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Cody Rhodes had been promoted as the face of WWE ever since he returned to the promotion at WrestleMania 38. He won the men's Royal Rumble match of 2023 to earn the right to challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 39. Despite failing to win the title at the mentioned event, he did not give up and came back stronger next year.
He won the men's Royal Rumble match again in 2024, and once again he earned the right to challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania XL. This time, he made no mistake as he defeated Roman Reigns to finally win the Undisputed WWE Championship. He had a one year long title reign before dropping the Championship to John Cena at WrestleMania 41.
Cody Rhodes discusses his first World title run
Despite having year long world title run, Cody Rhodes had to receive a lot of criticism from the fans as the complaint remained of being a boring Championship reign with no proper contender on his way. Rhodes recently talked about his first Championship run while speaking with ESPN’s First Take. He said;
Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL to win his first World title
“I think this time it’s more about enjoying it actually than anything. And I know sometimes you get in there in the performance and the heat of the moment—the spots and the moves and the connection with the audience—but having been champion once before, having had a full year with it and feeling like every bit of pressure could possibly be on me, with WWE cruising to heights it hadn’t been at, I wanted to be the lead dog, wanted to be the quarterback. In the second run with it, I also just want to have a good time.”
Rhodes defeated John Cena at SummerSlam 2025 to win a second World title
John Cena defeated him at WrestleMania 41 to win the Undisputed WWE Championship for the record breaking 17th time. It was also his only Championship reign as a heel. Ultimately, Rhodes defeated John Cena at SummerSlam to win the Undisputed WWE Championship for the second time.
After winning the Undisputed WWE Championship for the second time, Cody Rhodes entered a new feud with Drew McIntyre. He also successfully defended the Championship against the Scottish Psychopath at Wrestlepalooza. The 40 year old is expected to enter the WrestleMania 42 event as the champion.
