Cody Rhodes Says WWE Wrestling Helped Shape His Guile Stunts in ‘Street Fighter’

Cody Rhodes says his years as a professional wrestler gave him practical tools for playing Guile in the upcoming Street Fighter movie. The experience helped him work with wires, perform a signature kick and land safely, while wrestling’s larger than life performance style also informed how he carries himself on screen.

That connection reaches back to Rhodes’s childhood. He recalled playing Street Fighter II on a Nintendo console and joked that he was better at the game as a child than he is now. Taking on Guile, a character from a game he remembers fondly, gives the role a personal connection as well as a physical challenge.

Rhodes discussed the role in a recent question and answer session promoting the film. He described the character’s presentation as having comic elements, and said he asked a friend in the Air Force about details such as posture and familiar phrases. The part of Guile’s look that stood out most to him was the dog tags.

Wrestling skills translated into stunt work

Rhodes said the physical demands of wrestling were useful in a direct way: he could get onto wires, attempt Guile’s Flash Kick and land, as well as perform punches. Those abilities gave him a starting point for the action scenes, alongside the work of the film’s stunt team. He credited the collaboration between his own experience and the crew’s work for helping build the fights.

That doesn’t mean a wrestling match and a film stunt are the same. The useful overlap, as Rhodes described it, is familiarity with physical performance: moving with control, selling an action and making a movement read clearly to an audience. For this role, wire work and a particular kick put that experience to use in a new setting. The source does not describe how the scenes were choreographed or what safety arrangements were used, so the specifics of the stunt process remain unclear.

Rhodes also sees a less technical connection between wrestling and Guile. He said the character has a presence that reminds him of great wrestlers who draw attention when they enter a room. That kind of entrance is part of a wrestler’s performance, and it may help make a familiar game character feel distinct in a live action story. It’s a different form of acting from delivering a line or completing a stunt, but it gives Rhodes another way to draw on his years in front of an audience.

A game memory behind the role

For Rhodes, the part also carries the weight of growing up with the game. He said he wants the work to reflect what players remember from playing it. That aim offers a useful way to understand his comments: his familiarity with Street Fighter II gives him a personal reference point, while his wrestling background helps with the physical portrayal.

He has held the WWE Championship multiple times and has appeared as a playable character in wrestling video games. Even so, Rhodes called playing Guile one of his proudest moments. Moving from wrestling commitments into a major film role meant taking on a demanding schedule, he said, but he was eager to make the transition.

Rhodes also spoke warmly about working with his castmates, including Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Andrew Schulz. He said the group found an immediate connection despite coming from different fields, including music, comedy, wrestling and acting. His description points to an ensemble with varied performance backgrounds; the finished film will show how those styles come together on screen.

Street Fighter is scheduled to arrive in theaters on Oct. 16, 2026. Until then, the clearest picture of Rhodes’s approach comes from his own account: familiar game memories, wrestling experience and collaboration with the stunt team all informed his version of Guile. Viewers will be able to judge how those elements work together when the movie is released.

Read more about the film’s cast here. Rhodes is on Instagram here.