As if there isn't enough pressure on his shoulders, Cody Rhodes has officially been named the cover star for WWE 2K24, joining an elite company of Hall of Fame performers, current and future, like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Rey Mysterio, and John Cena.

On paper, it makes sense, right? Rhodes won the Royal Rumble, headlined WrestleMania 39, has been featured prominently on all of the promotion's Premium Live Events, and wrestled 113 matches for the promotion in 2023 alone, which is 41 more matches than his entire AEW run combined. Factor in his status as the promotion's top babyface, or at least one of the promotion's top babyfaces, and it's hard to find many Superstars who would have sold more copies of 2K than the “American Nightmare,” especially if he's featured prominently in the game's “story” mode.

Speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Rhodes did note, however, that he understands that there is an expiration on how far fans will follow him as he attempts to “finish the story” and even put an effective expiration date on how long he should stay behind his potentially never-ending tale of generational “Hard Times.”

“The most exciting element of ‘finishing the story' making it into 2K24 is that it's all happening in real-time,” said Rhodes. “I was just in a WrestleMania 39 ring basically replicating the saddest moment I've ever had in my career. In a wild way, it was also incredibly rewarding. I got to make the walk and main event a WrestleMania. Still, you have to win. That's the whole point. And that's what is happening in real-time,” Cody Rhodes told Sports Illustrated.

“WrestleMania 39, I don't want to say I shrunk under the lights, but it hit me harder than it hit Roman Reigns. Roman has been in those main events before. If anything, it motivated me further. It's not just about being in the main event. It's not about being happy to make the walk. You have to win.”

“If I haven't finished the story by WWE 2K25, don't bring me back for the commercial. Don't put me on the cover, don't put me anywhere near it. I won't deserve it. But it's fun that this is happening in real time, and we all get to experience it together.”

Goodness, could you even imagine Rhodes extending his “finish the story” campaign into 2025, when Roman Reigns would be flirting with a 1,700-day championship reign, which, somehow, would still trail Bruno Sammartino's record-setting run by roughly 1,100 days? No matter how well Paul “Triple H” Levesque books the rest of the card, that would be a tough sell for even the most hardcore fans. Fortunately, those same fans will at least be able to have their wish fulfillment in 2K, which, in a way, is why fans buy video games in the first place.

 

Cody Rhodes is proud of his spot as the face of 2K24.

Speaking of playing Cody Rhodes' story in 2K24, while there's no confirmation that there's a “finish the story” mode in the game, that doesn't mean the “American Nightmare” isn't incredibly excited about the opportunity, as this is just another feather in the cap of his incredible second run with WWE.

“I put it up there with winning the Royal Rumble, I put it up there with headlining WrestleMania 39. I want to go as far as I can go, and adding the 2K24 cover to that means a whole lot,” Cody Rhodes told Sports Illustrated.

“This run has been like an out-of-body experience. Every day, something's happening. Now it's being on the cover of the 2K24 game. That's out of body. So what does it feel like to be on the cover of WWE 2K24? I used to go to these arenas where I was lower or a mid-card guy. It's different now. The merchandise stands are all selling ‘American Nightmare' stuff. I always shoot for the moon, but you don't always make it. This time, I landed.

“Again, these are the type of things that you think about as a little kid dreaming about becoming a wrestler. You want to be at WrestleMania, you want to be on Monday Night RAW. This is a dream. That's what it feels like. I don't want it to end.”

Does Rhodes' status as a cover guy mean that WWE wants to finally give him the WWE Championship rub, with fans being afforded a chance to see the “American Nightmare” win the belt his father never could? Or is this simply smart marketing, as he's a very over babyface who has never been on the cover of 2K before? Either way, it's safe to say the target demo is going to buy it up, as to a lot of those fans, Rhodes is their guy.