WWE star Cody Rhodes and Hall of Famer Nikki Bella recently looked back at one of the more frustrating moments in their careers during an episode of Rhodes’ podcast What Do You Wanna Talk About?. The two opened up about the sudden cancellation of their intergender tag match at WrestleMania 29, which left them both disappointed and confused.
WrestleMania Tag Match Pulled Just Before Showtime
In 2013, Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow, also known as Team Rhodes Scholars, were set to team up with Nikki and Brie Bella in a mixed tag match. They were scheduled to face Brodus Clay, Lord Tensai, Cameron, and Naomi at MetLife Stadium during WrestleMania 29.
The group was already in gorilla position, ready to head out, when they were informed that the match had been cut. All eight wrestlers had to walk back to the locker room without having their moment in the spotlight.
“I’ve had some walk of shames in college. That was the worst walk of shame I’ve ever done in my life,” Nikki Bella said.
Cody Rhodes Shares His Frustration After WWE Decision
While Nikki described how the moment hit her emotionally, Cody shared that he was angry with how things were handled.
“So, my walk of shame is a little different. I knew you guys had been hit hard by it. There was one point, I’m not naming names, who is overly optimistic and like, ‘Alright! Well, we’ll do it at Raw!’ And they were in that place. I was so angry,” Rhodes said.
He also admitted that this incident made him seriously consider leaving WWE for the first time.
“And at that point, I think that’s the first moment where I was like, ‘I’m out. I am out.’ Out didn’t come till years later but I thought, no, I’m out.”
Rhodes Suggests Match May Have Been Cut for Storyline Drama
Nikki Bella believes that the tag match was pulled simply due to time issues. However, Cody brought up another possibility. He pointed out how the timing of the canceled match lined up with the growing focus on WWE reality shows.
“Total Divas being your show. Moving into Total Bellas, executive producing. This wonderful career that comes out of it…conspiracy was that the match was never supposed to happen in the first place, that the drama of it being cut would be entertaining but I felt like we weren’t thinking that.”
Nikki Bella Says the Possibility Still Bothers Her
Although Nikki continues to believe it was a time crunch decision, she admitted the idea of it being done for reality TV still stings.
“So, I feel like it actually really did get cut but, if they cut it for drama for TV, that actually pisses me off,” Nikki said.
Even now, years later, the moment remains a sore spot for both of them, as it was a missed opportunity on WWE’s grandest stage.
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