Bobby Roode – ‘I’m going to be the best US Champ in history’
It’s been a long time coming, but Bobby Roode is finally on the road to WrestleMania.
The forty year-old has ticked a lot of boxes in his two decades in the industry, but 2018 will mark his first journey to the granddaddy of them all. To make the moment even sweeter he could yet go into New Orleans ready to defend his newly won United States Championship too, having successfully defended it at this past weekend’s Royal Rumble.
After enjoying a successful reign as NXT Champion in 2017, Roode is now planning on an even longer stint with the historic United States belt. Starting with his defense against Rusev on Tuesday night, through next month’s FastLane pay-per-view and onto the big one on April 8th.
With WWE’s biggest months ahead of him and WrestleMania season in full swing, we spoke to Bobby about his ‘Glorious’ rise through WWE and his aspirations for this US title run.
Bobby always great to talk to you, with the Royal Rumble now under our belts all eyes are looking towards WrestleMania. How excited are you to be part of this huge event for the very first time?
Everybody is this business, at least as talent, always thinks towards WrestleMania - It’s the granddaddy of them all, the big show. It’s my first one, so it’s my first WrestleMania season, my first road to WrestleMania and I know the schedule is going to be hectic, but that’s what I look forward to the most. The hard work is just beginning and you need to earn the spot at WrestleMania so I plan to do that over the next several weeks to do just that and get to WrestleMania.
How do you access your time in WWE so far and do you feel it was the right time in your career to finally make that step?
I think the timing was great, timing is everything and things happen for a reason. I went to NXT not really knowing what to expect, I had a lot of experience under my belt at the time but I look back on my days at NXT as some of the greatest times I’ve ever had in my career. It was a time when a lot of guys came up and there were a lot of opportunities to step up and I did that and ran with it. I got to be NXT Champion and hang on to the belt for eight months and got to be in the ring with incredible talent. I guess you can could say I was the face of NXT at that time to build on that brand was such a great feeling. Then to be called up to the SmackDown roster I felt I was ready, my experience prepared me for that and so far so good.
Some would question why you went into NXT first and not straight to the main roster like an AJ Styles. Why was the NXT route the right route for Bobby Roode?
It was such a hot brand. I had some friends down there like Samoa Joe from TNA and Finn Bálor from my tours in Japan; those guys spoke very highly of the brand. Then I spoke to Triple H for the very first time and I got to hear his vision of the brand and I wanted to jump on that opportunity and be a part of it. I don’t have any regrets, to be at the forefront of the brand and champion for a year was something very special and a time I hold very high up in my career.
Samoa Joe is another one like yourself and AJ who have come from TNA and is finally getting to show what that can do. What do you put this sudden success down to?
When you’re able to be put on a bigger stage and be in front of a larger audience people see what talent you have. It takes your career to another level. AJ has been one of the best sports entertainers on the planet for a very long time; even going back to TNA days I thought he was one of the best if not the best around. It just took him to move to a different spot and a different level for people to really see that. It’s an experience thing, its learning from mistakes and taking the opportunities where you’re given them. AJ’s capitalized on that, Joe’s capitalized on that and now I have as well.
How about the next group of guys? Who on NXT do you feel is ready for that main roster push?
There’s a big group of guys down there that I had the opportunity to work with. Right now I would love to see Eric Young come up with SAnitY come up, they’d be a great group to have on SmackDown Live and also guys like Roderick Strong. I can only speak for the guys I’ve been in the ring with, but I think Roderick Strong has incredible talent and is a huge star in the making. There’s a lot of guys down there that I think would be great on SmackDown and hopefully we’ll see them called-up soon. It certainly makes the guys in the locker-room work harder to keep their spot.
You mention Roderick Strong, your rivalry was one of the most underrated feuds in WWE last year. How much did you enjoy that programme?
People were emotionally invested in that and the story that we told. I’m very proud of what I did with Roderick and I’m very proud of the matches that we had. Whenever I can take those fans on an emotional roller-coater, cheering me or booing me, to me that’s a success. The feud with Roderick definitely did that and was one that was able to get personal and get the fans emotionally involved.
Since your move to the main roster we’ve seen you slowly rise up the ranks on SmackDown to become the United States Champion. What does it mean for you to hold that title?
It’s pretty incredible. When you think of the names that held this title previously, going back all the way to guys like Harley Race, Rick Flair, Ricky Steamboat, guys of that nature, these are names I grew up watching and idolizing. To be able to hold this championship myself and to know the prestige and history that the title represents it’s very meaningful to me. I got into this business to be champion and I’m going to be a fighting champion that’s for sure. That’s one of the things the US title has been known for, being the workhorse title and a title that’s defended with honour each and every time. I look forward to fulfilling that role. I’m going to go down in history as one of the best United States Champions the company has ever seen.
It must focus your eyes on WrestleMania and going into New Orleans as the champion?
Being the US Champ, I have a lot of challenges on the horizon and I’m sure there’s a target on my back. In the SmackDown locker room there are a lot of guys who haven’t had the opportunity to be United States Champion and I’m looking forward to the road ahead. We are on the road to WrestleMania now; it’s my first WrestleMania season on the main roster so I’m looking forward to a busy schedule and all the challenges that lie ahead.
Would one of those challengers be Dolph Ziggler? We saw him return at the Rumble and could you see him coming back to reclaim the Championship he essentially gave away?
It’s a great question, but it’s a great question for Dolph. I don’t know what his plans are, the only thing I can do is be concerned with myself. Dolph is an amazing talent, him and I have had quite a history since I’ve been called happen, so who knows what will happen. Things change everyday, but if Dolph wants to claim he is the real United States Champion then I’ll have to go out there and prove myself once again against him. I’m pretty confident at the end of the day that I’ll still be the Champion.
If not Dolph, there’s plenty of other Superstars waiting in the wings on SmackDown Live. What for you makes SmackDown different to Monday Night Raw?
I think we go out there and put on a great show every Tuesday. Our locker-room has an incredible amount of talent - not taking anything away from Raw’s - but when you have AJ Styles, who when you look at it from a sports perspective is the ‘best player in the game’ it changes the game. That’s the big difference maker, the talent that we have and the champion that we have. We have a bunch of workhorses on a side and you really see how much passion they have for business and I think the shows we put on are second to none.
Finally then, what are Bobby Roode’s remaining goals once you’ve added WrestleMania to your impressive CV?
Continue to stay healthy and continue to do great things in the ring. Being with WWE is something I’ve always wanted to be part of and the last two years have been, dare I say glorious. I plan to be here for a very long time and the goal would be the WWE Title or the Universal Title. As long as I’m here those opportunities are top of my list.