If Cody Rhodes Can't Finish Story By WWE 2K25, He Won't Want To Be 'Anywhere Near It'

As Cody Rhodes approaches the two-year mark since his return to WWE, he has still yet to "finish the story" and capture the WWE Championship. He was painstakingly close in his defeat to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 and hopes to secure a rematch at this year's "The Show of Shows" with a second Royal Rumble win in a row. 

Rhodes at least had something to celebrate recently, having been announced as the cover star for the upcoming WWE 2K24 video game title's "Standard Edition." However, he joked in an interview with "Sports Illustrated" that he won't want anything to do with WWE 2K25 if he hasn't already finished the story when it releases. 

"If I haven't finished the story by WWE 2K25, don't bring me back for the commercial," said Rhodes. "Don't put me on the cover, don't put me anywhere near it. I won't deserve it. But it's fun that this is happening in real-time, and we all get to experience it together."

"The American Nightmare" continued to explain why winning the title at WrestleMania 40, hosted in Philadelphia, would carry such significance for him. He pointed to the 2013 Money in the Bank event at the Wells Fargo Center, where he was an audible favorite to win the briefcase and thus a shot at the WWE World title, although it never came to be on that night.  

"I'm looking at WrestleMania 40 –- in my favorite city to wrestle, right next to Wells Fargo Center, where the fans decided to get behind me at a random Money in the Bank –- wrestling in front of fans from all over the world, that's a good place to be. It's going to be special. I'm looking forward to celebrating 40 years of WrestleMania, especially because it's in Philly."