SUMMARY
- Cody Rhodes finally finished his story at WrestleMania 40.
- The American Nightmare defeated Roman Reigns to become the new Undisputed WWE Champion.
Cody Rhodes finally did what he and his family always wished for as The American Nightmare eventually finished his story at WrestleMania 40. Winning the main event of The Show of Shows, the fan-favorite star won the Undisputed Universal Championship by dethroning Roman Reigns from his historic title run.
The American Nightmare won the title at The Show of Shows, but even booking his spot in the main event wasn’t easy for him. In fact, his spot in the match was taken by The Rock when he interrupted a SmackDown segment between Rhodes and The Head of the Table. This led to a lot of backlash from the audience, and it led to a lot of heat against Dwayne.
But after a lot of efforts, Cody Rhodes was able to get his spot back and eventually win the title, and it was like a full-circle moment for the fan-favorite performer. The reason behind this is that back in 2013, the second-generation star had an interaction with The People’s Champion, and Cody made a bold prediction about the future at that time, and it has turned into reality now.
As the former Intercontinental Champion has now officially paved his way to the top, the video of his vintage humiliating moment with The Rock has resurfaced on the internet. In fact, pro wrestling enthusiasts have been hailing The American Nightmare for making his comments from that promo a reality through his dedication towards wrestling.
It must be noted that Rhodes was able to come out victorious from WrestleMania XL, but it wasn’t an easy task, as he had to face numerous challenges on the path. From The Bloodline to Dwayne Johnson, everyone was there to support The Tribal Chief, but even Cody wasn’t alone. WWE stars like Jey Uso, Seth Rollins, John Cena, and The Undertaker were there to back him, and it helped him finally make his place at the top of the whole division.
What actually happened when Cody Rhodes and The Rock met in 2013?
Cody Rhodes and The Rock’s interaction from the 2010s has been going viral, and it has become a trending topic of discussion. Despite all the attention it has grabbed, a lot of people are still unaware of what actually happened when The American Nightmare and Dwayne met each other in a WWE ring in 2013.
Their interaction took place on the February 18, 2013, episode of RAW, as The People’s Champion was on a roll in his comeback run in the Stamford-based promotion. During the red brand’s show, Johnson was in the ring to reveal the new World title belt, which wasn’t an ordinary one. It had a different center plate and had removable as well as customizable side plates, and fans loved it.
But in the middle of all this, Cody decided to interrupt and stated that he wanted to take a look at the latest design of the belt. The American Nightmare took the opportunity and also said, “I wanna take a look at the title. That, for the next 13 years, won’t be synonymous with The Rock. It will be synonymous with Cody Rhodes.”
This is one of the most insane full circle moments of all time with The Rock & Cody Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes knew he was the one.
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) April 9, 2024
Even though Rhodes wasn’t that big of a star at that time, he is today, but despite this aspect, this statement by Rhodes received a thunderous pop from the live crowd. His career in the company didn’t go that well in the next few years, and Cody left the organization to go into the independent circuit and make a name for himself.
Not just this, he then played a major role in creating All Elite Wrestling and turned his career to new heights. After leaving Tony Khan’s company in 2022, he made his return to the Stamford-based promotion at WrestleMania 38 against Seth Rollins. Since then, Cody hasn’t looked back and has main evented two WrestleManias against The Tribal Chief.
In fact, he has now finished the story and is enjoying his time at the top of the company. Looking back at those comments from 2013, it’s safe to say that Cody Rhodes’ career as a WWE performer has come full circle. With this, he’s looking set to rule the professional wrestling world, especially the Triple H-led promotion for years to come.
Vince McMahon and Triple H didn’t believe in Cody Rhodes during his first WWE run
Cody Rhodes is now the face of WWE, but it wasn’t always this way, as Vince McMahon and Triple H didn’t believe in Cody during his first run with the company. After Rhodes left the Stamford-based promotion in 2016 to go on a new journey, he revealed that he wasn’t able to make them confident about his abilities despite trying his best to do so.
The American Nightmare revealed how winning a WWE Championship has always been his dream because his father wasn’t able to win it during his legendary career. The fan-favorite star said, “For a decade I tried to convince both Vince and HHH that I could be their star player, their varsity quarterback if you will, but it seems we have reached the point where neither saw that in me.”
With that, he made it clear that he could not convince either Vincent or The Game that he could be a top performer for the organization. In addition to this, he also added how he made continuous efforts to pitch his ideas to various writers, but nothing really worked, and he finally had to leave the Stamford-based promotion.
The decision to take an exit from the company turned out to be a masterstroke for Cody Rhodes, as he was able to become a top name in the industry by performing across the world. All this eventually opened the path for his return to the Triple H-led promotion, and that too as a potential main event superstar in WWE.
In fact, Hunter and Mr. McMahon also acknowledged Cody’s achievements outside of their company and gave him a grand welcome. Talking about his first interaction with Kennedy after his return, Rhodes shared how the veteran reacted to his comeback. The American Nightmare said that he had absolutely no sort of fear, and he just walked in and leaned over the former CEO’s shoulder.
Vince also liked this gesture, and he asked Cody about his family. Likewise, the fan-favorite star’s relationship with Paul Levesque has also been a great one ever since Rhodes returned to the company. It’s true that Vince McMahon is no longer a part of the organization, but The Game being the leader is a positive thing for the second-generation star.
With The American Nightmare’s victory at WrestleMania XL, the company has now entered a brand new era. In fact, with Triple H being the one who has been carrying the organization exceptionally well, it remains to be seen how well this duo of Cody Rhodes and Hunter can do for the growth of the Stamford-based promotion. Moreover, it’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for Cody’s run with the Undisputed WWE Championship.