Cody Rhodes punched his ticket to WrestleMania XL by emerging victorious in the 2024 men’s WWE Royal Rumble match.
The victory cemented Rhodes as the fourth wrestler to win back-to-back WWE Royal Rumble matches, alongside the likes of Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
In a recent interview with “SHAK,” Rhodes discussed coming through the WWE developmental system at the same time as Kofi Kingston.
The two worked through Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) at the same time, and Rhodes recalled Kingston having issues due to the Jamaican accent he debuted with.
Cody said, “Having kind of come up with Kofi through the system and, you know, we were in developmental together, and then we came up at the same time. I knew that Kofi was struggling, not as a performer [or] as a talent — people love Kofi — but with the accent. He was having trouble connecting with that accent and I think part of him felt a little fraudulent almost.
I was actually just very happy to see him in one moment in one line be able to get out of it and plug back more into himself.”
Kingston ditched the Jamaican accent in 2009 and has since gone on to become the 13th WWE Grand Slam Champion.
