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Cody Rhodes recently disclosed how he felt and reacted to initially having to forfeit his WWE WrestleMania XL spot to The Rock.
Although The American Nightmare won the 2024 Men's Royal Rumble Match and seemingly teased challenging The Tribal Chief for the second consecutive year, he later confronted the leader of The Bloodline to inform him that he would not face him at this year's Show of Shows. Meanwhile, The Rock made a surprise return and headed to the ring to confront his cousin.
As WWE teased a WrestleMania XL main event match between The Rock and Reigns, the company had to call an audible and hand the opportunity back to Rhodes after significant backlash from fans. The Final Boss then turned heel and joined The Bloodline.
In an interview with the SI Media podcast, The American Nightmare disclosed his legitimate reaction to initially having to step away and let The Rock replace him in the main event of The Showcase of The Immortals.
"My role in all of this was to stay silent throughout the chaos. And I don't always stay silent. I mean here we are, we're talking now. I'm very active on social. But sometimes you just have to shut your mouth. And this was a great time when I shut my mouth and all these people came out. And I even thought I wonder if I can quell the storm. I wonder if I can tell them, I think I did, I sent a post out like, 'Hey, calm down.' You know, because I couldn't believe, like, oh man, it's flattering, no doubt, but I don't want anyone getting unnecessary hate or anything of that nature in that space," he said.
The newly crowned Undisputed WWE Champion added:
"And yeah, I just decided to keep silent and in the weirdest of ways, having won the Royal Rumble and having been in there last with CM Punk, who had such an opportunity to win the Rumble himself, such an absolute great, I just still thought it'll be fine. Maybe I was in denial, you know, because a lot of people around me were very angry. But I just thought, 'Nope, it's gonna be fine. It's gonna be fine. It will work out.'" [17:08 - 18:20]
What did The Rock tell Cody Rhodes before taking a break from WWE?
After turning heel and joining The Bloodline, The Rock had a heated feud with Cody Rhodes. The Final Boss returned to in-ring action for the first time in eight years at WrestleMania XL as he teamed up with Roman Reigns to defeat The American Nightmare and Seth Rollins on night one.
Although The Rock pinned Rhodes on Night One, he failed to help his cousin retain his title on Night Two. Nevertheless, The Final Boss confronted the newly crowned Undisputed WWE Champion on the RAW after WrestleMania. He confirmed that he was going on a break from wrestling. However, the WWE legend informed The American Nightmare that he would come after him upon his return.
While The Rock's absence period was not announced, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry predicted that The Final Boss would not return to the Stamford-based company until next year ahead of WrestleMania 41 to face Cody Rhodes.
Please credit the SI Media podcast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda if you use the above transcription
