Cody Rhodes says having his mom in his corner for his WrestleMania 40 victory was the ultimate highlight for him.

The Undisputed WWE Champion appeared on the most recent episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He was there to promote his upcoming Saturday Night’s Main Event match against Kevin Owens. Rhodes discussed things such as the new WWE management, being the quarterback of the company, and more.

Fallon brought up a picture of Cody celebrating his WrestleMania victory with his mother and asked him about the significance of the moment. The American Nightmare recounted the story of his dad Dusty Rhodes briefly holding the belt in 1978 and said that he was blessed to share the win with his mother:

“Oh, my gosh, you got me. This title, long ago, 1978, just down the road, Madison Square Garden. My dad came up here and he wrestled “Superstar” Billy Graham. He won the match, but because of the nature of pro wrestling, sports entertainment, it was a count-out. He didn’t get to leave with this.

So at eight years old, you know, not totally understanding the suspension of disbelief in terms of what we do, what is, what isn’t, I just wanted it. It took me quite some time.

By the time I got it…I mean, here she is. She’s this lovely, but I would say mean little Cuban lady. Who’s very, who’s rather….couldn’t ask for a better mom, but not easily impressed. So this was the ultimate highlight for me. She raised a wrestler. She was married to a wrestler. She doesn’t have boots and tights, but she’s a wrestler herself. I was blessed that I could share that with her.”

• Cody Rhodes Explains Why Pharaoh Is Not Worried About Larry’s Increasing Merch Sales

This Is It: Cody Rhodes

When asked about remembering all these details as an 8-year-old, Cody Rhodes revealed that Dusty had the picture of him holding the title framed in his house. This is how the former AEW star knew that the championship meant a lot to his father:

“They had a picture frame. That’s how I knew it meant something to my dad, because he had done so many things. They had a picture frame with him holding it.

I remember asking him, like, ‘I didn’t know you were a WWE champion?’ And he explained to me that he didn’t leave with the title that night. That was the big, eight years old, ‘This is it. That’s my goal. That’s it.’ And it just took me a while, you know? Slow learner.”

• Cody Rhodes Hints at The Rock’s Role at WrestleMania 41

At WrestleMania 40, LA Knight made his debut at wrestling’s biggest event and earned a victory over fellow veteran AJ Styles. While it’s the dream of countless wrestlers to compete at the Showcase of the Immortals, let alone emerge victorious, this match was not a huge deal to the current United States Champion.

While speaking to Mean Jean on 105.1 The Bounce to promote WrestleMania 41, Knight spoke about the match, and why it wasn’t as big a deal as fans may think.

“I would love to tell you yes, and it was all my childhood dreams come true… but really at the time it was just kind of a business as usual. I’m coming in, I’m gonna go in and I’m gonna do my work.”

While Knight was somewhat underwhelmed at what he called “just another night at the office,” the show did have a profound impact on his mother.

“My mom, not historically a big wrestling or WWE fan, but after going to WrestleMania now, she’s like, oh, my God, it’s all I can think about. It was so fun, and this person showed up, and Snoop Dogg showed up, and all this stuff and everything. So, like… new fans were made that night.”

These days, Knight can be found defending the United States title and will put the gold on the line at WWE Crown Jewel against Andrade and Carmelo Hayes. Stay tuned to SEScoops for all the latest on LA Knight, as fans can expect many more WrestleManias to come for WWE’s resident Megastar.

Karrion Kross has revealed that he had many crazy ideas for his WrestleMania 40 street fight which ended up getting shot down by creative.

The former NXT Champion recently had an interview with Chris Van Vliet. He talked about things such as where he takes inspiration for his character, doing a Jesse Ventura impression in front of the Hall of Famer himself and more.

When the topic of his Philadelphia Street Fight at the Shows of Shows this year came up, Kross revealed that he wanted to pay tribute to ECW with his bout:

“I had a list of insane weapons that I wish got approved for that match. It was Philly, I was in love with ECW, Heyman got inducted into the Hall of Fame. I had all kinds of crazy stuff.”

• Karrion Kross: “I’m Here To Kill The Old To Make Way For The New

That Would Have Been Great: Karrion Kross

Karrion Kross had all kind of out of the box ideas for things he could have brought out as a weapon, including the head of Al Snow:

“One of the weapons on the list was Al Snow’s head. I would have loved to have hit Snoop Dogg right in the head with head. That would have been my move. I would have done a flying tope out of the ring flying at Snoop Dogg over the table to hit him. That would have been great.”

The WWE star revealed that Bobby Lashley was right there with him in trying to make the match as big as possible. The former WWE champion had even pitched spots where Kross would powerbomb him from the ring through a table set up outside.

Karrion Kross led The Final Testament in a match against Bobby Lashley’s The Pride at WrestleMania 40. Bubba Ray Dudley was the special guest referee for the bout but they ended up getting only 8 minutes for this match.

• Karrion Kross Shares Violent Vision for WWE’s Next Championship

WrestleMania XL was a massive night for the company, and now gamers can relive the card however they like on WWE 2K24.

The new WrestleMania 40 arena dropped for the upcoming DLC content on WWE 2K24. The new model for Lincoln Financial Field will be available on June 5.

WWE Games’ official Twitter/X account revealed the new playable venue, and the reception from fans has already been very positive. Many of them can’t wait to get inside the stadium and create their own WrestleMania moments.

WELCOME TO WRESTLEMANIA!!!! 🔜 6/5 #WWE2K24 pic.twitter.com/KLq7DHtM3n

— #WWE2K25 (@WWEgames) June 3, 2024

Community Creations

This official update from WWE 2K24 is awesome, but the creator community has also been going in overdrive. We invite you to check out the first of our weekly feature highlighting the incredibly talented people who are making custom content for the new 2K game.

Future DLC Packs

Here’s a look at future WWE 2K24 DLC packs:

• June 26: DLC Pack #2 (“Post Malone & Friends Pack) includes Post Malone, Sensational Sherri, Mosh, Thrasher, Honky Tonk Man, and a Jimmy Hart Manager, along with MyFACTION Superstar Cards.
• July 24: DLC Pack #3 (“Pat McAfee Show Pack) features Pat McAfee, Ty Schmit, Boston Connor, AJ Hawk, Darius Butler, and additional MyFACTION Superstar Cards.
• September 20: DLC Pack #4 (“Global Superstars Pack”) includes Jade Cargill, Nia Jax, Michelle McCool, Carlito, Kairi Sane, Lyra Valkyria, Dragon Lee, and MyFACTION Superstar Cards.
• November 13: DLC Pack #5 (“WCW Pack”) features Diamond Dallas Page, Iron Sheik, Mr. Perfect, Great Muta, Lex Luger, and MyFACTION Superstar Cards.

WWE 2K24 Reception

The standard edition of WWE 2K24 features Cody Rhodes on the cover. The special edition marks a milestone with Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair, the first time female wrestlers have shared the cover. Initially, the “40 Years of WrestleMania” special cover included Brock Lesnar, but he was later removed.

The game is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Critics have praised WWE 2K24 for its significant improvements and refinements over previous versions.

It received scores of 8/10 from IGN and GameSpot, and an 81% on Metacritic. Users have rated it 3.7 based on 316 reviews. We rated the game an 8.5/10 in our exclusive review:

Some of the very top names in WWE were adamantly against the notion that The Rock would win the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania, it has been claimed. 

On the post-Royal Rumble edition of SmackDown, Cody Rhodes teased that he would not be facing Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. This was in spite of the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble winner making clear just days earlier that he intended to challenge the Tribal Chief. Rhodes’ segment on SmackDown also saw The Rock return and strongly suggested that he’d be facing his cousin in Philadelphia. 

• Cody Rhodes: ‘WWE Told Me Of The Rock Vs. Roman Reigns The Day I Won the Royal Rumble’

Against The Rock’s Title Win

For a handful of days after this segment, it appeared that The Rock would face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania while Cody Rhodes would challenge then-World Heavyweight Champion Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins. Even if Rock-Reigns had taken place, it’s unlikely that the Final Boss would’ve been the one to end Reigns’ historic title reign. 

Some of the top names in WWE rejected the idea of The Rock being the one to end the four-year title reign of the Head of the Table, Dave Meltzer reports. WWE’s Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque and Roman Reigns himself were said to be against the idea of The Rock winning. It’s not stated why they were against the idea but it’s possible that they believed having a part-timer ended Reigns’ run as champion would have been poorly received by fans. 

What’s Next? 

With the might of the ‘We Want Cody’ movement, Rhodes was reinserted into the title picture and captured the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40. On the post-WrestleMania Raw, The Rock vowed to return to WWE and confront Rhodes once he is done shooting his latest movie The Smashing Machine. 

The Undertaker moved at a cat-like pace to ensure his spot at WrestleMania 40 went off without a hitch, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes has revealed. 

In the emotional main event of WrestleMania 40: Sunday, Rhodes ended the 1,316-day run of Roman Reigns, who has not been seen since the event. Both men had help with The Undertaker appearing to chokeslam The Rock after the Final Boss tried to assist his cousin. 

Though not decked in his usual Undertaker regalia, the WWE Hall of Famer did appear in the ring in an instant when the lights went dark. On the Babyfaces podcast, Rhodes shared some new information about the Phenom’s infamous appearance. 

“When the blackout happens in the arena, your eyes are adjusted to where you actually can see kind of what’s going on in the ring… I saw out of the corner of my eye, The Undertaker roll in the ring at a speed that was like a Ricochet would roll in the ring. A Chad Gable would roll in the ring. 

“A speed that if anyone’s wondering, ‘Oh, I wonder if it’s still there.’ Oh my gosh. It was like a lion, legit like watching a lion who’d been sleeping on the rock all day and then he just went out and did it.”

Rhodes then recalled a ‘moment’ that he likes to believe he shared with his fellow WWE World Champion

“When he chokeslams The Rock, I got to make eye contact with him ever so briefly. And I think he maybe wanted to have a moment, maybe not. I could be overestimating my importance to The Undertaker here, but he winked at me. He winked at me and then the lights went out.”

With the Phenom clearing the field, Rhodes was able to defeat Reigns and finally ‘finish the story.’ He has since retained against AJ Styles at WWE Backlash France. His next title defense will come against Logan Paul at WWE King And Queen Of The Ring. 

Cody Rhodes made history by winning the Royal Rumble for a second consecutive year back in January. However, what should have been a monumental day had a dark cloud looming over it that we’re just now learning about.

During a Monday appearance on Busted Open Radio, Rhodes reveals that he learned about The Rock interjecting himself into the road to WrestleMania just hours before punching his ticket to Philadelphia.

“I found out the possibility of the Rock versus Roman Reigns the day of the Royal Rumble, and I had to leave that room, head up and make sure no one knew what could possibly happen and probably on one of the more difficult days I’ve ever had in the wrestling business. But also, how can you complain when you’re winning the Royal Rumble, when you’re pointing at the sign, when over 20,000 people in Tampa? It was such a high, such a low.”

Rhodes’ victory in the 30-man match made him the fourth Superstar in history to win back-to-back Rumbles. After the match, he wasted no time in making clear that he planned on challenging Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. However, WWE and The Rock and other plans. 

Despite literally pointing at Reigns as his desired WrestleMania opponent, things were much different on the post-Royal Rumble edition of WWE SmackDown. Rhodes handed over his WrestleMania main event to The Rock in a now-infamous segment that ignited the ‘We Want Cody’ movement. Had it not been for that movement, Cody may not have finished his story at WrestleMania. As it turns out, that movement was totally organic and WWE really did want to go with Rock vs. Reigns at WrestleMania.

In the end, the Great One aligned with the Tribal Chief, joined The Bloodline, evolved into the Final Boss and took the fans on a ride that will be talked about for a long time. Rhodes dethroned Reigns at WrestleMania, is the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion and an eventual match with The Rock is expected.

Here’s Cody Rhodes’ full appearance on Busted Open Radio:

Gunther isn’t sure if a Brock Lesnar match is in the cards for him anymore.

There were strong rumors before WrestleMania 40 that The Ring General was on his way to face The Beast Incarnate in a big showdown at the Grandest Stage of Them All. The company had planned to build this rivalry up starting at the 2024 Royal Rumble.

All plans for the former Universal Champion, however, were scrapped by the creative team when Lesnar was linked to the Vince McMahon sex trafficking lawsuit.

The former IC Champion addressed the rumors about his planned match with Lesnar at WrestleMania in an interview with DailyMail. Gunther claimed that he also heard something about it:

The Ring General explained that he has always been presented as the final boss in different phases of his WWE career, whether it be his run as the UK Champion or the most recent IC title reign. Brock Lesnar similarly was the final boss of the whole WWE for a long time. To reach the position the former UFC champion was in, the Austrian star has to get in the ring with him.

I’m More Than Up For It: Gunther

Gunther also discussed the potential of a future showdown between the two. He noted that he is not informed about the current status of Brock with the company, but he is more than ready for something like that if it comes his way:

“We’ll see if there’s a chance for it to happen again. I’m more than up for it. How the situation is exactly right now, I’m really not that informed about it, to be honest. I think we had that one face off in the Royal Rumble, the reaction that was there and that was a confirmation for me.”

Triple H confirmed during the post-WrestleMania 40 press conference that Brock Lesnar was not done with the company and was just resting at home.

Considering the gravity of the accusations against Vince McMahon, it’s very much possible that we may never see Brock Lesnar on WWE TV again if he gets implicated in the proceedings of the case in any way.

Though the company is certainly keeping their options open by not completely cutting ties with Brock the same way they have done with the former chairman of the boards. So there is a distinct possibility that he could return to act as ‘The Final Boss’ for Gunther down the line.

Jey Uso knows that his WrestleMania 40 match with brother Jimmy Uso didn’t live up to the expectations and he believes that time constraints were the reason for it.

The Raw star recently had an interview with DailyMail where he opened up about things such as splitting up with his twin brother, choosing his ring gear, and more.

The former tag champion was then asked for his thoughts on how the match between the two brothers played out. Jey explained that getting a singles WrestleMania match against his brother was still surreal but he did feel like the bout failed to live up to the expectations:

“To be honest, it was still a dream match, just me and my brother. I kind of felt I kind of let the people down, though. It was all due to timing issues, so our match was fairly quick. Sometimes you’ve just got to roll with it. It is what it is. “

Uso said that the positive side of it is that they were able to check that box off. The former Bloodline member claimed that he isn’t mad at the other matches and he is just glad that he and his brother got a WrestleMania moment.

There Might Be Another Time For It: Jey Uso

Prior to the bout, WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi had talked about potentially getting involved in the fight between his sons in some capacity.

When asked about it, Jey Uso said that he always wanted his dad to be involved in some way whether it be in the match itself or the storyline leading up to it:

“Hell yeah, I always wanted my dad involved, whether it be a referee… I just don’t think my dad could have kept up, just getting up and down, because referees, they’re doing like, push up burpees the whole match too, they’re getting a great workout. Maybe like a go home promo, just some kind of cool promo segment. There might be another time for it.”

Jey also talked about his increased popularity since leaving the Bloodline and his unique entrance that has been garnering attention from not only fans but the WWE officials as well. You can check out the future plans for his entrance here.

Cody Rhodes has reached new heights after defeating Roman Reigns to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at WrestleMania 40. The year-long story finally ended after Rhodes overcame the odds to end the title reign of ‘The Tribal Chief.’ In the aftermath of his career achievement, Rhodes shared great advice that JBL had given him about being a champion. 

In an interview with Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg and Stat Guy Greg, Rhodes revealed that JBL spoke to him after his title win at the ‘Grandest Stage Of Them All’ and what it meant to him. 

“He said, try not at this point to focus on any numbers, because you’ve already broken every record that matters. And I thought, oh, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear at the time. It was just from a guy who’s not a soft man, not an easy guy to get to get that type of love. So much love for the Cowboy, former WWE champion himself, John Bradshaw Layfield,” said Rhodes.

Although JBL advised Rhodes not to focus on numbers, the champion is motivated to be WWE’s most profitable superstar. In the same interview, he shared that he aims to surpass other greats like Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena. While Rhodes’s new goal is very ambitious, he has to remain focused on his next challenger, AJ Styles. 

Preview Of Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles At WWE Backlash

Rhodes will have his first title defense against Styles at WWE Backlash. The event will occur at the LDLC Arena in Lyon-Décines, France. At this time, Rhodes and Styles are expected to be the main event of the PLE. 

Styles earned his title opportunity after defeating LA Knight on the April 19 episode of WWE Friday Night Smackdown. The matchup will also be the first time Rhodes and Styles have competed against each other. 

‘The American Nightmare’ is coming into his first title defense with confidence after dethroning Reigns at WrestleMania 40. However, he can’t take Styles lightly as the challenger will try to push Rhodes to his limit to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. 

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes’s year is off to a great start after defeating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. He finally earned a victory over ‘The Tribal Chief’ to win the title that eluded his family successfully. What made the win more remarkable was that he overcame many odds, including Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s interference in the match. 

‘The Rock’ became involved in the feud after Rhodes backtracked his offer for Johnson to face Reigns at WrestleMania 40. This led to the Hollywood megastar siding with his ‘The Tribal Chief’ and joining The Bloodline(Reigns, Solo Sikoa & Jimmy Uso). Rhodes’s issues with Johnson also took a violent turn before ‘The Grandest Stage Of Them All’ when ‘The Final Boss’ savagely assaulted Rhodes to make him bleed.

Despite being disadvantaged, ‘The American Nightmare’ landed his signature Cross Rhodes finisher to best reigns to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. 

Cody Rhodes On His Relationship With Dwayne Johnson 

Rhodes spoke about his victory in a recent interview on the Cheap Heat Podcast with Peter Rosenberg and Stat Guy Greg. When Rosenberg asked Rhodes about his relationship with ‘The Rock’ before WrestleMania 40, the champion revealed that he didn’t have much of a relationship with Johnson prior to their feud. 

 “…We did some dark match stuff back in the day, but Wrestlemania in Miami, I gone into his locker room to thank him for the house, and that was something that I think he remembered, whereas for me, it was just the right thing to do. We had that previous moment, but other than that, I don’t think Rock respectfully was very familiar with me, said Rhodes. 

The champion shared that he didn’t blame Johnson if he didn’t because the Hollywood megastar has too many important things to focus on. However, Rhodes shared that he enjoyed ‘The Final Boss’ getting to know him during the build toward WrestleMania 40. 

“…I enjoyed him figuring out who I was in real time as moments were happening. For example, coming down the steps with Seth Rollins, with him and Roman in the ring, I think it’s the first time he had ever heard the crowd do the whoa. I think he really took to what was going on,” said Rhodes. 

What’s Next For Cody Rhodes & Dwayne Johnson?

The night after WrestleMania 40, Rhodes and Johnson had an in-ring segment on Monday Night Raw to tease a future matchup. ‘The Final Boss’ warned the champion that he was coming for his title in the future. Rhodes accepted the challenge and claimed he would hold the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship when he returned. 

Rhodes is currently focused on defending his title against AJ Styles at WWE Backlash on May 4. The champion faces a tough matchup, and it will be the first time they will cross paths in the ring. WWE fans will unfortunately be forced to wait a little longer before they can get a dream match between Rhodes and ‘The Great One.’

WWE’s 40th WrestleMania event packed Lincoln Financial Field on April 6 and 7. The star-studded spectacle attracted a ton of attention and also raked in a ton of cash.

The Rock’s return to a WWE ring was expected to draw a big box office. They already achieved impressive growth in virtually every metric there is at this point. 

• WrestleMania 40 attendance reached 145,298 over two nights, surpassing the previous gate record by 78%.
• Viewership for WrestleMania 40 increased by 41% over both nights compared to WrestleMania 39.
• Social media views for the event exceeded 660 million, setting a record as the most socially viewed WrestleMania ever.
• Merchandise sales rose by more than 20% from the record set at WrestleMania 39.
• WWE’s YouTube channel experienced its most viewed day in history with over 67 million views on WrestleMania 40 Sunday.

WrestleMania XL became WWE’s most watched event in history, surpassing the viewership record set at WrestleMania XXXIX last year by 41%, per John Wall Street.

This two-night event also established a new WWE record for a gate, generating $38.5 million in ticket sales, which represents a 78% increase from the previous year and a 147% increase from 2022.

Future WrestleMania Events

WrestleMania brings a ton of outside money to their host city every year. This is why hotspots all over the world are vying to host the show of shows.

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has expressed interest in bringing WrestleMania to the UK’s capital city.
While campaigning for the upcoming mayoral election on May 2, Khan, who is not related to WWE’s Nick or AEW’s Tony, mentioned WWE’s flagship show in a press release, discussing London’s potential as a major sports hub. The 54-year-old Labour Party member is among those hoping to host the event in London.

At the moment, Las Vegas is a front-runner to host WrestleMania 41. Although Minneapolis may have thought hosting the Mania was a lock, and they put in a bid for it, nothing has been confirmed by WWE yet.

WWE President Nick Khan stated that the company intends on keeping WrestleMania and the other big five premium live events within the confines of the United States until further notice, but they are very open to bring all other events overseas. 

Jey Uso has moved on from WrestleMania, but does admit to having mixed emotions about the bout with his brother.

Uso took on Jimmy in a “brother vs. brother” match in Philadelphia, ‘The City Of Brotherly Love,’ but the match didn’t quite deliver from a fan perspective. That thought didn’t go past Jey who did admit that his brotherly battle wasn’t up to the “uce” standards.

“I do kind of feel like we did let the people down …  I wanted to go out there and have a straight-up banger too. I wanted to do the wrestling part, let alone make sure the emotion part was there.”

Jey vs. Jimmy ended up going 11 minutes, but Jey did state that they had to tackle a time adjustment to the card.

“You’ve just got to play your position on the team. That’s what happened. But I am still happy that I got a singles match on WrestleMania with my brother, that’s the big picture. So I will always have me and him in the face-off at WrestleMania. I’m gonna frame a picture, it’s marked off our box.”

Jey said that someone did let him and Jimmy know that they lost a few minutes and they had do go out there and handle business.

The Future Of The Usos

Despite the let-down of the match, Jey Uso certainly finds himself in a great spot as he’s the number one contender to the WWE World Championship as he’ll face Damian Priest at Backlash.

Jimmy, on the other hand, finds himself in dire straits as he was attacked by his other brother Solo Sikoa and effectively kicked out of The Bloodline.

Drew McIntyre has admitted that he may have gone a tad too far with his goading of CM Punk at WrestleMania 40, but was able to prove that he is a man of his word. 

McIntyre won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WWE WrestleMania 40: Sunday, his first World Championship win in front of a live WWE crowd. After goading CM Punk at ringside however, McIntyre was attacked by the Best in the World and Mr. Money in the Bank Damian Priest would capitalize on the attack. 

As countless fans have pointed out, all McIntyre had to do was to avoid taunting CM Punk and he would have left Philadelphia as the World Heavyweight Champion. In a recent Twitter video, Drew justified his actions. 

“This is everything I worked for, for 20 years. This was my moment, I earned it, I’m sorry I wanted to soak in every single second of it at WrestleMania, make the world title moment last an eternity. Oh to celebrate with my wife, or my fans who have been through much.”

While McIntyre was pleased to have his moment, the contemplative former World Heavyweight Champion admitted that he may have gone a bit overboard.

“I saw Punk. I might have gotten carried away a bit, but I told him I’d rub it in his stupid face and I’m a man of a word. I was within striking distance on purpose and he didn’t raise one finger until I was distracted and assaulted me like the coward he is.”

The answer to the question everyone has been asking me since WrestleMania…

Why didn’t you just leave? pic.twitter.com/fPvUm5veq0

— Drew (@DMcIntyreWWE) April 21, 2024

Not only did Punk cost McIntyre at WrestleMania, but he also cost the Scottish Warrior in the number-one contenders match during the following Raw. While a match is expected between the two, that hinges on Punk being cleared and McIntyre signing a new contract with the promotion. 

R-Truth was able to stop and smell the proverbial roses by taking in his Tag Team Championship win alongside The Miz at WrestleMania 40.

Truth and Miz captured the Raw Tag Team Championships in Philadelphia which also marked Truth’s first victory at a WrestleMania. The titles underwent a serious rebranding during the April 15, episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. 

Outside of his many 24/7 Championship reigns, this title run marks Truth’s first taste of championship gold since 2019. Appearing on Busted Open Radio, Truth was asked about his win and said he was pleased that he was able to appreciate the moment which is a rarity given his busy profession. 

“We live life so much, we be lifin’ so much we don’t take time to stop and smell the roses… That time I did. And I had my son there, that was a little baby when I first got into the business… and for him to say ‘Dad, man, I’m so proud of you. I haven’t seen you wrestle in so long.’

“It was so many things that were going through my head at that moment. Me and Miz, I mean I’m getting emotional now… Miz has had my back in this business. It was just a moment that was, it was a surreal moment.”

🗣️“It was a surreal moment”

🏆The #WWE World Tag Team Champion #RTruth (@RonKillings) reflects on his ⭐️ #Wrestlemania Moment ⭐️ with @_denisesalcedo and @TheMarkHenry

🎧Full Conversation on the #bustedopen247 Podcast⬇️⬇️https://t.co/tuJ5gnpXVO pic.twitter.com/8WfKXDgkOq

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) April 20, 2024

What’s to Come? 

The Awesome Truth’s victory at WrestleMania evidently means a great deal to Truth but the pair are now the target of every tag team on Monday Night Raw. During the April 15, episode, DIY earned a title match by emerging victorious in a triple-threat tag-team match that included the Creed Brothers and the New Day. 

For the use of quotes, please give an H/T to SE Scoops.

WWE superstar Drew McIntyre hopes to stay on the road despite a recent setback. McIntyre’s was having a very successful year up until WrestleMania. He won the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match on February 24 and later dethroned Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight title at the biggest show of the year.

Then, things took a turn for the worse. The title reign ended after just a matter of minutes when Damian Preist successfully cashed in the Money in the Bank contract and walked out as champion.  We’ve now learned the Scottish Warrior was in serious pain for the short match against the Judgment Day member.

Drew McIntyre “badly hyperextended” his elbow at WrestleMania during his match against Seth Rollins, according to a report by PWInsider. He worked this week’s United Kingdom live events tour, but may need some time off afterwards to heal. 

It’s an ironic setback for McIntyre, who has been trolling CM Punk for his tricep injury and inability to stay healthy. He’s not currently advertised for WWE’s next premium live event, Backlash France. This might end up as a blessing in disguise., as the two people he’s currently feuding with (CM Punk and Seth Rollins) are also unable to wrestle any time soon.

Drew McIntyre’s WWE contract winding down has been a hot topic of conversation for wrestling fans wondering if he could follow Adam Copeland and Mercedes Mone to AEW. 

If WWE can’t re-sign McIntyre, he could be wrestling elsewhere this summer. That said, he’s having one hell of a run with WWE. He’s working a top program against CM Punk that is sure to draw both of them a lot of money when they’re healthy. Most importantly, he is having fun and enjoying himself.

The Rock is ready to do much more as the ‘Final Boss’ of WWE following the historic WrestleMania 40 Premium Live Event. 

WrestleMania 40: Sunday went off the air with Cody Rhodes standing tall as Undisputed WWE Champion, despite the efforts of The Rock and The Bloodline. On the post-WrestleMania Raw, The Rock made clear that he’ll be back one day and that he’s coming for the American Nightmare. 

The Rock is expected back on WWE programming, and his return could happen before 2024 is up, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports. It’s said that there is a chance of The Rock doing a match later this year, with fans speculating that a Saudi Arabia show could be in his future. 

Whether The Rock wrestles again in 2024 or not, his focus remains on Cody Rhodes. The report adds that a match with Rhodes has been tentatively penciled in for WrestleMania, though whether Cody is the champion or not by then will play a factor in booking decisions. 

Whatever comes next, The Rock’s metamorphosis into the Final Boss has been a hit with fans and is seemingly here to stay. Taking to Instagram, The Rock deemed WrestleMania 40 merely the first chapter of what’s to come with this character. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/reel:C582jMOxCOz

With The Rock part of the TKO board of directors, his connection to WWE is arguably the strongest it’s been in decades. There are still some questions remaining, including where the long-rumored showdown with Roman Reigns will take place. The Tribal Chief is also off of WWE programming for the time being, but for The Rock, his return isn’t an if, but when. 

The Rock’s WWE return on the road to WrestleMania saw a few changes along the way, but Dwayne Johnson’s charisma was turned up to 11 the whole time. Charles Barkley was watching at home, and he noticed how the Great One didn’t lose a step.

Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, Charles Barkley praised The Rock’s recent performance in WWE. The two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer has been paying close attention to WWE programming, and he had to give The People’s Champion his flowers.

“Pat, you know I’ve been watching you guys for a couple of months, and does The Rock have the best personality and charisma on television? Obviously, Roman and Cody and all those guys are fantastic, but The Rock … he’s got that thing, you know when you see a player and go ‘he’s different from everybody else.’ Man, when you see The Rock perform and you go, ‘damn, he’s good.’ His personality, when he’s talking, you’re like ‘oh I gotta watch this.’

"I've been watching the WWE and The Rock is unbelievable..

When he's on television you GOTTA watch"

Charles Barkley #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/iLZgSCaOMG

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 16, 2024

Sir Charles said that he loves Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Jimmy Uso, and everyone else, but The Rock stands alone. He commended Dwayne Johnson for going away for so long and coming back with “the charisma bug,” something that gained a massive amount of attention for The Final Boss as Cody Rhodes fought to finish his story.

Barkley went on to say of The Rock, “I was impressed. I’ve known him, we’re not great friends, but I’ve known him for a long time, and when I saw him, I was like, ‘He has that thing,’ and when he’s working, I want to watch. He plays the heel perfectly. His charisma, it’s an honor.”

The Rock’s Road to WrestleMania 40

The Rock first called his shot for WrestleMania 40 when he showed up during the Day 1 episode of RAW this year. His reference of sitting at the head of the table was not lost on anyone. After Cody Rhodes won the 2024 Royal Rumble match, he brought The Rock out the next night as he seemingly stepped away from an Undisputed WWE World Title match at the show of shows.

Original plans for WrestleMania 40 did not include the card fans saw in Lincoln Financial Field. The Rock wanted a one-on-one match against Roman Reigns, and that would have happened if the “Cody Crybabies” didn’t speak out. The Rock eventually conceded that Cody should have the main event.

The Rock vs Roman Reigns was the original plan for WrestleMania, with Cody Rhodes not wrestling at the event due to a kayfabed injury. Seth Rollins vs CM Punk was also supposed to happen, but that match was changed to Drew McIntyre after Punk’s triceps injury took him out of action.

The main event matches for both nights of WrestleMania 40 were then changed to facilitate the new direction. The Rock teamed with Roman Reigns to take on Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the first night, with Cody vs Roman getting to battle it out in a Bloodline rules stipulation on WrestleMania 40 Sunday.

Logan Paul’s fans have watched him for years, looking for his reactions to a variety of subjects. When Samantha Irvin called him a “cringe overreactor” after seeing a video of him in the crowd at WrestleMania 40, he just had to say something.

WrestleMania 40 left many fans swimming in a sea of emotions. Cody Rhodes raised his title at the end of the two-night event as the company embarked on a new era. Logan Paul saw it all go down, and he was admittedly emotional. 

Speaking on the Impaulsive podcast, Logan Paul brought up how Samantha Irvin called him a “cringe overreactor” in response to a video of him watching the WrestleMania 40 main event go down. In the end, The Maverick just saw it as ironic, because it was coming from her.

“I got emotional watching Cody win, and the ring announcer bullied me. The ring announcer, Samantha Irvin, bullied me. The fiancé of Ricochet, who I beat twice, she bullied me on Twitter. She called me a ‘cringe overreactor.’ It got a ton of favorites. I took it as irony, because if you see the video of her announcing Cody, she’s sobbing. It’s a funny way to take a dig at me, because I’m a cringe overreactor, bro, I’m an overreactor as f*ck. But, she reacts too, so I thought it was kinda funny.”

Logan Paul’s response to being called a “cringe overreactor” by Samantha Irvin pic.twitter.com/yrpbQ4AC1j

— IMPAULSIVE (@impaulsive) April 16, 2024

Logan Paul in WWE

As the current WWE United States Champion, Logan Paul has a deep respect for the pro wrestling industry. Logan Paul’s last defense saw him retain in a triple threat match against Kevin Owens and Randy Orton at WrestleMania 40.

Logan Paul made a name for himself outside WWE before making his way to pro wrestling. Triple H had to admit that he even laughed at the thought of the YouTuber turned boxer becoming a WWE Superstar.

After seeing a real dedication to the business, even John Cena sang his praises. He said of Paul, “I wish we had found him years ago and this would be his calling. I’m glad he’s found us, because he fits perfectly in what we do here.”

Wrestlemania 40 blew my mind 🤯 pic.twitter.com/6pa2yJ22Nh

— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) April 8, 2024

Samantha Irvin’s WrestleMania 40 Performance

WWE fans noticed Irvin’s voice crack at the end of WrestleMania Sunday as she announced Cody Rhodes as the new Undisputed WWE World Champion. She had to fight through real tears to make that call to the Lincoln Financial Field crowd. 

Samantha Irvin’s name trended during WrestleMania 40 due to her fantastic job as ring announcer. The legendary Michael Buffer even gave her flowers after seeing how she owned the microphone, even through genuine emotions.

WWE WrestleMania 40 will not be the last time that Philadelphia hosts the annual two-night mega-show if those in the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ have anything to say about it. 

The April 2024 Premium Live Event marked the launch of WWE’s ‘new era’ and has proven to be a hit with fans. Speaking to the Sports Business Journal, Larry Needle, executive director of the PHL Sports division shared his eagerness to see WrestleMania return to the city. 

“We know there’s a long line of cities clamoring to host, and that’s just the reality of an event of this magnitude. But needless to say, we would be thrilled to have WrestleMania back, and at the right time we will engage in those conversations with the WWE.”

It’s hardly a surprise that those in Philly would love to host WrestleMania once again. The show is estimated to have made as much as $200 million for the city, local tourism officials told Axios prior to the event. 

WrestleMania’s Future

If Philadelphia does host a WrestleMania in the future, it is unlikely to be next year. Minneapolis is said to be the favorite to host WrestleMania 31 at the U.S. Bank Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Vikings.

Fans in the United Kingdom are hoping to see a WrestleMania in their country at some point in the future. At WWE Money in the Bank 2023, John Cena made a surprise appearance and shared his intention to bring WrestleMania to London. If successful, it’ll be the third WrestleMania outside of the United States and the first outside of North America. 

WWE fans are still buzzing about the ending of the Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40. The bout’s climax saw run-ins from various legends, including John Cena , The Rock and The Undertaker. 

‘The Deadman’ prevented The Rock from attacking Rhodes and choke-slammed him before disappearing in front of the crowd. Rhodes capitalized on the help from his peers and finally defeated Reigns to become the new champion. The moment Rhodes finished his story may be remembered for quite some time, and The Undertaker is happy he was involved in it. 

On the Six Feet Under Podcast, The Undertaker shared that WWE WrestleMania 40 gave him closure on his wrestling career. He noted that he has struggled with being fully retired but that his involvement in the Rhodes vs. Reigns match finally put his mind at ease. 

“…I’ve been struggling with it since I retired, but this weekend gave me closer. It really did,” said The Undertaker. 

He noted that he had fun getting involved in the main event, especially with how it was one of WWE’s biggest storylines for the event. 

The WWE Hall of Famer continued, “…When it was over, and I’m running out of the building, I’m like, I’m good now, and I don’t know if I needed, because you know, my last match was the Boneyard, so there is nobody there. It’s cinematic. It was, I don’t know how you say, it was like a moment of clarity that I had like I’m okay now.”

Will The Undertaker Make Another Appearance For WWE?

The Undertaker also noted that he wouldn’t mind WWE asking him to be involved in similar situations in the future. However, the wrestling legend feels after WWE WrestleMania 40 confirmed that he doesn’t have the same drive to want to wrestle again. 

“…I don’t have that feeling in my chest like I’ve had since I retired that I need, like, you know, I hadn’t come to peace with it, and I knew just like I knew when the Boneyard Match at four in the morning, like I’m good,” said Undertaker. 

He continued to speak positively about how much it meant to be involved at WWE WrestleMania 40 and how good it felt to have closure. While anything can happen in wrestling, The Undertaker seems optimistic that he can remain away from in-ring activity if WWE doesn’t ask him to. WWE WrestleMania 40 continues to be a show to remember, as it may be the last chokeslam fans will ever see from ‘The Deadman.’ 

The Rock has provided an update on his condition after the 45-minute WrestleMania 40 main event.

The Great One returned to the ring after almost 8 years to deliver one of the biggest WrestleMania main events in the history of the show. He teamed up with Roman Reigns to face Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a grueling match. The Hollywood star delivered the punishment he had promised and finally won the match for his team by pinning The American Nightmare.

Though the People’s Champion didn’t come out unscathed from the Show of Shows. In a Sunday video drop on Instagram, he provided an update on his condition and further teased future WWE plans.

https://www.instagram.com/p/p:C5wzPBAvN-h

The Biggest WrestleMania of All Time

The Rock started off by saying thank you to the fans. He mentioned that he wanted to help create ‘the biggest WrestleMania of all time’ and they were able to shatter every record because of the fans:

“Okay, so a few things. Number one, let me just start with Thank you. Let me say thank you so, so much. For all the incredible support going into WrestleMania, the build up to WrestleMania, I wanted to help create the biggest WrestleMania of all time, the biggest buildup of all time, make wrestling cool again. Professional wrestling is cool again from the final boss.

I want to say thank you so much for all of your support. We shattered every WrestleMania record this past WrestleMania. We shattered every WWE record, and we did it because of you the fans, and we did it for you, the fans. So thank you, thank you, thank you.”

The Rock Provides Health Update

Speaking about his physical condition coming out of the brutal PLE main event on April 6, The Rock mentioned that he has spent the past week recovering. However, while he is banged up coming out of the tag match, the good news is that there are no injuries to report:

“How my body feels after WrestleMania? Banged up like a son of a bitch. But that’s to be expected. That’s just the world we’re in. Whether it’s pro wrestling, or MMA, UFC, pro boxing, you go into these events, you prepare as best you can. You have your training camps, and you get banged up like a son of a bitch.

Hopefully you come out of it, not injured, doesn’t always happen that way. My body’s banged up. This whole week I spent recovering, getting rid of all the inflammation, lactic acid, but no injuries. So that’s the key.

So anytime you could go through a match like that, whether it’s 45 minutes, like our match, or whatever it is. It’s WrestleMania. You leave it all out in the ring like every woman, like every guy did in that locker room. You get banged up, and hopefully you don’t get injured, so no injuries here to report. My body feels great.”

The former world champion mentioned that he had an intense 12-week training camp before the show. He revealed that he had rings set up in Hawaii, Southern California, and Georgia and wrestlers were flown in to help him get into the ring shape. The Rock noted that he weighed 284lbs at the time the bell rang but still felt fast and athletic.

The MVP Of WrestleMania 40

While the Chapter of WrestleMania 40 has been closed with Cody Rhodes finally defeating Roman Reigns in the night two main event, the story is not finished just yet.

Speaking about the unfavourable outcome for The Bloodline, The Rock first congratulated both Cody and Roman Reigns and acknowledged Seth Rollins as the MVP of the whole arc leading to the PLE:

“I want to say congratulations to the men I was in the ring with. These guys are the best on the planet. Congratulations to Cody Rhodes, the new Universal Champion. As I had said, when the final boss returns, he’s coming back for you. Make you bleed again, boy. Congratulations, Cody Rhodes.

Congratulations to my cousin Roman Reigns on an incredible three-and-a-half-year run, maybe even four years. Just incredible and iconic and historic, very, very proud of you uso. Also congratulations to who I feel is a real MVP of the entire WrestleMania weekend – Seth Rollins. Seth freaking Rollins.”

The Rock finally ended the video referencing the tense confrontation between him and Cody Rhodes on Raw After Mania, and teased his involvement in WrestleMania 41:

“What an honour it was to share the ring with you three. What an honor it was to for us to break records and now my sights are set on the next WrestleMania but that’s conversation down the road.”

The Rock is expected to step away from WWE for his other projects for a while. Some major post-WrestleMania developments, however, speak of him not being done with Rhodes, or The Bloodline for that matter by a long shot.

The Rock sure must feel cool because he has indeed helped make “pro wrestling cool again.”

‘The People’s Champion’ caught wind that WWE WrestleMania 40 became Peacock’s most streamed entertainment event ever in it’s short history and it caused ‘The Final Boss’ pause. He took the time to thank all the viewers who put their eyes on the app last weekend.

“Thank you to everyone who tuned in. Pro wrestling is in my blood and it was an honor to help build and deliver this event to the world. – The Final Boss

Thank you to everyone who tuned in.
Pro wrestling is in my blood and it was an honor to help build and deliver this event to the world 🌍 🫱🏾‍🫲🏼

– Final Boss #WrestleMania40 Peacock’s Most Streamed Entertainment Event Ever. https://t.co/yh8lWLS5iU

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) April 13, 2024

During the night one press conference of WrestleMania, The Rock was asked if he had a specific moment when he felt it was the right time to make his way back to WWE. The Rock noted that it was the moment when Ari Emanuel, the owner of Endeavor, gave him a ring on the phone to tell him that he was going to buy WWE. That’s when the two decided to work out.a strategy.

The Rock Can Also Thank Cody Rhodes

While The Rock was undoubtedly a major piece to the WrestleMania 40 puzzle, so was his night one dance partner in Cody Rhodes, who ultimately “finished the story” on night two against Roman Reigns.

“The American Nightmare” doesn’t just have the “Cody Crybabies” to make his case, but Rhodes has the actual numbers to back it up.

Over WrestleMania weekend, Cody has sold over $1 million of merchandise and after WrestleMania went off-the-air, he was the most Googled Superstar, even above ‘The Final Boss’ himself.

Tonight’s 4/12 WWE SmackDown takes place from Detroit, Michigan at the sold-out Little Caesars Arena. Over 13,000 wrestling fans will be on hand to witness the fallout from WrestleMania 40 and the start of a new era on Friday nights.

Here’s what WWE is advertising for the show: 

• Cody Rhodes will appear
• Bayley will celebrate her championship win at WrestleMania

Plus, a mini-tournament will also kick off tonight to determine the #1 contender to Cody Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. We’ll see two triple-threat matches, with the winners squaring off next week to determine the next challenger:

• Kevin Owens vs. Rey Mysterio vs. AJ Styles
• Santos Escobar vs. LA Knight vs. Bobby Lashley

This is expected to be an eventful show. WWE always shakes things up after WrestleMania with new storylines and feuds. The Bloodline is in utter turmoil following WrestleMania 40. Roman Reigns has been conquered, The Rock is leaving again and Paul Heyman needs to figure out what to do with himself with the Tribal Chief cast into exiled. Could we see a New Bloodline emerge?

Looking Ahead

WWE DRAFT: During the RAW after WrestleMania, it was confirmed that the next WWE Draft is going down this month. The WWE Draft will be taking place on April 26th for SmackDown and April 29th for RAW. So, we only have a limited time left with these current rosters.

BACKLASH: WWE Backlash: France takes place Saturday, May 4 from Lyon, France. Jey Uso won a #1 contender’s match on Raw to become  the next challenger to new World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest. While not confirmed, this clash is expected for Backlash.

Randy Orton landed an RKO on IShowSpeed at WrestleMania 40. It didn’t take Speed long to get his revenge, but it didn’t happen in a traditional ring.

During a WWE2K24 livestreaming session, IShowSpeed faced off against the Viper while using a created character in his own likeness. When he delivered a devastating RKO to the digital Apex Predator, Speed erupted with his trademark enthusiasm.

iShowSpeed gets his revenge on Randy Orton. 😭 pic.twitter.com/u8zAJ5PfxZ

— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) April 11, 2024

IShowSpeed at WrestleMania 40

WrestleMania 40 was a two-day spectacle featuring a few notable celebrity appearances. Everyone knew someone had to be in that Prime bottle costume as it accompanied Logan Paul to the ring. KSI was under a similar disguise last year, and this year IShowSpeed took a turn.

After the social media influencer ran his mouth a bit, Randy Orton seized an opportunity that many with they could as he nailed Speed with an RKO on the announce table. It didn’t break, but the Lincoln Financial Field crowd popped for the viral spot.

Those shenanigans worked, because they all led to Logan Paul retaining the United States Title on the grandest stage of them all. Paul made Speed a Prime endorsed influencer after that before gifting him a Tesla Cybertruck.

It remains to be seen whether Speed will make a return to WWE television at this juncture, but he might want to squash things with Randy Orton outside the video game realm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te-FowE4epw

Who is IShowSpeed

IShowSpeed started his YouTube channel in 2016, initially posting gameplay videos sporadically. By December 2017, he began to livestream and share videos primarily focused on games like NBA 2K and Fortnite, though initially attracting only two viewers on average.

His channel’s growth accelerated dramatically over time, hitting significant milestones of 100,000 subscribers in April 2021, 1 million by June 2021, 10 million by July 2022, and reaching 20 million subscribers in August 2023.

He racks up millions of views, creating viral moments at every turn. As of March 2024, the 19-year-old’s net worth is approximately $12 million.