Cody Rhodes is heading into another WrestleMania main event — but he’s now admitting things could have looked very different if he hadn’t regained the Undisputed WWE Championship.
While speaking with Complex Grabs on March 11, 2026, the Undisputed WWE Champion opened up about the pressure surrounding his recent title victory and revealed that he didn’t really have a backup plan if things hadn’t worked out the way they did. Rhodes explained that once you reach the level of consistently main eventing WrestleMania, the expectations — both from fans and from yourself — can become overwhelming.
“I didn’t have a plan B. It becomes a problem when you start main eventing WrestleMania.”
He then reflected on how his WrestleMania journey has unfolded in recent years, including the setback of losing his first WrestleMania main event before eventually capturing the championship the following year. According to Rhodes, finally winning the title created a feeling that kept driving him to chase that same moment again.
“I didn’t win the first time, and then I got the idea that I’d win the next time. The first Saturday I didn’t win, and then the next night in Philly I won. I got the taste and the addiction for it.”
When asked what he might have done if he hadn’t reclaimed the championship this time, Rhodes admitted that he probably would have taken the loss personally. He added that such a setback might have forced him to rethink his direction entirely — though in his mind, the goal was always to get back to WrestleMania in Las Vegas.
“I’m not sure what plan B would have looked like. In my mind, I probably would have considered it a failure on my behalf. So maybe it would have pushed me to do something different. But I really felt like I needed to get back to Vegas.”
Rhodes recently defeated Drew McIntyre on SmackDown to regain the Undisputed WWE Championship, setting up a major WrestleMania 42 title defense against Randy Orton. Now, with WrestleMania approaching, Rhodes once again finds himself closing out WWE’s biggest show of the year — something that’s quickly becoming familiar territory for The American Nightmare.
Do you think Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton is the right WrestleMania main event, or should WWE have gone in a different direction? Let us know your thoughts and leave your feedback below.
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