SUMMARY
- 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was reportedly scheduled to appear for WrestleMania 40 main event between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns.
- Recently, Cody Rhodes opened up on the issue and shared his thoughts on Austin not being at WrestleMania 40.
Cody Rhodes did the unthinkable at WrestleMania 40. He defeated Roman Reigns and ended his 1316-day reign as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. With that, The American Nightmare became the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion of the Stamford-based promotion. With that, Cody Rhodes recently appeared for an interview with Sports Illustrated.
During that, he talked about Stone Cold Steve Austin. In that regard, it is worth mentioning that previously there were rumours that Stone Cold would make an appearance during Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns’ match at WrestleMania 40. However, that did not happen; instead, John Cena, The Rock, and The Undertaker made an appearance during their match.
Meanwhile, Cody talked about Steve Austin. He said, “I’ll say this I know a lot of people talked about Stone Cold Steve Austin, him being there and him not being there and stories and all that.” The American Nightmare then revealed that he has nothing but love for Austin. He then called Stone Cold the most profitable and unbelievable wrestler of his time.
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Rhodes added, “So nothing but love for the Texas Rattlesnake.” Thus, it seems the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion didn’t get offended about Stone Cold’s absence at the Grandest Stage of Them All.
Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that, according to reports, Stone Cold’s appearance was indeed planned for the WrestleMania 40 main event, but due to the lack of a financial agreement between him and WWE, The Undertaker took his place. However, the main event turned out to be a blockbuster and was thoroughly enjoyed by the fans.
Cody Rhodes complimented Bobby Roode and Michael Hayes for their creative input
During his interview with Sports Illustrated, Cody Rhodes showered praise on Stone Cold Steve Austin. Meanwhile, The American Nightmare also complimented Bobby Roode and Michael Hayes for their creative input, which led to the WrestleMania 40 match between Cody and Roman.
Rhodes said, “I’ll tell you two guys who are equally important to that match and just the overall everything, the build as people love to say now to WrestleMania.” He then revealed that the two guys are Bobby Roode and the Free Bird, Michael Hayes.
Cody mentioned that Bobby and Hayes did an incredible job. Thus, it seems the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion expressed his gratitude towards the two WWE personalities. Also, it is to be seen if any of them will have anything to say about the match going forward.
Cody Rhodes opened up about the people who had input into the WrestleMania 40 main event
During the interview, Cody Rhodes was asked, “How many people had an input into the match?” With that, The American Nightmare opened up about the people who had input into the main event. He said, “I would say literally millions of people because millions of people created the match in the first place.”
Rhodes further added that the match wasn’t going to happen, but it was brought back for the fans. Cody said, “This was something that was about like oh I wonder if Cody will finally have some allies on his side. What about these other victims of the bloodline, all of that.”
WWE reportedly changed WrestleMania 40 main event plans after fan backlash. According to SEScoops, the original plan saw Reigns vs The Rock but following the online reaction, The Rock conceded it should be Roman vs Cody instead.
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He added that, according to him, it was a collaborative and unbelievable moment provided by the fans. Rhodes further talked about Triple H and said that the Chief Content Officer of WWE had millions of consultants, and he knew what they wanted to see.
Thus, as per Cody, “millions of people” had an input into the match. Henceforth, it seems that though Rhodes did not answer the question directly, he answered it in favour of his beloved fans. With that, it now remains to be seen what lies ahead for the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion in the largest wrestling promotion in the world.