Bobby Roode has put together an impressive career throughout his time in TNA and WWE. The accomplishments clearly show that he made a strong impact in the industry. Roode has won various titles from mid-card action to the tag team division with various partners to the world title scene.
His long run in wrestling has led to quite a few fascinating stories coming out from behind the scenes. Roode found his way into rumors, online reports, and general controversy at various points. Nothing has held him back from finding ultimate success, but these factors played a role in his career. Find out more about Roode with some interesting backstage stories from this time in the business.
10 Hulk Hogan Changed Finish To His Title Win
One of the most controversial moments of Bobby Roode’s career featured Hulk Hogan speaking out against him in a radio interview. TNA was telling the story of Roode getting his first major world title shot as a face against Kurt Angle at the biggest show of the year.
Hogan buried the segments showing Roode as a family man and the finish changed before the show with Angle retaining. Roode’s partner James Storm ended Angle’s TNA World Championship reign days later. Hogan’s idea played out a few weeks later with Roode turning heel to cheat Storm out of the title.
9 Paul Heyman Wanted To Push Him Harder
There were quite a few wrestlers Paul Heyman wanted to push harder during his time as the lead creative mind of the Raw brand that Vince McMahon didn't agree with. Bobby Roode forming a team with Dolph Ziggler to end the Raw Tag Team Championship reign of Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman gave him a chance to shine again.
Reports circulated that Heyman felt Roode deserved a bigger role following his lackluster main roster call-up from NXT. Unfortunately, Heyman was removed from his position before Roode could accomplish any singles success of note.
8 Beer Money Formed Out Of Singles Flop
TNA invested a lot of time into repackaging Bobby Roode as a singles star after Team Canada ended. Managers from the past and present tried to gain Roode’s trust to become his manager. Traci Brooks ended up in the role managing the renamed Robert Roode.
The run of Roode on his own flopped despite TNA viewing him as a potential top future star. James Storm was also struggling after his prior tag team ended leading to TNA forming Beer Money. Roode and Storm benefited immensely to have arguably the best tag run in company history which helped with their future singles runs.
7 Turned Face On Main Roster Due To Theme Song
The transition from NXT to the main roster often hurts many wrestlers. Bobby Roode was one of the most glaring instances of this following his run as a dominant NXT Champion and main eventer. WWE changed his character from a heel to a face with no explanation.
Roode revealed that the appeal of his “Glorious” theme song made it an ideal sell to debut him as a face to the fans who never watched him in NXT. The hope was that fans would invest in him due to the song, but that momentum never came.
6 Was Upset With TNA Offer Before Leaving
Many fans were surprised at Bobby Roode leaving TNA since it seemed like he’d remain there for the rest of his career. Roode departed the company shortly after AJ Styles and Samoa Joe to truly represent the changing of the company’s identity.
TNA lost a lot of their backing when Spike TV ditched them, and Dixie Carter’s family grew tired of the loss financing the promotion. Roode received a smaller offer than his value dictated and he had no hesitation leaving to bet on himself.
5 Booker T Advised Him To Cut Hair
The TNA World Championship run of Bobby Roode featured him ditching the long hair look that was part of his identity for many years. Roode went for a shorter look that he has continued using up to this point without going back.
Booker T revealed that he suggested Roode cut his hair back when they were working together. Roode was Booker’s first singles feud in TNA and felt that the younger star would look better with a new look. The advice of Booker was not followed by Roode until a few years after Booker left the company.
4 Samoa Joe Helped Him Join WWE
There were a few familiar faces on the WWE roster when Bobby Roode made the move to join the promotion. Samoa Joe was someone Roode named in his podcast interview with Lilian Garcia referencing names that he spoke to when he realized he would be hitting the free-agent market.
The agreement of Joe starting in NXT created a new shift in wrestling. There were reports of WWE actively avoiding former TNA names for years, but Joe was the first one to start the chain of events. Roode joined with the help of Joe putting in a good word and letting him know it was a great environment.
3 Vince Russo Based His Gimmick On Criticism Of Locker Room
Vince Russo had a belief that the younger new stars in TNA had a selfish mindset. The Young Bucks were renamed Generation Me to reflect that, but it just turned out to be a bad idea. Bobby Roode’s TNA World Championship reign would see him receiving a similar character from Russo.
The term “selfish generation” was used to describe Roode’s view on the industry. Roode started referring to himself as the leader of the selfish generation. The gimmick worked better with Roode playing a ruthless heel dominating the title picture.
2 James Storm Was Unhappy About Him Leaving TNA For WWE
James Storm was the first member of Beer Money who tested the market with NXT. There were a couple of appearances for Storm in NXT to see if it would be a good fit. However, the time of contract negotiations would see Storm choosing a much bigger contract offer from TNA.
Triple H even told Storm to take the better offer since he was not going to get that for an NXT deal. Storm reunited with Bobby Roode in TNA for a short Beet Money stint, but Roode left when his contract expired. There was disappointment expressed by Storm seeing his big TNA plans end before he could build momentum.
1 "Glorious" Theme Song Was Meant For Shinsuke Nakamura
The “Glorious” theme song instantly made Bobby Roode a star for NXT. Fans loved signing along after the hilarious videos of Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa and Roode became popular online. Roode moved up the card faster than anticipated with fans buying into his act strongly.
The song was originally pitched to Shinsuke Nakamura ahead of his debut. Nakamura reportedly said the song didn’t feel right for his character and he passed it on. Roode benefited immensely from getting the song to start his run off in glorious fashion.