Cody Rhodes Looks Back On WWE WrestleMania 39 Loss To Roman Reigns

Cody Rhodes is the cover star of the upcoming WWE 2K24 video game, which is set to celebrate 40 years of WrestleMania with special features, stories, and more. Despite being gone from WWE for over six years between 2016 and 2022, Rhodes has had two of the event's most memorable moments in recent years — his return match against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38 was one of the high points of the two-night event in Arlington, Texas, while his loss to Roman Reigns a year later is still being discussed amongst fans and industry members to this day.

Rhodes opened up about his match with Reigns in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, discussing his mindset going into the biggest match of his career.

"WrestleMania 39, I don't want to say I shrunk under the lights, but it hit me harder than it hit Roman Reigns," Rhodes said. "Roman has been in those main events before. If anything, it motivated me further. It's not just about being in the main event. It's not about being happy to make the walk. You have to win."

WWE 2K24 has been designed around Rhodes' motto of "finishing the story," something he is very excited for fans to experience given that his quest to dethrone Roman Reigns could happen at the time of the game's release.

"The most exciting element of 'finishing the story' making it into 2K24 is that it's all happening in real time," Rhodes said. "I was just in a WrestleMania 39 ring, basically replicating the saddest moment I've ever had in my career. In a wild way, it was also incredibly rewarding. I got to make the walk and main event a WrestleMania. Still, you have to win. That's the whole point. And that's what is happening in real time."

Please credit "Sports Illustrated" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.