Cody Rhodes says the American Nightmare tattoo that has become one of his most recognizable trademarks is also the greatest regret of his life.
Rhodes discussed the tattoo during a conversation with Santino Marella on What Do You Wanna Talk About. After Marella brought up a joke made about the tattoo during Ric Flair’s roast, Rhodes admitted he has never entirely made peace with having it. “I stand by the fact that I think the work is great and the artist is great, but I also will reveal, as I think I’ve revealed on this pod before, the neck tattoo I would widely consider the greatest regret of my life.”
When Marella expressed surprise, Rhodes made clear that he was serious. “Oh yeah. And you know what? I’ll live with it. We’re gonna rock this till the very end.”
According to Rhodes, the biggest issue was not the American Nightmare design itself but its size and placement. He expected the finished tattoo to be considerably smaller. “What I thought was it was like here, and it was like this, and then when I saw it, and it was in my jaw, and it was so big, my life changed looking in a mirror.”
Rhodes also believes his late father, WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, would have been horrified by the decision. “If my dad was to come back to life, he would not say congrats. He would lose his s***. You’ve ruined yourself.”
Dusty died in June 2015, nearly five years before Rhodes debuted the tattoo.
The American Nightmare logo, featuring a crowned skull with wings in red, white and blue, appeared on Rhodes’ neck for the first time at AEW Revolution on February 29, 2020, when he faced MJF.
The tattoo immediately became a major talking point. Rhodes has previously explained that he expected it to be smaller and has recalled Tony Khan telling him beforehand that there was no way he was actually putting the design on his neck.
Rhodes has also described walking into an AEW production meeting after getting it and realizing that Jim Ross and others in the room were staring at his neck rather than paying attention to what was being discussed.
His wife Brandi Rhodes was similarly unimpressed, publicly acknowledging at the time that she was the one person who did not like it.
Six years later, however, the tattoo has become inseparable from Rhodes’ presentation. The American Nightmare logo is now used extensively across his merchandise and branding, something Rhodes acknowledged makes his feelings about it more complicated. “I say it’s the greatest regret of my life, but it also, it’s proved, it’s had some very beneficial elements of it. I don’t know. It’s complicated. Best way to put it. My relationship with my tattoo.”
Marella explained that his own tattoos have personal connections to his family, including a neck tattoo for his daughter Bianca and a crown on his hand representing his wife Anna. He credited Rhodes with inspiring him to get the latter.
Rhodes then finished the discussion with a wrestling mystery. He recalled an unnamed wrestler who was such a fan of The Rock before entering the business that he had a Brahma bull tattooed on his arm. After becoming a wrestler himself and realizing the design was too closely associated with somebody else, he had it covered with a panther. “Find that wrestler, look at that panther, and you can see it. You can see what’s under.”
Rhodes did not reveal the wrestler’s identity. As for his own tattoo, there will apparently be no cover-up. Despite calling it his greatest regret, Rhodes says he intends to keep wearing the American Nightmare logo on his neck for the rest of his life.
