Cody Rhodes Admits To “Lingering Tension” With WWE Legend
Cody Rhodes has reflected on a wild 2024.
At WrestleMania 40, Cody Rhodes finally defeated Roman Reigns to win the Undisputed WWE Championship. The win marked the end of a story that began the moment Rhodes walked back into WWE two years earlier.
However, the road to WrestleMania was far from straightforward, with Rhodes briefly giving up his title shot so The Rock could face Reigns. However, in the face of mounting backlash, Rock turned heel, and Rhodes vs. Reigns continued as the main event, with Rock teaming with Reigns on night one to beat Rhodes and Seth Rollins on night one.
Ahead of WrestleMania, Rock and Rhodes repeatedly clashed on television, with Rock leaving his rival a bloody mess on Raw. Even after WrestleMania, Rock came face to face with Rhodes on Raw, seemingly setting up a match between the pair at WrestleMania 41.
Despite this, it was recently reported that The Rock still hasn’t confirmed his WrestleMania plans, meaning there’s a possibility he might not wrestle in the main event.
Cody Rhodes Addresses Real-life Relationship With The Rock
Looking back on that famous SmackDown night when he stepped aside for The Rock, the American Nightmare said it was an example of the Hollywood star taking his eye off the ball.
During an appearance on The Flagrant Podcast, Rhodes suggested that Rock had misjudged just how much fans were already invested in his existing story with Reigns.
“In his defense, I think Rock has become so busy, his output is incredible. I don’t think he knew so much about the current landscape. He knows the company backward and forwards; the show is called SmackDown because he said that word.
He set the table for everybody, but I don’t think he was always keeping an eye on the table. I think over the course of that week, and I could be wrong, I’m so glad that he did see ‘Okay, it’s bigger,'”
When asked if he had any beef with The Rock, Rhodes said no, but did admit there’s likely “lingering tension.”
No, just when a situation like that happens and it’s very real, the fans have made a choice. It’s very real. I think there is a lingering tension, perhaps.
“I universally love him. I grew up a Rock fan. We have yet to debrief on WrestleMania and what happened. I bet his story is a little different. Maybe some bad advice came or maybe he didn’t get good knowledge of, ‘Here is the current layout and who is sitting at that table.’ I’d love that, if one day we could have this debrief.
I never want to do anything in secret or behind the scenes. Truth is, when that happened, you start thinking, ‘What if I told such and such this story.’ No, you can’t. I got very defensive.”
At Crown Jewel, Cody Rhodes added another accolade to his glittering 2024 after getting the better of Gunther to become Crown Jewel Champion.