"I also got a cease and desist from Nintendo": WWE Champion Cody Rhodes explains why he stopped wearing his Zelda-inspired boots in the ring

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WWE Champion Cody Rhodes reveals that Nintendo once sent him a cease and desist notice for using The Legend of Zelda's Triforce on his gear.

This was revealed in his podcast What Do You Wanna Talk About? (spotted by VGC) with fellow wrestler Kit Wilson. Wilson recalls that during Rhodes' earlier run before leaving WWE in the 2010s, he was a "fan instantly for one reason only," and that was his wrestling boots that had the Triforce on them.

Rhodes shows the Triforce tattooed on his ring finger, saying "I live that shit, dog," before explaining why exactly he decided to integrate the logo into his ring gear. He says: "I thought [about] the principles of the Triforce, which are power, courage, and wisdom."

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Continuing, he notes: "I just liked the idea of thinking and leaning towards your own wisdom, or what you’ve learned and applying it, of being ambitious and wanting to be powerful, if you can, in a world that's competitive, of sports and sports entertainment, and then having the courage to do it."

Kit Wilson talks Elton Prince, Cody’s advice & character pitches | What Do You Wanna Talk About? - YouTube Watch On

Then, as he relates these principles to performing an elbow drop nightly which will in turn damage your body, he casually slips in: "I also got a cease and desist from Nintendo." He explains: "It was very kind, they weren't… it was polite, they weren't coming after anybody, I'm not the first guy to have the Triforce." This likely explains why the symbol hasn't been a part of his boots since.

Rhodes also likens the release of Twilight Princess to wrestling. He explains, "Twilight Princess is a story about wrestling. Fans like what they like, and when they get vocal enough, the whole world can change," he says, likening the edgier Zelda coming due to the reaction to The Wind Waker's art design to events like fans campaigning for him to face Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 40 instead of The Rock. Although, he does clarify "Wind Waker's a great game. They just weren't ready for how it looked"

Of course, it wouldn't be the last time Rhodes implemented games into his attire, with the current WWE Champion arriving at his match at Ring of Honor's Final Battle 2018 show dressed as Venom Snake from Metal Gear Solid 5. And I wouldn't be shocked if we see him rock up in his Guile costume at some point in WWE around the time the Street Fighter movie comes out – perhaps in a match with his co-star Roman Reigns, who plays Akuma alongside Rhodes' Guile.

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Scott McCraeContributor

Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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