"So the culprit is still out there" - Cody Rhodes opens up on why he lost half a star in his WrestleMania match

WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes recently addressed the rumors of someone paying off Dave Meltzer to deduct stars from his match.

WrestleMania 38 was a happy homecoming for The American Nightmare, as he emerged as the surprise opponent for Seth "Freakin" Rollins. The former AEW star picked up the win to make a strong statement in his first match for WWE in six years.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Out of Character podcast, Rhodes discussed the rumors of someone paying off the veteran journalist to deduct half a star from his WrestleMania match. He revealed that he had initially thought the Young Bucks Matt and Nick were responsible for it. After Rhodes dismissed that theory, he noted that the responsible party is still out there.

"The rumor is somebody paid Dave a $150,000 to take away my other half star from Mania, which left me at four and a half," said Rhodes. "And I thought, okay, it was Matt and Nick. Maybe they did it. But they only got four and a half for something they just did. So the culprit is still out there. You don't know." (from 22:04 - 22:25)

There's a Nightmare on #OutOfCharacter!

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Cody Rhodes will face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania Backlash

The American Nightmare will once again come face-to-face with The Visionary in a rematch of their WrestleMania encounter.

This past week on RAW, Cody Rhodes appeared on Miz TV and mentioned that he was ready for a rematch with the former world champion any time he desired. Rollins was at ringside when Cody took down The A-Lister later in the evening. After the bout, he challenged The American Nightmare to a match at WrestleMania Backlash, and Rhodes agreed to face him.

Get ready for ROLLINS/RHODES II at #WrestleManiaBacklash as @CodyRhodes steps back into the ring with @WWERollins!

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The premium live event will emanate from the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island on May 8.

While using the quotes from this article, please credit the Out of Character podcast and add a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.