"The most real anything has ever been" – Cody Rhodes on his WWE WrestleMania 39 storyline with Roman Reigns (Exclusive)
Cody Rhodes believes his quest to win a WWE world title is one of the most real wrestling stories of all time.
Rhodes will face Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39 on April 1-2. The 37-year-old's late father Dusty unsuccessfully challenged Billy Graham for WWE's top title (then known as the WWWF Championship) in the 1970s.
In an interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Kevin Kellam, Rhodes spoke about how Dusty's legacy has been incorporated into the storyline:
"I'm always kinda hip and keen to the amount of emotion that happens with me on television, and you brought up a good point – it's real. I would say that everything everyone has been watching since I came back at the Royal Rumble is real. In an industry where there's a suspension of disbelief and areas of gray, this is the most real anything has ever been, trying to win a title that my family never touched. The last opportunity they had for it was in the late 70s. It's as real as it gets." [6:05 – 6:35]
Watch the video above to find out why Rhodes had reservations about Reigns mentioning his father on the March 3 episode of SmackDown.
Cody Rhodes explains why his WWE persona is unique
While some WWE Superstars simply portray a character on television, many aspects of Cody Rhodes' on-screen persona are true to real life.
.@WWERomanReigns tells @CodyRhodes what his father used to say about him... 😮💨
#SmackDown https://t.co/Rlq2hotefv
Rhodes added that there are positives and negatives to performing as himself on WWE programming:
"Coming back from a very real injury and trying to make it to the Royal Rumble and be eaten alive by Gunther until I was able to eliminate him is very real, and I like that. I prefer that. I have the responsibility but also, to a degree, the burden of the character I play is myself, and that's what makes finish the story sound even better because it's a real story." [6:35 – 7:02]
The 2023 Men's Royal Rumble winner also revealed how he really felt after suffering a torn pectoral muscle before Hell in a Cell 2022.
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See Cody Rhodes live in action with WWE Road to WrestleMania at the BOS Center in Springfield, IL, on Sunday, March 19.
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