With two weeks left before WrestleMania 40, Cody Rhodes has been thinking long and hard about what he can say to his fans and foes alike ahead of the biggest match of his professional wrestling career.
He's attempted to be vulnerable, he's put on a tough, TV-14 face, and even enlisted some friends to help him avoid a Bloodline ambush on a rare appearance on SmackDown but on the penultimate episode of RAW before the “Showcase of the Immortals,” WWE still trotted out their big-time babyface to see what the “American Nightmare” had to say to a crowd he knows very well in Chicago, Illinois.
What did Rhodes have to say? Well, based on his comments, it seems like even he wasn't 100 percent sure heading into the ring, but by the end, Rhodes took it home like only the top babyface in the industry could.
“So Chicago, what do you wanna talk about? I mean, I could say nothing; we're in that awkward two weeks before WrestleMania where the time for talk is really over, the time for action has arisen, the wagon is in the barn, you know? Last week on SmackDown, or even before SmackDown during his media rounds, Roman Reigns said a lot, particularly on my friend Pat McAfee's show… that's right, Roman Reigns, he referred to me on Pat's show as a politician, and he would double down when we would get into the ring on SmackDown. He would double down and say I was making promises that I couldn't keep, and it hit me, it got under my skin, no doubt, the reason being, and this city, more than any other city, should know that when I make a bet, when I make a promise, I absolutely, 100 percent keep it,” Cody Rhodes told the RAW crowd in Chicago.
“And there have been some unique asks: there was a man with a sign saying, will I be the best man at his wedding? So explain that to my wife, okay? ‘Hey hunny, I'm going to Anthony's wedding, not only that, I'm paying for his batchlor party.' ‘Well, hunny, who is Anthony?' ‘ I don't know, but I'm still doing it.' Hudson, a little boy named Hudson, he's having his fifth birthday party, can the ‘American Nightmare' be there? Absolutely. The Wrestling Club, young men and women just trying to get to WrestleMania this year, they'll be going both nights.
“And I say this, and I ask for nothing back; the reason I do the things that I do is lost on Roman Reigns. He thinks that it's desparation, and perhaps it should've, this is my final crack at the ‘Tribal Chief' but it's not desparation. I dress the way I dress, I talk the way I talk, I walk the way I walk, I spend all of this time at the end of the night for a simple reason: I pretend to be the Champion because the Champion isn't here. I have filled the air, I have filled this ring up with positive platitudes about Roman Reigns; clearly, I respect the ‘Tribal Chief' but make no mistake about it, I am aware that Roman Reigns is the man that screwed me out of the biggest dream I ever had in my life last year at WrestleMania and although I respect you, Roman Reigns, please understand that I hate your guts. And it's totally fine with me if you hate me too, I mean, it's my fault that you and your cousin can't have this wank fest at WrestleMania that you wanted to have.”
Goodness, now that is a babyface promo, and the best part, Rhodes still had plenty to say on the subject, as he wanted to enlist the WWE crowd, both in Chicago and watching from home, to stand beside him during his finest hour, as he simply can't do it alone.
#WWERaw kicks off with @CodyRhodes! pic.twitter.com/P9PxTfcPgS
— WWE (@WWE) March 26, 2024
Cody Rhodes needs the crowd's help at WrestleMania 40.
Continuing his comments on his WrestleMania 40 main events, Cody Rhodes asked the audience in Chicago for a simple favor: to ride with him into the “Showcase of the Immortals.”
“And it's pretty simple, it's my fault because I won the Royal Rumble, not once but twice. And when you win the Royal Rumble, you guys all know what we do, we point at that sign,” Cody Rhodes pointed out. “And if I learned anything from last year's point at that sign, at WrestleMania 39 heading into WrestleMania 40, I can't do it alone, guys. I said I asked for nothing back, but I do ask for something back: on April 6th, heading into the biggest tag team match in the history of WWE, myself and the ‘World Heavyweight Champion' Seth Rollins against the ‘Tribal Chief' Roman Reigns and the ‘Final Boss' The Rock, will you ride with me? April 7th, in what will hopefully be a fair fight against Roman Reigns, will you ride with me? Then I wanna have a little moment here, if I am going to point at the sign, I want you all to point at it with me. You game? And pointing at that sign means exactly what I said: two main events: April 6th defeating the ‘Final Boss' defeating the ‘Tribal Chief'…”
Unfortunately for Rhodes – and the fans in Chicago – The Rock emerged to interrupt his promo, and after exchanging a few words off the mic – literally – he left the ring and seemingly left Chicago for the night. Anticlimactic? Sure, but after fighting for himself and his family's legacy heading into WrestleMania 39, it's clear Rhodes has accepted that he isn't an island, and in order to defeat the “Head of the Table” at WrestleMania 40, he needs friends like Seth Rollins and Jey Uso in the ring, and the fans supporting him in the crowd to really achieve his ultimate dream; in the end, that's all that really matters.
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