Cody Rhodes: 'I'm addicted to the top spot. I'm not afraid to say it'

In his second stage as a superstar of WWE, Cody Rhodes has become one of the faces of the company. Since his return, "The American Nightmare" has spent most of his time as the Undisputed WWE Champion or in the orbit of the title. This has allowed him to self-proclaim himself as the "Quarterback" of the company, a figure similar to the role John Cena played for over a decade.

And, as it happened with the seventeen-time world champion, some fans have started to turn their backs on him. Cody, on his part, is not afraid to openly admit that he is addicted to this privileged position in the company. He pointed this out in a recent interview for the WWE YouTube channel while talking about the night after WrestleMania 42.

"It felt very important. Coming alone to Monday Night Raw and having an unexpected interaction with CM Punk. It felt very important because you say QB1, what is QB1? If there's one thing I've learned, and perhaps the most important thing about being QB1, it's consistency. There's always a sense of novelty, right? Something new and exciting always comes up, and I think it's great. It's exciting when the audience can support something or when a new star emerges. But all my favorites, all the QB1s before me, were consistent. They were there week after week," he said.

"Now there are many jokes about how I've really tried to follow John Cena's model, and I'm not bothered at all, because it's an extraordinary model. I think most people shy away from it because it involves work. It involves effort," he continued. "I'm also aware of the other WWE QBs. If their strategy is that less is more, if their strategy is to be more selective, I'm not going to play that game. I'll do it differently. I'll be here every week and I'll watch this team every week. It's not about who's right or wrong; it's just my preference."

"So being forced to step out of that preference would have been very difficult. Ricky Saints came to WWE after his time in NXT. Although he did it in a flashy and aggressive way, and even though he challenged me as he did, I needed that. Thank you, Ricky Saints, because that was the moment I could say, 'Alright, I'm cleared.' And not only that, but we're not going to wait. We're not going to have a big presentation or follow that strategy of less is more. No. We're going to fight right here, right now. Sami found out too."

"So I thank those guys for pulling me out of any sense of discouragement, because I shouldn't have had it. I came out of WrestleMania and even told CM Punk, and it was a mistake to say it: I didn't really feel like a winner, despite being one. I need those challenges. I need them. I'm addicted to being in the top spot. I'm not afraid to say it. And I needed them to show up when they did," he concluded.

Cody Rhodes will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Gunther at Clash in Italy, the event the company will hold in the city of Turin tomorrow night. This will be the first time both men face each other in a televised match. Last night, Rhodes and Gunther had a final face-off on the episode of SmackDown held in Barcelona.