WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes interview gaming, John Cena and WrestleMania

Arguably, WWE has never been hotter than it is right now with even more eyes drawn to the product following its arrival on Netflix in January 2025.

At the forefront of its increased popularity is the son of the late, great "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, none other than his son, “The American Nightmare” and current WWE Undisputed Champion, Cody Rhodes.

We’re well and truly on the “Road to WrestleMania” with this year's event taking place over two days on 19 April and 20 April in Las Vegas at the Allegiant Stadium.

I spoke with Cody Rhodes about becoming the new Barbarian King in the free-to-play mobile game, Clash of Clans. Throughout April ahead of WrestleMania 41, Cody joins seven other WWE Superstars as playable characters with Rhea Ripley, The Undertaker, Bianca Belair, Rey Mysterio, Kane, Becky Lynch and Jey Uso.

Check out the Clash of Clans trailer featuring Cody Rhodes below!

“I've been playing Clash of Clans practically since it was first released in 2012. I love the game. There's a bunch of guys in the locker room who play it too and we’ve been in a clan since the OG days,” says Cody, kicking off our discussion.

“Being a skin for the Barbarian King is awesome, he’s the original hero. In Clash of Clans, you have the Grand Warden, the Archer Queen and the Royal Champion. But the Barbarian King is the main one for me.”

“I feel like he's the centrepiece of the game. It’s a true honour for me to be the Barbarian King and see it all come to fruition. I've been blown away,” he says with a smile.

Cody Rhodes is currently the top babyface (an industry term for a good guy) in WWE but he’s not always been that way. Spells in Randy Orton’s ‘Legacy’ faction as well as “Disfigured” Cody Rhodes (the irony being that he’s still more handsome than the average man), have shown he relishes playing the heel (an industry term for a bad guy), a opportunity that the Barbarian King has granted once more.

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“Most pro wrestlers will probably tell you that it’s more fun to play the heel and in modern history, old-school baby faces were becoming an endangered species,” Cody explains. “And now, baby faces are becoming popular again. I say the opposite of what most say, playing the baby face is more fun, at least for me.”

“That being said, I don’t consider the Barbarian King to be a heel but I don’t consider him to be a face either. Sure, he likes to raid villages, shatter dreams and tear things down but he’s only doing it to get trophies and expand his clan’s domain,” Cody continues with a grin.

Being on the road as a WWE Superstar travelling worldwide as often as he does, I can imagine Cody doesn’t get much downtime. Being an avid gamer, given time, outside Clash of Clans, I was curious as to what other video games he likes to play.

“I love to revisit Red Dead Redemption 2. I’m also interested in the new Assassin’s Creed game, Shadows. I love Ghost of Tsushima, so I might pick that one up one day. But for my quick hits, I love to play my SNES collection because I don’t get much free time on the road. But I always try to make a little time for gaming when I can.”

Not only does Cody have to contend with a busy schedule on the road and touring the world but he’s also a married man to Brandi, a former WWE ring announcer and they have a daughter named Liberty. Being a father myself, playing video games with my son is the best, as long as I can take him away from Fortnite and Rainbow Six: Siege.

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“Liberty is nearly four years old,” Cody tells me. “I’m hoping we can play a lot of co-op games together, that would be fun. But right now, I can’t get her off this tablet game where she dresses up girls, puts on make-up and paints nails. It makes the mind go numb. It’s not my kind of thing, but gosh, she loves it.”

“I am curious as to what proper video games she starts with. I might try to lead her in the direction of retro platform games, maybe Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog or something like that. I’ll wait and see but I’m looking forward to it.”

In 2016, Cody Rhodes was granted his release from WWE with reports suggesting that he wasn't happy with the direction the company was taking him. Cody toured the world as an independent wrestler and had spells in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor. He even helped start a major wrestling promotion, AEW with Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks.

It was enviable that he would return to WWE and he did in a big way in 2022 at WrestleMania 38 in a match against Seth Rollins. Reinvented, refocused and a new purpose to “finish his story”. At WrestleMania 40, he defeated Roman Reigns to become the new WWE Undisputed Champion which began an all-new chapter of his story.

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At WrestleMania 41, Cody is the defending champion against John Cena on the hunt for his 17th world title during his final year as a pro wrestler before retiring. However, this is not the John Cena we knew and loved. Following a shocking heel turn at Elimination Chamber in March betraying Cody in front of the world and aligning with The Rock, he faces a merciless Cena who will stop at nothing to ensure victory in the main event of WrestleMania.

“I almost made the mistake when I first encountered John after Elimination Chamber on 17 March on Raw in Brussels, Belgium when he did our first promo together since that moment. I went in with the mindset that I was facing the old John but in reality, this is a new John,” Cody recalls.

“They call him ‘big match John’ for a reason. He’s been in every type of pressure cooker. He’s experienced things that few have. He’s a master. But this John having it all on the line is the most dangerous version we’ve ever seen. Typically, I’d approach John smiling and I’d shake his hand with this being a teacher vs student moment. He’s also one of my heroes. Regardless, I have the unenviable task of beating John Cena in his last WrestleMania match when he’s going for the record of 17 world championships. This is my job and I’m very much looking forward to it however events may play out.”