Cody Rhodes has revealed that WWE got mad at him over a pitch that he refused. The 41-year-old star is in his second stint with the company, having competed from 2006 to 2016 in his first tenure.

His initial run with the Stamford-based promotion saw him take up a few different gimmicks. One of the most interesting characters he played during this time was the “Undashing Cody Rhodes.”

In 2010, he started portraying a dashing gimmick, claiming to be the best-looking WWE star. However, things took a turn during a January 2011 episode of SmackDown.

He faced Rey Mysterio in a match on the blue brand and suffered a legitimate injury to his nose. After returning to action later, he claimed that he was no longer dashing and started wearing a transparent protective mask.

As part of this new character, he would hand out paper bags to fans, asking them to cover their ugliness. Speaking to James Sweetnam of Sporf, Cody Rhodes talked about the character and how he had to dig deep to play it.

“The idea of being disfigured even when you’re not disfigured- that almost body dysmorphia- and what it would do was just really a deep place to go early in my career, and then you’re able to have fun with it and put bags on people’s heads,” he said.

The American Nightmare then said that WWE wanted him to put bags on “ugly” fans, something he refused to do. He said people backstage were mad at him for turning down the idea.

“They always would get mad at me backstage because I wouldn’t put them on the ugly people. But that’s because I’m not going to seek someone out and shove a bag on their head. That seems like assault; versus the fans in the crowd, they’re like, ‘I want the bag.’ It was always a bit,” he added.

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Bully Ray says WWE made Cody Rhodes look like a fool

At Sunday Night’s Main Event, Cody Rhodes battled Randy Orton in an intense match. Rhodes had the chance to put The Viper away with a Punt Kick, but Orton pleaded with him to stop.

However, Rhodes’ hesitation cost him, as Orton hit him and the referee with the low blow simultaneously and picked up the win later. Speaking on Busted Open, Hall of Famer Bully Ray criticized the match finish.

He said WWE has done this too many times with Cody Rhodes, where they have teased him going to a dark place but done nothing at the end. Bully said it makes the babyface look like a fool and gives fans a reason not to believe in him.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit James Sweetnam of Sporf and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.