After months and months of anticipation, build-up, and hype, Cody Rhodes was given one final chance to address the WWE Universe before stepping into the ring with Roman Reigns to decide on which WWE Superstar gets to lead the company into the future moving forward. That's right, while the duo never actually wrestled in the ring as part of a tag team match, a multi-man match, or anything of the like, Rhodes delivered haymaker after haymaker to his WrestleMania 39 opponent, leaving WWE fans and Hall of Famers alike wondering if it's even possible for “The Head of the Table” to keep his winning-streak alive heading April.
Taking the ring for the final SmackDown before WrestleMania, Rhodes asked the crowd what they wanted to talk about, rapped some Tupac lyrics, and then cut into his opponent for his most biting promo yet.
“I can talk about gratitude,” Rhodes said. “How d**n grateful I am that you welcomed me back; not only did you welcome me back, but you let my audience come with me, thank you guys so much. You allowed me to be me, to me emotional, and here I am, I’m projecting perfection; I’m trying to be poised, I’m trying to be composed, but usually that’s an indication that something is broken inside. And I’m not alone when I say something is broken inside; maybe the only medicine for me is Sunday: defeating Roman Reigns.
“And speaking of our champion, the last time we stood face to face, he laid the titles down in front of me, told me I couldn’t even be the guy in my own company, which is odd because Roman Reigns is an 11 year, tens-of-millions-of-dollars investment on the behalf of WWE telling you that he’s the guy and it only started paying off in Year 8. ‘Aw, it’s all good, I thought we were shooting here, cowboy.’
“There’s something else that Roman Reigns likes to say; this one stuck with me; he said, ‘everybody thinks they’re the guy until they meet the guy.’ So allow me to introduce myself, Roman Reigns, I’m not just Dusty’s son, I’m not ‘Dashing,’ I’m not ‘Dust,’ but I am your successor. I am the next head of the table. I am ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes, and I am the next Undisputed WWE Universal Champion!”
While Roman Reigns came out to address Rhodes, he opted against it, instead talking some trash on the crowd and asking his foe to “acknowledge me” before the cameras went off the air and the ring was rapidly transformed into the WWE Hall of Fame stage. Will either man's tactic prove superior? Only time will tell, but it sure feels like Rhodes' assertion that the tides are turning in WWE, and Rhodes is the man to lead that revolution.
Cody Rhodes comments on MJF's self-proclaimed interest in WWE.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani in the lead-up to his WrestleMania match, Rhodes was asked if his revolution could include none other than his AEW understudy MJF, who is not only the AEW World Champion, but a man who has been hinting at a return to the jumping ship to WWE for literally a year now. Unsurprisingly, Rhodes thinks MJF would fare incredibly well in WWE too, just like he has everywhere else in his career thus far.
“I think he could be a big star anywhere. He has all the tools because he's so young,” Rhodes said via Fightful. “He has all the tools to develop. You're not seeing his final form yet. His final form is probably ten years from now. That's who he is. That all depends on if he sticks to the good side of this and he doesn't lose his head, and his ego doesn't get too big, I'm talking about the man, not the character, and he still has a passion. Sometimes, your passion can wane. He's one of the most passionate people I've ever met. If he keeps the passion, sure. Adjustments-wise to come here, he's already doing it. He's put on some muscle. If you're going to develop and put on muscle, you have to here. If you don't, you're standing across from Drew McIntyre, and you're going to look like a clown because that guy is a monster. You have to. Sometimes it's in the presentation. It's okay if you have a little heel in your boot, you know what I'm saying? You have to do all those things, and that might be one thing he'd have to work on a little bit, is to make sure he's not considered small. I don't think he's small. If that happens for him, great. I don't know if it would.”
Wow, well, it's hard to argue with Rhodes when it comes to MJF, I mean, he is the guy who noticed a young kid in an MLW faction and decided to make him into a star. Would Rhode like to see MJF make the jump?
“If it makes him happy, I want him to be happy,” Rhodes said. “My career is my thing, I have a nice team of people around me, but it's mine. One thing I've noticed about him, his family is very involved in what he does. I think he's trying, as a young man, is becoming the patriarch of that. When that's the case, you have to take care of all your people and do right by them. If it makes him happy to be there, great. If it makes him happy to be here, he just needs to be happy.”
Rhodes-MJF II at WrestleMania 40? Book it, Trips.
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