Cody Rhodes reflects on one of his most memorable injuries.
Today marks two years since Cody Rhodes revealed a gnarly torn pectoral tendon ahead of his WWE Hell in a Cell collision with Seth Rollins at the 2022 titular premium live event. Despite the evident pain and bruising of his injury, Rhodes continued forth in the caged battle to eventually defeat Rollins with a pair of Cross Rhodes and sledgehammer shot to the head.
Looking back on his Hell in a Cell performance, Rhodes recently noted that he felt discouraged heading into it. Luckily, though, it seems that the live Chicago crowd uplifted him just enough for him to score the pinfall on Rollins for the win.
“I didn’t win this match, Chicago won it for me,” Rhodes wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “I was so embarrassed and dejected, nothing in the eyes and just enough left in the tank for one dance. Just the clips are wild enough for me.”
Initially only partially torn, Rhodes pectoral tendon later tore completely off the bone during a weight training session prior to the Hell in a Cell event. As a result, after conquering Rollins inside the grueling steel-cage structure, Rhodes underwent surgery, followed by an extensive period of rehabilitation.
Seven months later, Rhodes returned to action in the 2023 Royal Rumble match, where he outlasted 29 other men to punch his ticket to WrestleMania 39. Rhodes would mirror this sequence of events in 2024, only this time, he also emerged with the Undisputed WWE Championship.
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“He’s ruined it for everyone with torn pecs”
WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard recently spoke with Matt Cardona, who is currently sidelined with a torn pectoral tendon injury. During the conversation, Cardona spoke about sticking around to sign autographs and sell merchandise at the event he was injured on.
Pritchard said it sounded similar to Rhodes’ situation at Hell In A Cell, where Cardona knew he couldn’t do any more damage, so it was OK to stay at the show. Cardona joked that Cody “ruined” torn pec injuries for everyone else because of his appearance at the 2022 Hell In A Cell event.
“And that’s another thing too right? Poor Cody with that injury and everything he overcame. But he’s ruined it for everyone with torn pecs after. Because I’m not sure if pec [tears] look as bad as Cody’s or worse. You can’t be posting that on social media. So, yeah, of course, I had my bad bruising down my arm, on my pec,” Cardona said. “But I’m like, ‘I can’t even post this because it is nothing compared to Cody’s.’ So it’s like, ‘Let’s not even post a photo until I’m getting surgery until I got the gown on and everything.’ Because what’s the point?”
At the time, Cardona said his arm looks “pretty gross” and knows it will heal. He also knows what it looks like now, alluding to his “caption this” post on social media. However, he knew it would blow up on social media. Those interactions are another way Cardona is keeping a connection with his fanbase until he returns to the ring.
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