Remember how WWE wrestlers in the 80s and 90s were more jacked, more chiseled, and often came from hardened bodybuilding backgrounds? It seems like Cody Rhodes is missing those days.

While speaking to his former in-ring rival, Gunther, on the March 4 episode of the What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast, Rhodes highlighted that modern WWE rosters are filled with athletes who certainly look fit. But he lamented that there are hardly any current stars who carry the larger-than-life, super-muscular physique as many did in the 80s and 90s.

“You would hate this, and you would hate working with them, but I’m almost looking for us to just get some jacked up bodybuilder dudes again,” said Rhodes. "The ones that all the boys can’t stand. Just someone where you look at them and go, ‘Look at that look,’ and then we all have to figure out how to work with that. I’d say that’s something that’s missing in WWE right now — the old legit bodybuilder type."

However, GUNTHER didn’t appear to be a big fan of the idea, sighing, "Ugh," but Rhodes remained adamant about his stance.

Several avid WWE enthusiasts may agree that wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior, who boasted superhuman physiques in the 80s and 90s, contributed to the WWE's notoriety in a significant way.

However, achieving that kind of huge physique might not be possible now because of the institution’s own policies, as highlighted by GUNTHER. 'The Ring General' said, “Yeah, I mean it’s our wellness policy, so it won’t happen. You’ve got to get a natural bodybuilder, and they’re not that big.”

The wellness policy requires wrestlers to maintain a natural, athletic physique, something Cody is not a big fan of.

Cody Rhodes’ Views on the WWE Stressing an ‘Athletic Build'

The conversation soon shifted to the athletic build in the modern WWE roster, and Rhodes went ballistic, stating that he hates the term. He made it clear that he wants to see the bodybuilding physique in WWE again, like the old times.

“But I heard this term the other day where someone described how in WWE, you may not be in crazy shape, but everyone who is in shape just has an ‘athletic build.’ I hate the term athletic build,” said Rhodes.

"Man, I just want one bodybuilder back in the mix — just one full-blooded bodybuilder. We don’t really have those anymore. The bodybuilders are dinosaurs. They went away. The asteroid hit them.”

The WWE has emphasized in-ring skills over a massive build in recent years, which is also a reason why the stars today look to acquire better in-ring skills, instead of constructing a bodybuilder-like physique.

So while the WWE roster is filled with talented wrestlers, Rhodes might be desiring the challenge of facing wrestlers with super-muscular physiques.

Like Rhodes, do you also want a few wrestlers with larger-than-life builds in the WWE?

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Souvik Roy