When Cody Rhodes left the safety and corporate security of AEW for another run in WWE, he wasn't guaranteed anything.
Sure, Vince McMahon famously flew to his house to discuss a deal, and he was immediately entered into a feud with one of the top performers of the modern era in Seth Rollins, but as WrestleMania 39 clearly proved, he wasn't guaranteed a spot at the top of the card, and very well could have followed in his father's footsteps as one of the great runner-ups in WWE history.
And yet, after 15 months of anticipation, Rhodes did what his father Dusty Rhodes couldn't and became the WWE Champion, capturing the belt with a little help from his babyface friends past and present.
Discussing what he would say to his father if he were around to see his big accomplishment during the post-WrestleMania 40 press conference, Rhodes gave two answers, one serious and one a bit more silly.
“If I’m being honest, I think I would want to say to him,” Cody Rhodes told reporters. “I hope I lived up to your name, thank you for that name. Then I would say, sorry about the tattoo.”
While the elder Rhodes wasn't in attendance in South Philadelphia, a piece of him was, as Cody revealed he was given the same watch his father famously pawned back in the day to help pay for his trip to Los Angeles for acting school.
“I came to the back, and Bruce Prichard, Triple H, and Nick Khan handed me this [shows watch],” Rhodes revealed via Fightful. “It’s the same watch my dad had that he pawned so he could go to acting school. The level of investment and responsibility the company just put in my hands, I hope I can pay it back, pay it forward, 100 times over.”
Asked about the incredibly kind gesture in his own media availability, Triple H noted that when a performer is as important as Rhodes and accomplishes something as important as ending Roman Reigns run as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, sometimes you have to go above and beyond to make the moment special.
“We wanted to do something special for him. Bruce was very close with Dusty. I was very close with Dusty. It was Nick’s idea,” Triple H revealed. “He had this amazing idea. I was just along for the ride. It was Nick’s idea, I thought it was great. Bruce went and super sleuthed down this watch, which was the exact same watch that Dusty had to present to Cody. We just wanted to give him something that commemorated his dad being here when this happened because he was.”
As if Rhodes' moment couldn't get any more special, WWE found a way to put a personal touch on the most personal match of the “American Nightmare's” career and started off his title reign in the most incredible way imaginable. If Rhodes wasn't already willing to run through a fall as the anti-Hulk Hogan, it's safe to say the words “That doesn't work for me, brother” won't leave his mouth while holding the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Cody Rhodes is happy he got to celebrate with his friends.
Elsewhere in his post-WrestleMania 40 press conference, Cody Rhodes was asked about the babyface side of the WWE locker room clearing out to celebrate his accomplishment after the main event of Night 2, including some performers he doesn't really interact much with, like LA Knight.
For Rhodes, a man who used to come out to the ring regularly with a possee in AEW, the moment was incredibly special because he was able to enjoy his win while surrounded by very excited pals who were proud of him.
“In the moment, I was just so happy to see my friends. You have a lot of friends in wrestling, then they turn on you. Kevin Owens is a huge part of my journey, I wouldn’t have been able to meet the guys I met and do the things that we would do without him,” Cody Rhodes explained via Fightful.
“Sami was a huge part of my journey last year with the budding rivalry and him having the opportunity at Elimination Chamber. I didn’t think I would see Randy because he would probably get on his bus and he’s Randy. To have the guy who took me under his wing and I got to watch be a champion, that was amazing. I drove Cena around for almost two years, learned everything I possibly could from him, but didn’t know I was learning because we were having such a good time. There is nobody who carried WWE, until Roman, like John Cena. My family. LA Knight. A lot of victims of the Bloodline. If anything, circling back to what you asked, I think it was just the joy. There is a respect for Roman and Bloodline, no doubt, but nothing is bigger than the company and industry itself. This was a win for the people and me.”
While all of Rhodes' friends weren't technically in the ring after his big match, as Dustin Rhodes – who was in attendance – didn't appear on camera, and his fellow former EVPs, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, were relegated to cameos during his video package, in the end, the “American Nightmare” looked like a true babyface champion, and even if it was slightly staged, that likely means something to the second-generation Superstar all the same.
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