Cody Rhodes shocked the wrestling world when he made his return to WWE at Wrestlemania 38. Since his return to the promotion, he has been treated as a top star; he competed and won the main event of Hell in a Cell, one of WWE's flagship events, and won the 2023 Royal Rumble.
RELATED: Seth Rollins Believes The Actors' Strike Could Be Good For WWEHowever, it hasn't all been perfect for Cody Rhodes. After earning a title shot against the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, Cody was expected by many to "finish the story" and dethrone the Tribal Chief at Wrestlemania 39. In one of the most controversial booking decisions of the last decade, Cody came up short.
Is Cody Happy With His WWE Return?
In an interview with Instinct Culture at a press event for his upcoming documentary, Cody was asked whether his return to WWE was everything he envisioned. Wrestling News Co. has provided the following transcription:
Oh, I think it's been fun too, and this is gonna sound, maybe it sounds odd, just be a wrestler. I was really shell-shocked by my experience as, as much as I had taken pride in executive elements and being a manager of some sort, it just was different. And it's not something that I woke up passionate about. Like I woke up being, wanting to be a wrestler. So for me the time here has been not so much what I envisioned, but so far larger than I envisioned because you forget until you show back up again at a WrestleMania in Dallas, you forget the magnitude, the audience, the penetration that WWE has.
Cody went on to express that he worried fans would boo him when he made his WWE return. Fortunately, that wasn't the case.
I told Randy [Orton] before I went out in Dallas [WrestleMania 38] that I thought they were gonna boo. I did. I thought they were gonna boo. Seth had carried the whole story to mania and I was the other guy and they didn't. I just told your partner this, but they got it. I didn't have to say belt. I didn't have to do this thing, which I, of course, loved doing, but I didn't have to do it. They got it. They realized, ‘Oh, that's what he came back for.’ And in the process of coming back for that, I've received so much more than I could have ever, ever asked for.
