Cody Rhodes reflects on first WWE title reign

[Chris]

Outtakes with Cody Rhodes

The former–and likely future–WWE Champion reflects on his first-ever reign with the belt

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Cody Rhodes spent 378 days as WWE Champion.

And relished every single moment.

“I became linked with the title that became so elusive to my family,” said Rhodes. “That meant the world to me.”

In a story I wrote for the Boston Herald this past Sunday, Rhodes discussed a myriad of topics. But space is limited in print, leaving plenty of extra content–outtakes, if you will–that captured how he felt about his first-ever run as WWE Champion.

“There’s two things that lingered with me in terms of being champion that I was very proud of,” said Rhodes, who was Ring of Honor’s world champ and briefly held the NWA title–yet neither remotely compared to what Rhodes embarked upon at WrestleMania 40, when he overcame Roman Reigns to win pro wrestling’s most famed title. “I was very proud that immediately, right after WrestleMania 40, we jumped right to this PLE in France in front of the greatest crowd wrestling may have ever seen. I shared the ring with AJ Styles, a wrestler’s wrestler, who is as good as it possibly gets–on any given day, AJ could be the number one wrestler for any company in the world.
Rhodes and Styles were spectacular in France/WWE

“We told a story for that incredibly loud crowd, and I wanted to show that this run would be different. Traditionally, you’ll hear people say that it is hard to be a babyface champion. It’s hard to be a babyface in general. But I’ve been blessed to have this connection, especially this unique connection with our younger audience, which grows at a speed like no other. And something else I was really proud of is when the cameramen say, ‘Hey, Champ.’ Or Joe Tess says, ‘Hey, Champ.’ I’m proud of how my identity became that of the champion.”

After dropping the belt to John Cena at WrestleMania 41, Rhodes took a month off to rest and recuperate–a break that may as well have been an eternity considering the nonstop manner he had been working. Since his return in late May, Rhodes has vowed revenge on Cena. In order to get his rematch, Rhodes won the King of the Ring tournament, defeating Jey Uso in the semi-final round before getting by Randy Orton in the finals–both of which were matches that Rhodes was proud to wrestle.

“I’m in the main event on Raw in this friend versus friend match against Jey Uso, and you hear people say that that is the hardest type of match, but I was incredibly proud at the reaction we got from the crowd,” said Rhodes. “That was a moment.

“Randy and I have a lot of history. We could do a six-month program that leads to WrestleMania. There is a lot of meat on the bone. It was a different type of build here with the tournament, with a whole different set of stakes. I like the stakes of the tournament with the main event of SummerSlam on the line. I think we’ll get into our history down the road, too.”
Rhodes defeated Orton to win the King of the Ring tournament/WWE

Rhodes now has his rematch with Cena at SummerSlam, which is expected to close out the two-night event. Whether or not Rhodes regains the belt, he finds himself in as high-profile a match as possible against a wrestling legend.

For Rhodes, it is the continuation of a whirlwind run that began when Rhodes returned to WWE in April of 2022. Three years later, it continues to intensify.

“This is uncharted and undiscovered in terms of what I envisioned for myself and WWE,” said Rhodes. “For my time here, this is the cherry on top. It’s a really special time.”