Last January, one week before Cody Rhodes became the last man standing at the Royal Rumble, the American Nightmare returned home to Atlanta.
He hadn’t yet earned a guaranteed title shot at WrestleMania, and The Rock wasn’t quite in the public picture just yet, but the audience gave him a hero’s welcome as if he’d already slayed the Bloodline. As he stood in the ring after Smackdown wrapped, Rhodes called his shot and made a bold promise to bring the WWE Championship back home.
“As a performer, as a wrestler, as an athlete, we speak with confidence. Joe Namath calling what was going to happen. We speak with confidence often,” Rhodes tells Uproxx Sports.
But this proclamation felt different. Some parts confidence, some parts destiny, the journey for Rhodes to finish his story has been a long, winding tale that didn’t quite culminate at WrestleMania.
Make no mistake, winning the title was always the primary goal. But Rhodes’ ties to Atlanta and bringing the belt home — back to his hometown where The Omni once stood, near the CNN Center and the WCW offices where his father and Tony Schiavone would spend time recording commentary together — is a unique part of his story.
On Saturday night, Rhodes will hold the belt high with a promise fulfilled when he walks into State Farm Arena to partner with his long-time foe, Roman Reigns, against Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu, in what’s expected to main event Bad Blood.
“Here’s this Crockett kid, this Georgia Championship Wrestling, WCW kid, and I’m going to take from the World Wide Wrestling Federation, the original WWWF title, now the Undisputed WWE Championship,” Rhodes says. “In regards to, ‘Hey, I told you I was coming back and I told you I was bringing this,’ it’s the best feeling on earth. I said I was going to do this. I did. And now I get to share this, not just with WWE fans, but with WWE fans in my home.”
Returning as “the quarterback” of the WWE is a special moment for Rhodes and his family.
“My family for years was brushed aside, comp tickets, put up in the bowl. Just the treatment that they get to receive now since I came back to WWE and even furthermore, now being WWE’s champion. To see Mama Rhodes, my sister, Teal, my wife, Brandi and the people who were family to me, to see them regarded as like dignitaries,” Rhodes says.
“I know that sounds ridiculous and it probably sounds selfish, but that’s a good feeling to see your mom get the respect, to see someone like DDP get the respect of, ‘Hey, we’re here on Cody’s behalf,’ and WWE is going to let you know Cody’s a big deal now. That just really makes you feel good that the family can get that. And they’ve received that throughout this new tenure of Nick Khan and Triple H.”
Winning the title at WrestleMania was a lifelong journey completed. But it’s not one Rhodes has been able to sit and reflect on. From media appearances to photo sessions and back on television, being the champion means an absolutely loaded schedule from the night the belt hit his hands.
As Rhodes reflects on the last six months and how his expectations differed from the reality of becoming champion, he recalls the pressure and adversity he felt in that next phase.
“Roman is going away, Seth Rollins, who is such a huge part of WWE, is going away. Rhea Ripley, unfortunately, is injured. The Rock is saying goodbye for however long all of that was happening. Leaving me,” Rhodes says. “I’m the type that I’m up for the challenge. Give me the challenge. But also in the back of my mind, I’m thinking, I hope it’s okay. I hope I can deliver.”
Rhodes met the challenge head-on, continuing WWE’s record-breaking business in Lyon, France, and in recent months ahead of Reigns’ return to television. As Rhodes prepares for his big return home, he’ll share the spotlight with Reigns as part of their tag team main event. It’s not bittersweet, he says, rather unexpected that they’d find themselves partners at this stage of their journey.
While Reigns was the outright top star in the first two years since Rhodes’ return, they’ve create a unique bond and an indescribable connection in the ring, at the very least as equals. Both Reigns and Rhodes contend that each of them hold ownership over Atlanta — Reigns played college football at Georgia Tech — and to a larger extent, the WWE as a whole.
“Every now and then, you find somebody that you stand across from the ring, whether you love them, hate them, know nothing about them, know everything about them, that there’s a spark, there’s a magic,” Rhodes says. “He brings something out of me. When I look at nutrition. When I look at dialing in, when I look at focus, when I look at the structure of a wrestling match, when I look at a premium event, whatever it might be, he brings something out of me that I don’t think I knew was there. I would hope I do the same for him. Cause there’s a lot of great stories to be told 30 years from now when we’re old and gray about record business being done.”
Reigns’ return and Rhodes continued inclusion in the Bloodline story doesn’t appear to be slowing anytime soon. Many of the main characters have yet to be folded into the latest wrinkle, like Paul Heyman and The Rock, who have been absent from television entirely, or Jey Uso, who has been doing his own thing on Monday Night Raw.
What Rhodes appreciates about his link to the ongoing Bloodline story, which he calls, “one of the best stories in all of entertainment,” is that he gets to be in the proximity of a talent the likes of Heyman.
“I think in another lifetime, I would have made a really great Paul Heyman guy. I have an unflinching respect for Mr. Heyman not just what he did for my dad, but his own story,” Rhodes says. “Even if I’m the guy that beats the Bloodline, even if that’s my role in all this. I like to be in the orbit of Mr. Heyman because there are very few super geniuses as we call them in Sports Entertainment and he’s one. If you’re on set and you get the chance to work with a Scorsese, for example, it’s as a wrestler to be in that orbit, to have those conversations, that’s something I enjoy about it.”
Whether that opportunity presents itself for Rhodes to align himself with a talent like Heyman on Saturday remains to be seen. What he is intrigued about in this next phase of his story is for someone to “have your back” and advocate for you in every sense of the word.
“It’s great when someone has your back on screen, that’s cool. But to have somebody who has your back off screen, it plays out differently when you’re out there. To have that uniformed manager, truly a manager. Something about this looks fun because you get to feel and hear a crowd and have that moment, share that moment. For me, everyone’s at a distance. I don’t know, maybe something down the road, any type of person who can be there to support me behind the scenes,” Rhodes continues.
“I always like when they have a connection to my roots. Or particularly, that’s one of the reasons I liked using Arn (Anderson) when we had Arn at AEW was just because he was my dad’s adversary, like a nemesis, and to be able to get his perspective versus just what I would have gotten from my father was really unique. I don’t see it happening by any means, but gosh. If you’re watching modern WWE, anything can happen at any point. Triple H, just doing it, just cooking as the kids say.”