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Cody Rhodes views WrestleMania 39 as ‘biggest chapter’ of his career

March 31, 2023

Cody Rhodes will compete against Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match at WrestleMania 39 this weekend.

Rhodes spoke with the Southern California News Group in the days leading up to the main event to share his thoughts on his return to WWE, his mindset ahead of the biggest match in his career and what tradition he would like to see restored.

Q: You made your intentions clear you wanted to compete for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship upon your return to the company. What are your thoughts now that you will have that opportunity in the main event at WrestleMania 39?

A: I’ve kind of entered a weird state of cruise control, where it may be good or it may be bad and maybe its a bit of both but what I mean is I’m very at harmony and peace with all that I’ve done and all that I know how to do heading into this and I’m trying to keep that balance and that peace but in all the same I don’t want to miss out on any of these moments like driving through West Hollywood and seeing Roman (Reigns) and I towering over Sunset Blvd or just the fans you encounter everywhere and all my peers and friends that have reached out and the very small amount of time to be around my family before I do all this. I’m trying to stay in the cruise control so I don’t get stressed but also trying to pop out here and there to have these revelatory moments of ‘this is big and special’ and ‘you may not be here again or you may be here again. Who knows but enjoy it.”

Q: Who has been someone that’s reached out to you with extra encouragement or support that’s really stuck out to you during this process?

A: I’ll share one and I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing … but I got a really nice message from (CEO of WWE) Nick Khan that I thought would just be a really nice message and then I listened to it further and it was a full-blown fiery almost college football coach level pep talk. It went from some standard pleasantries to a legit pep talk and I thought it was one of the coolest things to receive. I had to learn how to figure out how to save an audio note on my phone because I didn’t know how to do it. That was something that really made me feel good, I don’t want to feel alone because I’m still a little bit of an outsider here but they certainly don’t treat me like one and that was a nice moment.

Q: Why do you still have that feeling of being an outsider?

A: Well I think it’s one thing if you’re gone for a few months or a year and you come back and then you kind of yo-yo around and do it again, I’m not knocking that trajectory, but mine was different in the sense because it had been seven years (between stints with WWE) and we were pass the point of no return or at least I thought. We were passed the thought of ‘oh, I’m going back.’ Even the first meeting that I went to have (with WWE), it wasn’t about getting a job or contract. That first meeting was about having some closure and see some faces I haven’t seen in a while and I left that meeting strongly considering WrestleMania and then of course when I come back at WrestleMania (in 2022) it was like obvious to me and I even said it on RAW, ‘that you find your destiny on the path you take to avoid it.’ When I say “outsider,” I just don’t know everybody in the locker room. I’ve been doing a media tour with people I just haven’t done a media tour with before and I felt like I knew everybody here. So I just try to learn the team and there are a lot of unsung heroes that help make WrestleMania weekend happen. … I’m just trying to reconnect with them or connect with them for the first time because I say I’m an outsider but you also want to be the quarterback and lead the team so you have to know everybody and what they do.

Cody Rhodes, left, and Roman Reigns meet in the center of the ring during an episode of WWE Smackdown on March 3, 2023, in Washington. Rhodes and Reigns will be in the main event of WrestleMania 39 on Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Los Angeles. (WWE via AP)

Cody Rhodes makes his entrance during WrestleMania 38 in Arlington, Texas, on April 3, 2022. Rhodes will be part of the main event for WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 2, 2023, against Roman Reigns. (WWE via AP)

Cody Rhodes takes part in a match during a WWE premium live event in Rosemont, Illinois, on June 5, 2022. Rhodes participated in the match despite suffering a torn pectoral muscle that would sideline him for seven months. Rhodes will participate in the main event of WrestleMania 39 on April 2, 2023, in Los Angeles.(WWE via AP)

Cody Rhodes (left), Roman Reigns (middle) and Paul Heyman (right) stand in a WWE ring during an episode of RAW on March 20, 2023. Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39 at SoFi Stadium on April 2, 2023. (Photo courtesy of WWE)

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Q: You have an image of your weight belt on Twitter with a lot of different wrestling companies/promotions written on there, what is the story behind it?

A: Those are all the places I went to and all the places you will go (when not working for WWE). They were all massively important to the brand that WWE has invested in on the “American Nightmare” side of things, which is something that was built outside of (WWE). They’re amplifying it and absolutely giving it a platform that is bigger than any platform I’ve had before but it was developed out there on those shows and those are the promotions that are on the belt. That’s just an idea I had and I didn’t want to make it some big legal problem so I just put them on the inside of the belt. There’s a story for the outside of the belt as well. So much of my story has been about my family but the person that’s inside the ring for the main event and standing across from Roman Reigns is just me. I’m not bringing anybody else with me. (Reigns) can bring ‘The Bloodline’ and I’ll bring just me. That’s why the outside of the belt just says my name. I don’t think that’s ever been the case before. I was able to carry everyone else with me and remember who was getting in there and climbing those steps as well.

Q: Do you know how many are written on the belt?

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A: There’s a lot on there that the one photo didn’t show and I don’t know if I’ll show the full photo but it’s an extensive list. … We used a spreadsheet that had all of my bookings from my manager. We’ll have to get a count for you.

Q: What inspired the concept of wearing the weight belt and what does it mean?

A: (Hulk) Hogan was front and center with the long tights and the weight belt and he had a certain look to him, especially when he was doing ‘Hollywood’ Hogan, but him and Macho Man (Randy Savage) had a really great esthetic that I loved and I was discovering this at Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling. They had the cut off merch shirt, the tights and the boots and they had that belt there as well but it even goes further back as well to street fight clothing and bunkhouse gear with the bandana over your jeans and the weight belt. It was just like a ‘what’s old is new’ again. … I learned when I returned to WWE that the belt is part of the gear and the value of letting that be something to connect with the fans and give them. That’s been something we’re really expanded upon and not I can’t see myself having a match where I’m not giving one of my belts to a kid in the crowd. … There’s a fun rumor and a bit of a self high-five but there’s been this merchandising firestorm (with the weight belt) exceeding the “John Cena-level” and I’m blessed that something like that is happening.

Q: You also have a new shirt available that says “finish the story” and you’ve said that before on television, what does that phrase mean to you?

A: I might have tweeted it out, a lot of magic can come from Twitter occasionally but it was actually Michael Cole saying “finish the story” at the Royal Rumble and the way he said it and the exclamation point he put on it is where it became a thing and now it’s on the shirt and on everything and obviously it’s indicative to this journey with ‘how big is the story?’ and ‘is winning the title the story? Or ‘is being the champion the story?’

Q: WrestleMania is just a chapter in the story, right?

A: I would say yeah but it’s the largest chapter because we are talking about going back in 1977 with Dusty (Rhodes) in Madison Square Garden getting his hands on the WWWF championship at the time, which will become the title that (Reigns) has now, and not being able to take it home and be the champion. It’s the largest chapter perhaps in my story.

Q: Since your return, you’ve been able to share personal stories on television while working with guys like Paul Heyman and Kevin Owens and how they’ve been able to help you, what is it like to work with those guys?

A: Kevin is a big part of my career because in a sense, now that the world is a bit more privy to it, but when I decided to leave and was planning the exit (from WWE), Kevin was very helpful in helping me coordinate a road map (to sustain a career outside of WWE) and that’s something that isn’t lost on me … and without their being that prior knowledge from Kevin I wouldn’t have been able to do it. As far as Mr. Heyman goes, I think it’s always special to be in there when you have a legendary figure and there’s a little thing I don’t normally share with anybody but some fans have noticed that when I’m in there with a future hall of famer or a legendary guy, I wear a peacoat or a longer coat. As much as I like the history that Mr. Heyman has with my family and all that, that’s about the most amicable thing that’s happened with him and I is me being able to tell him that story about what he did. I don’t think he’s ever heard it from me or my perspective as the son of someone he helped with their livelihood and I think that’s all that needed to be done. It’s just one of those situations with him and I where I know we are going to Mania and it’s far more real than anyone can even think.

Q: As the Intercontinental Championship we saw you bring back that old-school design, is there any chance of the “Winged Eagle” design back if you win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship this weekend?

A: I know that I’m looking to leave WrestleMania as the champion for the first time and I know that I would do everything in my power to bring the Winged Eagle title back but I also know that with the Intercontinental Title, the original design took a lot of conversations and right now I definitely don’t want to jinx myself or put the cart before the horse by having conversations when I’m not champion and the current champion has held the belt for almost 1,000 days but I can say WWE has let me do whatever I want. That’s been amazing and I’m blessed for that. So when we get to this match and depending on how I leave it, hopefully, that tradition will continue when I ask to bring back what to me is the greatest-looking championship there ever was.

Q: How excited are you to participate in the Make-A-Wish event at Universal Studios this week and interact?

A: That’s the best part of the job. Any time you can take this modicum of fame that you get from sports entertainment and pro wrestling and you can help someone with it, that’s an absolutely beautiful thing and for me, I believe exactly what I’ll be doing is speaking with families and inviting them to WrestleMania. I can look at other things and say its really special but I bet you I leave this week thinking “that’s the most important thing I did” when you really put it all in perspective.

Orange County Register

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Cody Rhodes views WrestleMania 39 as ‘biggest chapter’ of his career

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