Though he didn't get to do much on the final SmackDown before the calendar flips from June to July, running into the ring at the opening of the show to get into a brawl with the new Bloodline alongside R-KO before Jalen Brunson got into things with Tyrese Haliburton, Cody Rhodes was still given an opportunity to address the fans at Madison Square Garden in New York and believe you me, the “American Nightmare” had a lot to say.

Why? Well, because his father, Dusty Rhodes, had his famous match with “Superstar” Billy Graham in that very building, where he finally got his hands on the WWE Championship before having the sport's ultimate prize taken away from him. After winning the WWE Championship back in April, returning to MSG marked a full-circle experience for Rhodes, as he got to hold up the belt as a champion and actually leave the venue with the belt in his possession.

“I mentioned it earlier when we came out here. I had a different plan in mind for my return to The Garden. Because it is not just my return to The Garden. For those of you who know this story, this is where it all began. In the late ‘70s, my father, ‘The American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes traveled to New York City to wrestle ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham. He was a country boy from Austin, Texas, and for some reason, you guys just loved him. Anyways, in this fabled match, Dusty Rhodes defeated ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham. He grabbed what would become this WWE Championship. He climbed that buckle over there, and he held it up. But moments later, they took it away from him,” Cody Rhodes declared to fans in MSG via Fightful.

“It’s okay, this story has a happy ending. I was eight years old, I saw the picture of this title. I knew nothing about the ins and outs of pro wrestling and sports entertainment. All I knew was I wanted to win that title for him. I had always planned on saying the silliest thing to him, but I just wanted to tell him that nobody can take it away from you now. So like I said, if you’ll indulge me, I am gonna climb that buckle because I wanna hold up the WWE Championship, but if I could, my cousin [WWE timekeeper] Berkley, you got something in your hands over there? I will trade you.”

Holding up replica of the belt his father chased as fans cheered him on, Rhodes finally got to have his moment, and while it didn't happen on television, it was still special for everyone in the venue – and watching along online – all the same.

Cody Rhodes wanted to win the WWE Championship for Dusty.

Speaking of Cody Rhodes' pursuit of the WWE Championship, on April 8th, the day after his big win, the “American Nightmare” reiterated his intentions about becoming the first-ever Rhodes family member to win the WWE Championship, noting that even if the moment meant a lot to him, it would be just as important to his late father too.

“I had said on SmackDown, I said when one good story ends, an even better one begins. And I think that’s where I’m at with it, is we did finish the story. The story of a Rhodes wanting to capture this championship that (Dusty) never did, we got that. Now the fun really needs to begin. The legacy of my dad and the specter, the kind of a ghost always chasing the accolades and the impact that Dusty Rhodes had, that’ll always be there. But now I got this one up on him and I need to — for all the new fans we have, you know, you look out in the crowd and you see all the cosplay, kids who look at me in a really special way. And for them I want to give them just an unbelievable run,” Cody Rhodes told USA Today.

“So brand-new story, hopefully brand-new opponents, hopefully on both shows. I’m good to be tested. You know, we didn’t get that with Roman, and I don’t want to take away the specialness of the title by any means, but I do want to be far more active. Plus, I do the live events, which is not a throwaway thing. I do the live events, which is the heartbeat of WWE, these smaller, non-TV production shows. And to be able to bring that on them when it’s been absent this whole time, that’s special.”

After spending a year and a half fighting to become the WWE Champion, Rhodes was finally able to get the deal done earlier this year and thus was able to hold the belt up high at MSG in a true full-circle moment over 30 years in the making. Of all the things Rhodes has accomplished this year, that moment has to rank near the top of the list.