Cody Rhodes Shares Advice He Got From John Cena After WWE WrestleMania 39 Loss

Last year, Cody Rhodes had the opportunity to finish his story on "The Grandest Stage of Them All." Unfortunately for Rhodes, his dream of capturing the WWE Championship was nixed when Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns retained his title with the help of The Bloodline at WrestleMania 39. Following his loss, Rhodes was naturally disappointed, but after speaking with 16-time world champion John Cena, he looked forward to taking on a new task — one that didn't need a physical title around his waist.

"I had John kind of present me with a challenge," Rhodes recently told "MMA Hour." "The challenge he presented me with was just be the champion without the belt, and here's your barometers. Look at your merch. Look at your ticket sales with the last live event versus the time you were there this time. Look at everything, and that will keep you honest. That will let you know, are you the champion without the belt? That was a good challenge he presented with me."

While Rhodes enjoyed the challenge of raising his stock without the WWE Championship, he is still aiming to fulfill the mission he set out with upon his return to WWE in 2022. "Hopefully, after WrestleMania 40, it's silly, as oxymoronic as this sounds, I would love to be the champion with the belt," Rhodes said.

On night two of WrestleMania 40, Rhodes will face off with Reigns in a highly-anticipated rematch, which, depending on the outcome of night one's main event tag team match, may or may not come with the added stipulation of Bloodline Rules.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "MMA Hour" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.