Cody Rhodes has shed light on the story behind his striking neck tattoo, a design that has become one of the most talked-about elements of his persona. While it is now a hallmark of his identity, Rhodes revealed in a recent interview that the tattoo wasn’t originally intended for its current location.
The tattoo, which symbolizes his personal brand, was initially meant for another part of his body. “At the time, I was away from WWE, trying to carve out my own identity,” Cody explained. “I hated wearing other people’s logos and seeing someone else’s brand everywhere. That’s when I decided, ‘I need my own.’”
Cody’s first choice for the tattoo was his chest, but after seeing UFC star Conor McGregor’s lion tattoo, he changed his mind. “I saw Conor’s chest piece and thought, ‘I can’t do that,’” he said. “Then I considered my arm, but iconic tattoos like The Rock’s Brahma Bull and Goldberg’s barbed wire made me rethink that idea. That’s when I decided on the neck.”
Initially, the tattoo artist proposed a smaller design that would peek subtly over his shirt collar. Cody agreed, thinking it was a perfect fit. However, the final tattoo turned out much larger than anticipated. Despite the artist’s repeated offers to stop and reevaluate, Cody declined, determined to see it through. “I did the dumbest, most alpha-toxic thing,” he admitted. “The artist kept asking, ‘Do you want to check it?’ and I just kept saying, ‘No, I’m good.’ I don’t even know who I was trying to impress—my wife wasn’t there, no one was there.”
When Cody finally saw the finished tattoo, he compared the moment to a child receiving the wrong gift on Christmas morning. “It was like not getting the Power Ranger you wanted,” he joked. Still, he left the tattoo shop with no changes and made his first public appearance the next day, wrapping the tattoo in a scarf to conceal it during a fan signing.
The reaction from his colleagues was just as dramatic. “Jim Ross thought it wasn’t real,” Cody recalled. “I walked into a production meeting, and he was completely baffled by it.”
Despite the initial mixed reactions, Cody has embraced the tattoo as a defining part of his identity. “In the long run, it’s been worth it,” he said. “It’s now a symbol of who I am and the brand I’ve built.”
Love it or hate it, Cody Rhodes’ neck tattoo has become one of the most iconic visuals in wrestling. While the design didn’t land where he initially envisioned, it has undeniably left a permanent impression—both literally and figuratively. Whether seen as a bold branding move or a daring decision, the tattoo is now an inseparable part of Cody’s American Nightmare persona.
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