Cody Rhodes Admits Learning A Lot From WWE Rival The Rock
The tumultuous relationship between Cody Rhodes and The Rock has taught the WWE Champion a lot about being on top of the pro wrestling business.
It’s been an interesting two years for Cody Rhodes and his relationship with “The Final Boss” aka TKO Board of Directors member Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Even though Cody Rhodes won the 2024 Royal Rumble, there was a plan in place for him to step aside and let The Rock challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. That didn’t happen because WWE fans hated the idea and to Rock’s credit, he pivoted by becoming a heel character known as The Final Boss.
As The Final Boss, The Rock teamed up with Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 40 Saturday to defeat Rhodes and Seth Rollins in one of the longest WrestleMania matches ever. The Rock even pinned Rhodes to win the match for his team.
One day later at WrestleMania 40 Sunday, Rhodes beat Reigns to become the Undisputed WWE Champion for the first time because Rhodes had help from legends like John Cena and The Undertaker to combat Reigns, who had help from Rock and The Bloodline.
Going into WWE Elimination Chamber 2025, Rock wanted Rhodes to “sell his soul” to Rock so that Rock could help Rhodes become an even bigger star. Cody said no to that because his soul belongs to the fans, which the fans loved. It ended up costing Rhodes dearly because John Cena turned heel on Cody and aligned with The Rock.
That has set the stage for Cody Rhodes defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against Elimination Chamber match winner John Cena at WrestleMania 41 with the fans siding with Rhodes against Cena, who has constantly berated the fans for the way they treated him over the past two decades.
“I Have Learned A Great Deal From The Final Boss” – Cody Rhodes
While it’s not known yet if The Rock will be at WrestleMania 41 or if he’ll be at ringside for the Rhodes-Cena match, the WWE Champion Cody Rhodes told Complex that he has been taught some valuable lessons from The Final Boss.
“Oh, one message for the Rock that I knew he was going to hear. I would just hope that the Final Boss can sit back and put his feet up and watch WrestleMania 41 and pat the sweat on his forehead with dollar bills that I’ll be making him in another main event at another WrestleMania, where I’m going to make it so that they leave the event thinking about me and not him.
But again, he’s the boss, so he gets to reap those rewards in a similar way that I do, and also in the craziest of ways, I’d also want to thank him. He is, again, a little bit outside of the box, but he thinks in a very unique way, and although what you see on screen, those individuals don’t get along and that might be very, very real.
I have learned a great deal from the Final Boss, and I’m not too cool to admit that. I hope to continue to learn more.”
WrestleMania 41 will be the third straight WrestleMania featuring a Cody Rhodes match in a main event position, which is in an incredible feat and a sign that Rhodes is absolutely one of the biggest stars in the pro wrestling world in this era.