While that moment would be special, Cody is focused on what’s currently in front of him.
If Roman Reigns defeats Sami Zayn at the forthcoming Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event, next up on the docket is his WrestleMania 39 match against Cody Rhodes with the Undisputed WWE Universal Title on the line.
On the 2/6 Monday Night Raw, Rhodes was approached by Paul Heyman, who appeared on the show to put Rhodes on notice. Ahead of that show, Rhodes made the media rounds and sat down with Alex McCarthy of Inside The Ropes.
He was asked about the idea of AEW’s Dustin Rhodes being at WrestleMania 39 to celebrate a potential title win. Cody says it would be special and would take some people getting along for that to happen but right now, Rhodes is focused on the immediate future. He joked that himself and Dustin are on the same page about never teaming again.
Dustin (Rhodes) and I have a very unique relationship. Very unique. It’s almost like we’re at our optimum, at our peak as brothers when we’re together in the ring. I think we’ve both settled on the idea that, A, we never wanna tag team with each other ever again because as much fun as we had, we were at each other’s throats. We’re at a point where I love my brother so much and as I get closer to this, I think about him every day, I really do and that would be special, it would. It would take some people getting along to agree but, that also is very cart before horse because currently, what stands in front of me and I mean, there’s no hyperbole in what I say, is Roman Reigns. That’s currently what stands in front of me. As he refers to himself, of God tier. Buddy, this guy is the best of the best in terms of strength, in terms of conditioning. I mean 800-something days, can’t be argued. If you’re making a list and he (isn’t) number one, your list ain’t real. Can’t be argued and I’m not thinking about any type of victory lap or celebration other than I’m thinking about making sure I don’t get hit square in the mouth with a Superman Punch.
Leading up to Cody’s return at the 2023 men’s Royal Rumble, there were a series of vignettes that aired to hype his comeback.
He stated that those video packages were Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque’s idea and went on to shoutout specific members of WWE’s production team who helped put those videos together.
Obviously, I’m not in charge of anything here. I’m a man on the roster and I wanna be the top man but in the case of the video packages, the vignettes and the build up (to my return), that was, and I think it’s an okay thing to share, that was Triple H’s idea and the team around him. WWE is always super anonymous in terms of the team but I have to shout out Colleen (Pucherelli), J.B. (Jeremy Borash), Adam Panucci, Ben Williams, these guys who put these videos together because this is — my situation is unique in a sense that I do not play a character. I don’t even think I’m one of those turned up to 11. I am me, always and that’s a little scary, that’s intimidating if you’re saying, ‘He’s coming back at the Royal Rumble.’ ‘I’m coming back at the Royal Rumble and everybody needs to get off the mountain’ or whatever it is that I said. Really, you’re putting yourself in a situation where you best deliver and I thought that they covered my journey in such a real way. It’s hard to just look at videos of yourself and be anything but a huge critic. I’m very critical of my things but I loved what they did. I do love there was a parallel, as we all know, ‘Beautiful Day’ and I got to have — The Score did such a good job with ‘Born for This’ and it’s a fun package, plus Pharaoh got to be in the video. He’s always at the gym anyways. Sometimes, and this is more just in general, I think sometimes it’s nice as a wrestler, as a superstar competitor, to call your shot. But it’s also risky when you call your shot. Joe Namath called his shot, Babe Ruth, they called their shot. I’m not saying I’m those individuals but again, in our world, Triple H called his shot and it’s very important to me to keep your word with the fans, especially now. It’s just as I’ve gotten older, keeping your word and I felt like I kept my word. I showed up in the best shape of my freaking life and I was able to get it done.
As of this writing, the following matches are official for WrestleMania 39:
- Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) or Sami Zayn vs. Cody Rhodes
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
- Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. TBD
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Inside The Ropes with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
