call then, I had to do it. And I did. I started another company, which is now our competition by the way. And then I said, You know what? I need to go home. And I didn’t make a phone call, buddy they called me. I’m beyond making calls, I’m Cody damn Rhodes.’

“He should have went into that. The crowd would have came along with him for the ride, put GUNTHER in his place. ‘I don’t know whether to call you GUNTHER or WALTER. I said you were refined, maybe I’m better talking to WALTER, he had ambition and class. He didn’t sneak up behind anybody. He never tried to choke me from behind, he would’ve stepped up to my face. Maybe you need to look in the mirror, maybe you need to make a phone call to the past.’ That’s the Cody that I wanted to hear.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

Despite believing that Cody should have taken an alternative direction with the promo, Henry heaped praise on the WWE Champion for doing an “unbelievable job” as the face of the company in recent years:

“I think that Cody Rhodes should lean more into not worrying about what Paul Heyman said, but what he has learned in his journey to get to that mountain top. Cody deserves to be on that mountain top. It’s harder to stay on the mountain than it is to get there. And Cody has done an unbelievable job of staying on the mountain these last five years. A lot of people don’t even have five year careers, nevertheless five years on top.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

As was officially confirmed during yesterday’s SmackDown, Cody Rhodes vs. GUNTHER will open the show at Clash in Italy, however, there are concerns regarding the show’s expected main event between Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu – click here for full details.

To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!

• wwe
• Cody Rhodes
• Smackdown
• Mark Henry
• GUNTHER

Share this article with friends