Cody Rhodes Talks About Emotional WrestleMania 40 Victory Celebration With WWE Stars

Cody Rhodes finished his story at WrestleMania 40 and received an incredible reception not just from the fans at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, but also his peers in the WWE locker room.

In the post WrestleMania 40 press conference, Rhodes expressed his happiness at seeing the likes of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, John Cena, Randy Orton, CM Punk, and LA Knight in the ring with him to celebrate his incredible achievement. He explained how each of them has helped him in his journey to become champion.

"In the moment, I was just so happy to see my friends," said the WWE Universal Championship. "Kevin Owens is a huge part of my journey. I wouldn't have been able to meet the guys I met I needed to meet, to do the things I had to. Sami was a huge part of my journey last year, kind of budding rivalry between us heading towards WrestleMania, and him having that opportunity at Elimination Chamber. I didn't think I would see Randy just because he'd probably get on his bus. You know, he's Randy. So, to have the guy who took me under his wing and watch become a champion — that was amazing. I drove Cena for almost two years, learned everything I possibly could learn from him, didn't know I was learning 'cause we were just having a good time. There's nobody that carried WWE until Roman like John Cena. LA Knight ... just a lot of victims of The Bloodline."

He added that he has respect for Reigns and The Bloodline, but believes that his win at WrestleMania 40 was a win for the people aside from it being a win for him. 

In the post-match celebration, Rhodes was joined by fellow WWE stars, his family — including his wife Brandi and mother Michelle — and later brought down WWE CCO Triple H and executive Bruce Prichard to soak in the moment with him.