Cody Rhodes Thought It Was 'Insane' That Some Believed He Would Be Fine Stepping Aside For The Rock At WWE WrestleMania 40

Heading into WWE WrestleMania XL, it was originally set up for The Rock to take on Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship, with Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes initially ‘stepping aside’ to allow ‘The Great One’ a shot at Reigns.

Fan reaction to the decision was one of universal outrage, with WWE course correcting to turn Rock heel and align with Reigns. Rhodes has spoken of the initial angle of himself giving up the Mania spot to The Rock, saying the following to The Pivot:

"I grew up a huge fan of The Rock. I have a lot of respect for The Rock. Maybe more than anybody in any locker room. When I made eye contact with The Rock for the very first piece of business we ever did, I got an instant understanding of who he is. He's not a movie star. He's not a potential Presidential nominee, which would be great at this point. He's not a businessman with all these partnerships. When I looked at him in the eyes, I saw exactly what he is; he's a pro-wrestler. He's a pro-wrestler who understands the nature, 'I like this crowd. I'm going to get them really excited. Then really upset. Then as excited as they've ever been. Then I'm going to get them to tell their friends to come back.' At that moment, I had the utmost respect for him because in my heart, that's how I feel. I could do a bazillion other things, but I'm a wrestler. To see that from the biggest movie star on the planet, it's a lot of respect," said Rhodes.

Rhodes continued, noting how the notion of him being ‘cool’ with losing his spot was nonsense:

"Where we would butt heads is in the idea that you could just come back in the midst of a story that was taking place and just because you're The Rock, you can step into the starting lineup and take WrestleMania for yourself. A lot of people said, 'He's The Rock. He can do whatever he wants.' I saw a podcast with two wrestling heads talking and they said, 'I'm sure Cody is fine stepping aside for WrestleMania and doing it later in the year.' In my mind, I'm thinking, 'That's insane.' That's the Super Bowl of what we do. The last day of WrestleMania, the last match, it's our literal Super Bowl. The idea that somebody thought I would be cool with it. They don't know me. That's nonsense. I worked my whole life for this. Rock should know I wouldn't be cool with it. Maybe that's an understanding him and I have. He found out, I'm not cool with it. That's a good thing. You know who wasn't cool with The Rock? Steve Austin. They made magic together. They rubbed together so much it created diamonds. I do have a lot of respect for him," said Rhodes.

Rhodes and Seth Rollins would face Rock and Reigns on night one of WrestleMania 40, with Rhodes going on to defeat Reigns for the WWE Championship on night two.

H/T: Fightful