Cody Rhodes is not the biggest star in WWE, veterans concur
Cody Rhodes' climb towards WWE royalty got a happy ending at WrestleMania XL, the company's most financially successful event thus far. Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns in the main event of night two to become the Undisputed WWE Champion for the first time in his career.
WWE Hall of Famers Mark Henry and Bully Ray are self-admittedly huge supporters of The American Nightmare, but they both believe he is not the biggest star of World Wrestling Entertainment as of August 2024.
This is because Roman Reigns is back in the fold. Reigns returned at SummerSlam four months after his monumental loss and gave a seeming nod of approval to Rhodes after taking down the latter's challenger, Solo Sikoa. The Tribal Chief also appeared on the following SmackDown, and on both nights, he received a pop arguably like no other wrestler has received in the company.
"So we've only seen him [Roman Reigns] twice; he is getting the ultimate babyface reaction, but you're sticking with our guy, Cody Rhodes, as the biggest babyface in the company right now?" Bully Ray asked Mark Henry.
Mark Henry gave a valid argument regarding who is the bigger babyface, leaning in favor of The American Nightmare. Henry articulated that Reigns had touched the "depths of hell," so it is too soon to ascertain whether he is a babyface.
Bully Ray then asked, in the perception of fans, who is the bigger star of the two. The World's Strongest Man agreed it is Roman Reigns.
"Everything that revolves around WWE programming and the brand, it was Roman," Henry said, referring to the last four years. "The only reason that is not is because Roman went away." [From 0:52 onwards]
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Mark Henry talks about having massive respect for Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes
Mark Henry recounted a time when The American Nightmare's father, WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, asked him to look out for the latter's son. The World's Strongest Man respects how Cody Rhodes got to where he is now from humble beginnings.
"I have a lot of respect for Cody than a lot of people because I remember his humble beginnings. I remember his first day," Henry said. [From 2:10 to 2:20]
At the next premium live event, Bash in Berlin, Cody Rhodes will defend his title against Kevin Owens. This is a big change that The American Nightmare brought as the titleholder after The Tribal Chief's 1,316 days as champion, during which Roman Reigns was mostly a part-timer.
If you use any of the quotes, please credit the original source and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.