WWE Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes revealed in an interview with the Toledo Free Press this week’s Smackdown that John Cena had a significant influence on how he’s developed his persona and marketing his “tormented” character.

“I spent a year driving Cena around when I was on the Raw brand,” Rhodes said. “The goal was to learn a lot about him, what he does in the ring, how he has gotten where he has gotten, but also to learn a lot about merchandising and marketing, pretty much all the things he does. And I’d say I learned a great deal on what it takes outside of the ring. He’s noted as being one of the most hard-working people in entertainment, and he is. If you want his job, you have to work as hard as he does. And it is much easier said than done.”

Rhodes also discussed his feeling on whether management supports him.

“WWE, in terms of management, has always supported me. But there’s always been a little bit, ‘Well, he can do it on his own.’ And that’s something I’ve been extremely – I liked it that way,” Rhodes said. “I told somebody the other day, I said, ‘If I end up being as successful as I want to be in this industry, I want them to be able to say, ‘Wow, I didn’t see him coming.’”

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