After securing the biggest win of his professional wrestling career at WrestleMania 40, unseating the “Head of the Table” to officially become the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Cody Rhodes could have sat back, relaxed, and waited for his call time to show up for the first Monday Night RAW of this new era.

… but if you actually thought that would happen, you haven't been paying attention, as, after spending the last 17 years building towards this moment, the “American Nightmare” was going to enjoy it like being the Rolex-wearing, limousine-riding, suit-tailored World Champion he's always dreamed of being.

Stopping by The Pat McAfee Show for his first sitdown interview as the WWE Champion, Rhodes decided to give credit where credit is due to celebrate Roman Reigns for pushing him to become the very best professional wrestler that he could be.

“Roman, one of the things I noticed Saturday night, Roman showed up not like a champion ready to hand off his championship. He showed up in the best shape of his career,” Cody Rhodes revealed on The Pat McAfee Show. “He showed up as the best incarnation of the ‘Tribal Chief.' I don't agree with how Roman was champion. We go about how we operate in the ring completely differently. But still, I said this last night at the press conference and I really mean it, I'm proud that I beat him at his best and I hope that I can be half the champion that Roman Reigns was. He was an exceptional champion for WWE, did a lot of great things.”

When McAfee noted that Rhodes isn't looking too bad himself, the “American Nightmare” noted that he worked hard to get in the right shape for the event, noting that his foe and the WrestleMania 40 crowd pushed him to show up and show out at his absolute best.

“I got pretty lean and mean. No, WrestleMania brings that out, you know, and there are so many guys on the roster that it's just such a different vibe backstage; you've seen it in terms of training, hydration, prep,” Rhodes noted. “I've gotta mention that on the day of WrestleMania, I was so appreciative to be announced as an official Prime athlete. It's another thing: John mentioned the burden that comes with a championship, but all of these responsibilities, if I'm not ready for them, it'd be crazy; I spent my whole life trying to get ready for them. So I think we're there; I was dialed in last night, under 10 percent on the body fat; that's exciting to see. I did the check, and he was dialed in, too, and I think that's because of them. WWE fans, wrestling fans, the WWE Universe, particularly Philadelphia, it can only be excilence. Anything less than excellence, get the h*ll out of there! You've gotta be excellent, and you all brought that out of us, so much appreciated.

After spending years with a part-time champion who gave about as many interviews as the number of matches he worked in a year, it's clear Rhodes' campaigning isn't going to end now that he left the birthplace of America with the ultimate prize in professional wrestling. Buckle in, folks, for you will be seeing Rhodes a lot over the next few weeks, months, and maybe even years as he fully embraces what it means to be the WWE Champion.

John Cena reveals what he told Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40.

While Cody Rhodes and John Cena were both guests on the post-WrestleMania 40 edition of The Pat McAfee Show, that wasn't the only notable experience they shared over the past 24 hours, as, after the latter saved the former from Solo Sikoa in the ring, they shared a moment after the final bell of the “American Nightmare's” massive win.

Asked what he said to Rhodes at that moment, Cena told McAfee that the burden of being the champion is like nothing his long-time friend could have ever expected.

“Cody's story set, the whole theme of WrestleMania was finishing the story. His story starts today. I told him in the ring last night, when I got to embrace him, he had the championship in his right hand. I said, ‘Do you feel that?' I said, ‘Do you feel how heavy it is?' He said yes, [and] I said it will get heavier every day,” John Cena told Pat McAfee via WrestleZone.

“Because that is the burden you bear of trying to craft the path to being the greatest of all time. I hope, and this should be the goal for the business. Every performer should pass the torch up. So I hope a year from now, two years from now, three years from now, we can all sit here and be an advocate that Cody Rhodes is the greatest of all time. Because that's the way it should work.”

If anyone knows what it's like to be a World Champion in WWE, it's Cena, as he's held the top title more times than anyone else in the promotion's history, right up there with Ric Flair. Fortunately, if anyone is ready for this opportunity, it has to be Rhodes, as, per the man himself, he's been preparing for this all his life.