Cody Deaner Notes (Patreon)

IMPACT Wrestling’s Cody Deaner recently caught up with Fightful’s Matt Young and Joel Pearl for two interviews.

The former Kurt Angle Invitational competitor and leader of The Design spoke to us on various topics.

Cody talked about who was part of the creative process when it came to the vignette promo that aired, in which Deaner’s character killed Eric Young. Cody said it was a team effort, he mentioned everything they have done as a stable has been collaborative, and he includes IMPACT’S creative and production teams being part of the team. He said this has been the case since the Violent by Design idea came about. Everyone has worked together. He said the promo was one of the coolest things that he’s done in his career.

Cody told Matt that he’s known for a long time that he has a lot to offer in the wrestling business. He said, “I'm more than just an in-ring performer or a guy that can talk and I do it all.”

Matt asked about the in-ring producing Cody has recently done for IMPACT. Cody said “he loves producing, and the he’s always had a producer's mind”. Deaner said anytime he got to be in a room with a guy like Arn Anderson or Jake Roberts, he would just listen to them. He said he would "shut his mouth and open his ears". He said that he’s learned by just watching some amazing people who were in the business before him. He says it’s time to pass the knowledge he has to other people, like people did for him.

Deaner says he wasn’t worried about being “pigeon hold” by being a performer and producer. He said they had a great thing going with Violent by Design, and IMPACT needed someone to step up and fill-in a hole, and he was willing to help, so he did. He said he’s been given great feedback by the company and the wrestler’s. He likes having the responsibility.

He talked about changing his character over the years.  He said the wrestlers who have had lengthy careers, like The Undertaker or Chris Jericho, have always evolved and changed when they needed to. They never got complacent.

He also mentioned how he enjoys being a motivational speaker, and it’s very rewarding. He works with kids, and has an affect on them, which is important to him.

He finished his interview with Matt, saying the Eric Young vignette has got him to that next level, a place he knows he’s been ready for quite a while now.

Interview #2

Fightful’s Joel Pearl caught up with Deaner at Greektown Pro Wrestling in Toronto.

Joel mentioned to Cody Deaner that Deaner would be wrestling Bhupinder Gujjar at the Greektown event. Deaner put over Gujjar by saying “Gujjar has not been in this business for a long time, and he has no business being as good as he is right now based on the experience he has”. He also mentioned he could be a future World Heavyweight champion.

Deaner said his career progression was “very slow”, but it is something that he would not change. Joel asked Deaner how his career recently “exploded”, because of Violent by Design. Cody said he was approached for it by creative, and the idea was “floated” to him. He knew if he did it, he would have to change. He said he already had a distinct brand, and he was already a twenty year veteran. If this was to happen, he would have to transform and reinvent himself. Deaner said the other reason why it worked was because all his stablemates were friends. He said he’s known Joe Doering for over fifteen years, and Eric Young even longer.

Joel asked Deaner how the Eric Young murder vignette creatively came about. Cody confirmed the vignette was shot in an abandoned jail in Nashville, Tennessee. Deaner noted the location has history for Violent by Design and The Design. It was the same location that they filmed Eric Young’s return to IMPACT Wrestling vignette. Cody also mentioned it was the same location they filmed the promo in which Young recruited Deaner to join Violent by Design. He said it was a two-year story arc and it came full circle.

Deaner said when this storyline ended, it was a “passing of the torch moment.”

Cody says the members of The Design all have something in common, and that is that they have a chip on their shoulders. They have never been given the chance to run the show, and now they are getting it, and he plans to take advantage of it.

Joel asked Deaner when he got to work with WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle in the Kurt Angle Invitational. Deaner said his first break in wrestling happened in the WWE. He said the night before he wrestled Kurt Angle, he worked a dark match with Muhammad Hassan. He said his match went so well, that’s how he got the match with Angle the next night. He said the match with Angle was also good, and that when he walked through the curtain after the match, Vince McMahon stood up behind one of the monitors and walked over to him and shook his hand and said to him, “Cody, thank you for tonight, you did an amazing job.”

He said afterwards he would get some phone calls from people in the WWE telling him he was going to get a contract. The phone call he expected to get with a contract offer never came, and it was one of the first major disappointments he’s had in his wrestling career.

Joel asked Cody about the opportunity he’s had on working tag-team matches with Kevin Nash. He said he learned a lot from Kevin. When he found out he was going to work with Kevin the first time, he was nervous, but Kevin made it easy. He said it isn’t a gimmick, Kevin Nash is cool, and he understands why they call him “Big Daddy Cool.” He also shared a story about getting Kevin Nash to dance in the ring.

This Cody Deaner Double Feature Fightful Interview will be available on Youtube and your favorite Podcast platforms on Sunday, January 1st at 4:00pm Eastern, and can be viewed at the link below.

Youtube Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cr4JO2KU_c