When Adam Pearce ran into the middle of the ring on RAW to announce that Judgment Day, Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, and JD McDonagh, and the makeshift babyface set of Finn Balor, Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, and the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, would be participating in WarGames, it turned heads around the WWE Universe.
Sure, fans had to have a feeling that the announcement would be coming sooner than later, as Survivor Series is rapidly approaching at the United Center in Chicago, but goodness gracious, after being forced to miss the match last year, a concept his father created back in the day, it was pretty darn cool to see Rhodes officially get announced for the Second City main event.
Discussing the announcement on Gabby AF, Rhodes decided to commit a few minutes not to tearing his opponents down, there would be plenty of time to do that on RAW, but to instead put one of them, Damian Priest, over, as their history goes all the way back to their time together in Ring of Honor.
“Going into the match, I feel like I want to give credit, I know you referred to him as annoying, and there's love/hate, I want credit to Damian Priest. Not for anything he's done recently,” Cody Rhodes told Gabby AF via Fightful. “I want to give him credit because I wrestled him at Ring of Honor during the Ring of Honor renaissance that me and Matt and Nick, and we had Roland there, and he's a completely different individual. To me, that's a sign of a true pro is, are you better tomorrow than you were today? Fans aren't always the most patient, but then also they're the most loyal. So as long as you continue to improve, you can attach to them at some point. I feel like he has a very large future, not just because the briefcase is in hand, but just looking back at what he did with Bad Bunny at Backlash as well, I feel like he has a large future. Across from me, not gonna happen. But he's definitely a big player for WWE.”
Is the “American Nightmare” wise to pump up the self-proclaimed leader of the Judgement Day? Is this some sort of reverse psychology that will further challenge Priest? Only time will tell.
Cody Rhodes wants to see the Philadelphia Eagles #CompleteTheStory.
Article Continues BelowWhile Cody Rhodes has his attention firmly placed on completing his story and winning the WWE Championship belt his father never could, there are other stories he hopes to see finished in the not-too-distant future, including the Philadelphia Eagles, who saw their own story suffer an “American Nightmare”-esque defeat in the Super Bowl last year.
Discussing the NFL and WrestleMania 40‘s home at Lincoln Financial Field, Rhodes let it be known that, at least for the 2023-24 season, he wants to see Jalen Hurts, Jalen Carter, and company bring home the big one.
“What's happened is, my NFL loyalty is up for grabs, really is up for grabs. I'll tell you who, the team that's got it this year is the Philadelphia Eagles. Here's why. They're the Eagles, they're a great franchise, but I went to the media day for WrestleMania 40 at the stadium. These stadiums are, I mean, this is the prime location for a billions-of-dollars franchise, and to let me, ‘Oh yeah, you can walk on the field. Oh yeah, do your interview over there. We're so excited to have WrestleMania here. Do whatever you want.' The warmth in which they welcomed me, and then on the way out, gave me a full bag of stuff for my daughter, a jersey for me, it got me hook, line, and sinker. It's very fair-weather. I move quickly. I was with the Jags [Jacksonville Jaguars] a few seasons ago, I was all about Jags life, everything like that, hosting draft parties. But I'm hoping the Eagles have a great season, go to the Super Bowl, finish their story because they've been my team this year. I like a lot of NFL teams, but the Eagles got me this year.”
On paper, the Eagles winning the Super Bowl a few months before WrestleMania 40 really shouldn't be that big of a deal; the Rams didn't win the Super Bowl in 2023 ahead of WrestleMania 39, and Dallas certainly didn't accomplish the feat the year before, as they haven't won a Super Bowl since three years before Rhodes' brother Dustin debuted in WCW. Still, bringing that parade down Broad Street and then having WrestleMania cap that victory off a few more months into the future would be a pretty incredible experience for fans both in and of Philadelphia sports. Fly Eagles Fly, Cody.