Backstage Report On WWE's Promotional Plans For Cody Rhodes, WrestleMania 40

WrestleMania 40 is just a few weeks away, and fans are getting more and more excited by the day at the thought of seeing Cody Rhodes finally finish his story in Philadelphia. Rhodes will be wrestling twice across WrestleMania weekend, with the first bout being on night one, as he teams up with Seth Rollins to take on Roman Reigns and The Rock. If Rhodes and Rollins win that match, Rhodes' night two bout with Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship will see The Bloodline banned from ringside. However, if Rock and Reigns win, Rhodes will have to wrestle Reigns for the title under "Bloodline Rules."

It's been a long road for Rhodes to get to this point, as some people will see him as the underdog, and according to a recent report from Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, this will be played up in the promotional material. Meltzer noted there is a promotional video being planned that will play up the idea of Rhodes being tied to the city of Philadelphia as the city knows what both the "American Dream" and "American Nightmare" looks like. The video will paint Rhodes as an underdog figure, as the city, like Rhodes, has seen its fair share of hard times, which could reference Cody's father Dusty's legendary promo from the NWA.

According to Meltzer, one WWE source got a script that had a voiceover painting Rhodes as a 'Rocky-type' figure given the location of the event. "Rocky" was a 1975 movie starring Sylvester Stallone, who portrayed an underdog boxer from Philadelphia (Rocky Balboa) that managed to secure a fight for the World Heavyweight Championship against all odds. Given that Rhodes is originally from Georgia, it's unclear how far WWE will lean into these comparisons.