Cody Rhodes made his triumphant return to WWE Wrestle Mania 38 and immediately started a feud with former WWE Champion Seth Rollins. This resulted in three consecutive pay-per-view matches in which Rhodes always won, the last of which involved him fighting with a torn pectoral muscle. Rollins’ attack on the next episode of Monday Night Raw wrote Rhodes from TV to the Royal Rumble this past weekend, where the two confronted each other at the Men’s Royal Rumble match before Rhodes finally won. And while Rollins went babyfaced during Rhodes’ absence from WWE programming, in an interview with Wrestling Inc. this past weekend, he admitted. indicates that he still can’t stand ‘The American Nightmare’.

“Look, I’ve never had any disrespect to Cody Rhodes,” Rollins said. “The only disrespect I had for Cody Rhodes was he tried to come in and steal my spotlight. I shouldn’t say ‘tried to steal it’. He tried to use my spotlight to catapult himself to where “He wants to go. So there’s nothing more selfish in the world. Don’t let anything fool you. Cody Rhodes is a selfish SOB. He only comes back for himself.”

When Rhodes first returned to Monday Night Raw via video interview before the end of the year, he quickly dismissed the idea of ​​a fourth match with Rollins as he turned his attention to finally becoming world champion. He now faces Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania, while Rollins is rumored to have a match with Logan Paul.

“I’ve been very careful about pronouncing Roman’s name,” Rhodes said at the post-Rumble press conference. “Because it’s one of those things that I knew and I’m sure he knew. I came back and the first night I’m back on Raw after WrestleMania, I pointed to my waist. I talked about it in an interview, the real story of wanting to win the WWE Championship the one title that has eluded the family And I’m sure he heard that and I’ve seen everything Roman has done … I have nothing but respect and reverence to Roman.. .guys I can’t tell you I’m the best wrestler in the world Nobody can unless their man is Roman Reigns That’s the best wrestler in the world I’d like to think I’m number two and I always say Seth (Rollins) is number three… don’t take my list so seriously. But Roman is undisputed, that’s the best way to put it.”

“If that’s the situation we’ll be in at WrestleMania in 60 days, I can’t shrivel under the lights. He’s been there before, I haven’t,” he continued. “It will take everything I could ever collect and everything I have. But I have to finish this story. It’s real.”