Downstait Says Cody Rhodes Almost Used Different Music At WWE WrestleMania 38

Upon his departure from WWE in 2016, Cody Rhodes traded in his Stardust facepaint to become the blonde-haired "American Nightmare." Part of Rhodes' transformation also entailed the acquisition of new entrance music. As such, Rhodes chose to walk out to "Kingdom" by Downstait for his appearances in companies such as Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and All Elite Wrestling. Rhodes later returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 accompanied by his beloved theme song, but according to Downstait's frontman, Rhodes was almost forced to abandon it.

During an interview on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," Downstait's lead singer, Zack Call, revealed that there was a legal battle prior to Rhodes' WWE return. Call was adamant that Downstait "just wanted [its] cut of the pie" for the usage of the band's song. After many back-and-forth calls with WWE and its lawyers, the talks seemed to be at a standstill, so WWE suggested that Rhodes use another theme song for his return. Call said that it was Rhodes himself who finally persuaded WWE to let him use "Kingdom" for his return.

"We held our silence for a little bit and I said my piece and my heart is in my throat and I'm not ready to give up the song," Call said. "Cody just basically breaks the silence and he goes, 'Well, you don't get me without 'Kingdom' on this conference call. I was like, 'All right!'"

Throughout his professional relationship with Downstait, Rhodes vowed that if he ever came back to WWE, "Kingdom" would come with him.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.