Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes recently talked about his career trajectory following his monumental WrestleMania XL win over Roman Reigns, and revealed his future plans in the ring. Appearing on The Pivot Podcast, Rhodes discussed the Mount Rushmore of wrestling and his aspirations to secure his place among the industry’s legends.
Rhodes stated that after achieving significant milestones in his professional wrestling career, he looks up to industry icons like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and John Cena, comparing his “numbers and stats” with theirs to ensure he matches or even surpasses their achievements.
“There’s even like a post-WrestleMania blues psychology-wise, like what’s the next thing? So I always need a task; what’s my specific task? And that’s an area where I look to Steve Austin and I look to John Cena who are the lead dogs.
This is not me in my ego, I have this [the championship], so I’m currently in front of the pack, right?
Cody Rhodes on his career aspirations after WrestleMania XL win.
I’m the lead dog, as long as I have this. I want to make sure that my numbers — and it’s not the most emotional goal or anything — but I want to make sure my numbers and stats match theirs or supersede theirs because you can’t argue with that.”
After ‘Finishing The Story’ at WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes defended his title at Backlash France against AJ Styles and at King and Queen of the Ring against Logan Paul. On May 31, AJ Styles attacked Rhodes during what seemed like a retirement speech. Rhodes later defeated Styles in an “I Quit” match at Clash at the Castle, but was assaulted by The Bloodline afterward, with Randy Orton and Kevin Owens making the save.
On June 21, Rhodes faced Solo Sikoa in a match that ended in disqualification due to Bloodline interference, followed by the debut of Jacob Fatu. At Money in the Bank, The Bloodline (Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Fatu) defeated Rhodes, Orton, and Owens in a six-man tag match, with Rhodes being pinned by Sikoa.
The American Nightmare was recently featured in the Video announcing the return of WWE Bad Blood. Check out the details here.