When Cody Rhodes lost his match against Roman Reigns in the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 39, the third toll of the bell marked the start of a years-long process to get back to the very same spot at WrestleMania 40.
Suddenly, all of that hard work getting back from a torn pec at Hell in a Cell, from winning the Royal Rumble to cutting about a dozen top-tier promos, was for not, as the only thing Rhodes came home with at the culmination of the show in Inglewood was a rubber chicken and some hurt feelings, assuming he decided to keep the rubber chicken.
Discussing his series of accomplishments, from winning a series against Brock Lesnar, to his individual programs with Judgment Day and Shinsuke Nakamura, in an interview with CBS Sports' Shakiel Mahjouri, Rhodes admits that he's accomplished a lot as a member of the WWE Universe, but none of that matters if he doesn't win the big one.
“I guess I wouldn’t to… I feel like I don’t look at it from that perspective in terms of what would happen if I didn’t get to the finish line because, ultimately, that’s a failure,” Cody Rhodes told CBS Sports via Fightful. “It would be a failed year, and I’d hope that that doesn’t come to pass. You can never call it. You mention there being doubt in people’s minds about will it happen, what could potentially happen. Doubt is a beautiful thing, and for people to take the ride with you. I doubted that Daniel Bryan could survive a match with Triple H, and then survive a triple threat match and get out of WrestleMania 30 how he did, but it was a marvelous moment. I don’t mind doubts at all. I just, myself, can’t have any in regard to everything else that’s going on. I have to be straight and narrow as far as where I’d like to go, how I’d like to get there.”
Asked if he needs to #FinishTheStory at WrestleMania 40, Rhodes was taken aback, noting that while the moment doesn't have to happen at the “Showcase of the Immortals,” he doesn't think anyone will step in the way of his ultimate goal.
“That’s a really great question. I feel like it could happen before. It could happen after. But I think it’s all the sweeter if it was to happen at WrestleMania,” Rhodes noted. “Last year was about the title, the championship itself, and then the way the match unfolded and being this close to the moment, that made it now a far more personal situation. So I’d love it to be at WrestleMania, no doubt. You never know with WWE, the flow here is quite wild. But I think the story that has been told throughout my whole career, the story that’s been told since the late 70s with my father and the WWWF Championship; I don’t think anyone is looking to step in and hinder that in any way, just because it’s been the story we’ve had and it’s been a real story, and when it’s real, it’s the best.”
While Cody Rhodes does have history at his back, with a desire to win the belt his father never could spanning his entire life, it would be incredibly naive to say that no one wants to hinder his pursuit of the title, as based on the past few weeks, it looks like there are about a half dozen worthy contenders, from CM Punk to Drew McIntyre, Gunther, and all three challengers in the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Fatal Fourway at the Royal Rumble, who want nothing more than to leave the “American Nightmare” in the dust on their way to the pay window. If Rhodes is going to complete his story, the final chapter may have to be written in blood.
Cody Rhodes is proud of his work with Bullet Club and The Elite.
Elsewhere in his conversation with CBS Sports, Cody Rhodes was asked about his run on the indies, specifically working alongside the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega in the Bullet Club and The Elite.
Despite having clearly moved on from his spot alongside Nicholas, Matthew, and Omega in AEW, Rhodes is still incredibly proud of his efforts alongside the trio, as they truly changed the shape of professional wrestling forever.
“I think as I grow old I’ll probably wax poetic and grow even fonder of the things I was able to be a part of. The people I was able to team with. When we were a group, the Bullet Club, The Elite, the idea was to change the world,” Cody Rhodes told CBS Sports via Wrestling Headlines. “We really did actually change, at least, our world. It’s so healthy now. I think all of us are careful to talk about it because nobody wants to look like they’re saying, ‘Oh hey, it was all me.’ But the reality is I can name about eight people. If one of them wasn’t there it wouldn’t have happened. An alternative wouldn’t exist. It wouldn’t have springboarded me into this position I am in now. All of these factors — and the biggest factor being the fans themselves. I just hope people remember it. I joke about it with Matt and Nick all the time. Selfishly, you want more people to remember it was something we did. I’m just happy to see an industry I grew up watching through the good times and the bad times is now as popular as it ever was.”
As Rhodes explained in his promo war with CM Punk, he played a major role in revolutionizing professional wrestling during his time away from WWE, running the then-biggest non-WWE show in America since WCW went out of business at All In, popularizing the Bullet Club to a degree previously unimaginable in the US, and starting the first challenger to WWE in 20 years, AEW, which is still going strong today. Even if he chose to return to WWE in the pursuit of the legacy Championship, his place in wrestling history will be just as important for what he did away from the promotion as what he did inside a RAW or SmackDown ring.
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