WWE Champ Cody Rhodes Points Out First Time He Believed His Own Hype

The first half of 2024 in WWE was dominated by the story of Cody Rhodes and his struggle against The Bloodline, leading to a pair of matches at WWE WrestleMania 40. Though The Rock pinned Rhodes in a tag match on the first night, Rhodes went on to defeat Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship the following evening. Looking back on the section of the storyline involving The Rock on an episode of "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," Rhodes revealed that the series of events provided him with a new level of confidence.

"What happened with The Rock at WrestleMania 40 was the ... first time I ever believed in my own hype," Rhodes said. "It was the first time I ever thought, 'Maybe someone from this generation did get over.' ... I tell people all the time, 'Nobody today is over.' Because you hear 'over' all the time and to me, 'over' is [when] you can't step a foot out [of] your house without cameras, without a moment. I just have a loftier opinion of 'over.' John Cena is 'over.'"

In many ways, Rhodes has ascended to become the face of WWE this year, holding the primary world championship and participating in countless media appearances for the promotion. Part of his success must be credited to the involvement of The Rock, who Rhodes acknowledged as potentially the biggest star that the industry has ever produced.

Though Rhodes walked out of WrestleMania 40 victorious, The Rock still has a pinfall victory over him. Before Dwayne Johnson temporarily departed to film his next role, The Rock stepped inside the ring with Rhodes in a segment on "WWE Raw," partially to pay respect to the new champion as well as to let Rhodes know that the two still had unfinished business.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.