When Cody Rhodes made his triumphant return to WWE at WrestleMania 38, it was truly a magical moment. Sure, basically everyone knew “The American Nightmare” was going to be Seth Rollins' mystery opponent, as the reports of his signing were almost as prominent as those of his exit from AEW, but when “The American Nightmare” shot up from the middle of the stage with his AEW gear, his AEW theme song, and his AEW nickname, it truly served as a paradigm shift within the professional wrestling world, as never had a star left WWE, won championships for Tony Khan, and then returned as an even bigger star.

Asked to reflect on the experience by Corey Graves and Jackie Redmond, Rhodes described coming up in the “Codyvator” as an experience he will never forget.

“I can tell you when I came up the ‘Codyvator,’ as you put it, and I love hearing that vernacular, I truly did not know what to expect,” Rhodes said. “I was overwhelmed. I’m almost even overwhelmed talking about it now. It was all of these stories; what I had done when I was away but also what my family had done for the company and what I had done over the first 10 years I was there. With WWE being the house that built me, I needed a minute, and to hear the American Nightmare said, and it was again overwhelming and truly a moment that was incredibly hard to top for me personally, and meant a great deal not just to me, but to my family.”

“I’m glad the WWE Universe, I’m glad wrestling fans enjoyed it. I really needed that, and I don’t think I’ve ever told them that, and I’m blessed that I got it.”

When asked about his goals moving forward and whether or not it would include a hotly anticipated fourth match with Seth Rollins, Rhodes made major headlines by declaring that he “isn't exactly clamoring” for a fourth bout.

“Make no mistake about it: Seth and I are not chummy, we’re not best friends, but Seth Rollins is one of the top 3 wrestlers in the entire world, and to have three matches, not just one, three matches was an honor, Again, we aren’t best friends, we won’t exchange Christmas cards, but there’s a bond by battle there with Seth and myself that I don’t know, I know he’s probably clamoring for a fourth match, I don’t know if that’s on my uh (laughs) radar at the moment.”

Would it be incredible to see Rollins and Rhodes in the ring once more, especially after the former beat down the latter with a sledgehammer just before his months-long exit? You bet, but hey, according to Rhodes, he has his eyes on a bigger prize.

Cody Rhodes wants to win the WWE Championship for his father.

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Jinder Mahal with a text bubble reading "Thanks Tony" next to Tony Khan with the RAW logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

The blacked-out silhouette of Kevin Nash with a text bubble reading, "He’s the perfect f**king champion right now" next to Cody Rhodes with the WWE logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Sheamus with a text bubble reading "You just threw it all away over a meme and a t-shirt?" next to Drew McIntyre with the CM Punk logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Alright, so if Rhodes isn't desperately seeking revenge for Rollins beating him down, what is he going for? Well, as he mentioned multiple times before when he was still an active participant in WWE, it's to get the belt his father never could.

“I would like to pick up right where I left off, and a lot of things have happened in my life,” Rhodes said. “Not just the injury, not just what I did while I was away in my exit, the birth of my daughter, and I can’t help but think about the little kid who showed up at 4400 Shepherdsville Road, Louisville, Kentucky and wanted to be a pro wrestler and told everyone how big his plans were, and didn’t have any idea the price that needed to be paid for what I was asking, and I can say this with confidence not arrogance: I have paid the price. It’s not a sport where your tenure earns you anything, it’s what you’ve done for me lately, and even though I wasn’t present for a good chunk of the year, what I was able to do I think really did register with a lot of the WWE Universe, and I want to pick up right back where I left off, right back in that little kid’s shoes who had the biggest dreams. In this time that we’re in, I have an opportunity at making that happen, and I’m being incredibly vague, but I think anyone who is a fan at what we do can read between the lines. There is one thing I came back for specifically, one thing, and, again, a torn pec couldn’t stop me, I couldn’t name anything that could stop me. It has to be done, it needs to be done, and I wanna get it done.”

Yup, Cody is going for the WWE Championship, the strap currently held by Roman Reigns alongside the Universal Championship. Though only time will tell when Rhodes will challenge Reigns for the championship, let alone if he'll be afforded a chance to compete for the strap, period, giving “The Son of a Son of a Plummer” the WWE Championship would be an incredible way to end at least part of “The Tribal Cheif's” reign and stick it to AEW a little bit too.