Cody Rhodes is opening up about the reaction to his viral “Raheem” line on WWE SmackDown, and while the moment sparked plenty of discussion online, he made it clear he stands by the joke and has no intention of taking it back.
The line came during the February 6 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, when Rhodes responded to the escalating tension between Roman Reigns and CM Punk. Rather than escalating the confrontation, Rhodes chose humor — delivering a line that quickly gained attention across social media.
“And besides, I heard it was gonna be a ‘you know what’ measuring contest. Well, they’re both glad I’m not in it, because I didn’t get the nickname Raheem for no reason.”
Rhodes later spoke with Jonathan Hood and revealed that his wife, Brandi Rhodes, played a major role in convincing him to include the joke.
“I had told her that I might say it. I felt bad because I told her and then she said, ‘Oh, you have to say it. It’s funny.’ I didn’t wanna come at Roman or Punk in an adversarial way. I’m not wrestling either of you. You guys are wrestling each other and it’s awesome.”
Rhodes explained that his goal was to bring humor into the situation rather than escalate tensions between himself and the two top stars.
“I wanted to come at it with a little bit of levity because I knew others were gonna come at it from a different perspective, and I thought that was funny but then I felt bad because I don’t ever want anybody to get married to a line. I’m like, ‘Oh, well, if I can’t say that…’ I did my field testing of it and I hope I didn’t offend anybody with it.”
While Rhodes acknowledged that people online were talking about the line, he made it clear he viewed the joke positively and wasn’t bothered by any reactions.
“I very much stood by it and when you see a Manchester United in the bio and an anime picture as the avatar complaining about it, I gotta ask, what are we really complaining about here? This is more of a positive joke than there could ever be about gifted men. I can’t really be mad at that and I can’t really walk that one back.”
Rhodes also made it clear that his focus remains on his own path to WrestleMania, rather than getting pulled into the ongoing rivalry between Reigns and Punk.
“I said, ‘I’m not gonna spend my road to WrestleMania talking about two other guys. This is where it ends for me,’ and I picked a great place to do it. Charlotte, North Carolina, was the place so, yes, I said it, and that’s where I’m at.”
With Elimination Chamber right around the corner and WrestleMania season heating up, Cody Rhodes isn’t looking back — he’s looking ahead. The line was said, the moment happened, and he’s owning it. Now the focus shifts to what happens inside the Chamber and whether Rhodes can punch his ticket to the biggest stage of them all.
What did you think of Cody Rhodes’ “Raheem” line on SmackDown? Was it a memorable moment, or just another promo line on the road to WrestleMania? Share your thoughts and leave your feedback in the comments.