The Wrestling Champion Reminisces About His Shocking Announcement for WrestleMania 40

Wrestling World treats its fans to a wide variety of shows and grand events. One among them is WrestleMania 40 It is undeniably a massive event in the world of professional wrestling known for its grand and thrilling matches. A lively atmosphere, cheering crowd, remarkable entrances, and fireworks mark this larger-than-life event that is attended by a vast range of audiences.
Incredible performances, culmination of intense feuds, and intriguing storylines are incorporated into the event adding to its fame and popularity.This year’s WrestleMania 40 was particularly exciting where Cody Rhodes faced off against Roman Reigns which resulted in the former’s victory. However, the journey to the match was full of unexpected twists and turns which Rhodes spoke about in great detail in a recent interview. Let’s shed some light on the surprising turn of events that shaped the way for the epic bout between Rhodes and Reigns.


In a recent interview with Kenny McIntosh of Inside the Ropes, Rhodes reflected on his journey to WrestleMania 40 and Brian Gewirtz’s comments. It so happened that on the February 2 episode of WWE SmackDown, Rhodes made an announcement that caught everyone off guard. He suggested that The Rock should face Reigns at WrestleMania 40 instead of him.
This occurred after Rhodes impressed his peers and fans by winning the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble Match. Gewirtz responded to this by saying that Rhodes’ promo was meant to be more positive and inspiring. In contrast, he appeared serious and downcast making his delivery to the crowd more genuine and emotional. Speaking to McIntosh, Rhodes explained the moment felt real to him and he wanted to step aside and wanted The Rock to have his big time in the ring.
Speaking about Gewirtz’s response and his desire to let The Rock compete against Reigns, he said, “He might. He might have a point. He might, only because I didn’t think of myself…the moment was so real, I guess I didn’t think of myself in a performance sense of ‘You’re not smiling’ or ‘You are smiling…The Final Boss [The Rock] had whispered something in my ear that was actually really kind and nice, and I did smile.
The WWE star went on to explain that he wanted to leave quickly as he felt uncomfortable with the attention. So, he avoided everyone and went straight to his bus. “I think, not so much about my face, the thing I remember about it is I wanted to get out of there. I wanted to get out of there. I did want them to have their moment…….I wanted to be gone. I didn’t want people to linger on me. I would never shade our production team, especially with what Brian Fadem and Lee Fitting and everyone is doing…..I think they might have spent a little too much time focused on me in the first place and not focused on that potential match up,” is what he recalled in the interview.
Rhodes also elaborated on Gewirtz’s statement saying that it made sense for him to expect Rhodes to have made a positive and lively delivery. Following the episode of SmackDown, fans began a trend on social media with the hashtag “#WeWantCody.” As a result WWE changed plans and set a match between Rhodes and Reigns at WrestleMania 40 that culminated in Reigns’ defeat by Rhodes.