SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…
Cody Rhodes says if he leaves WrestleMania 40 without the WWE Universal Title, it’d be a failure, but he said fans should take the ride with him despite their doubts. He said winning the title at WrestleMania specifically could be sweeter than winning it at a different event.
The following are key excerpts of his interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri.
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•Cody Rhodes on what it means if he leaves WrestleMania 40 without the WWE Universal Title
“Ultimately, that’s a failure. It’d be a failed year. I’d hope that doesn’t come to pass. You can never call it. You mentioned there being doubt in people’s minds about will it happen or what could potentially happen. Doubt is a beautiful thing, for people to take the ride with you. I doubted that Daniel Bryan could survive a match with Triple H and then survive a triple-threat match to get out of WrestleMania 30 how he did. But it was a marvelous moment. I don’t mind doubts at all. I just, myself, can’t have any in regards to everything else that’s going on. I have to be straight and narrow as far as where I’d like to go and how I’d like to get there.”
•Does he need to win the undisputed WWE Universal title at Wrestlemania specifically?
“That’s a really great question. I feel like it could happen before. It could happen after. But I think it’s all the sweeter if it were to happen at WrestleMania. Last year it was about the title, the championship itself – and the way the match unfolded and being this close to the moment, that made it now a far more personal situation. So I’d love it to be at WrestleMania. No doubt you never know about WWE. The flow here is quite wild. But I think the story that has been told throughout my whole career. The story that has been told since the late-’70s with my father and the WWWF Championship. All of that. I don’t think anyone is looking to step in and hinder that in any way. Just because it’s been the leading story that we’ve had and it’s been a real story. And when it’s real, it’s the best.”
•Cody Rhodes on helping spark this latest wrestling boom:
“I think as I grow old I’ll probably wax poetic and grow even fonder of the things I was able to be a part of. The people I was able to team with. When we were a group, The Bullet Club, The Elite, the idea was to change the world. We really did actually change, at least, our world. It’s so healthy now. I think all of us are careful to talk about it because nobody wants to look like they’re saying, ‘Oh hey, it was all me.’ But the reality is I can name about eight people. If one of them wasn’t there, it wouldn’t have happened. An alternative wouldn’t exist. It wouldn’t have springboarded me into this position I am in now. All of these factors, and the biggest factor being the fans themselves. I just hope people remember it. I joke about it with Matt and Nick all the time. Selfishly, you want more people to remember it was something we did. I’m just happy to see an industry I grew up watching through the good times and the bad times is now as popular as it ever was.”
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