Cody Rhodes’ dream to become the first person from his family to hold the prestigious WWE Championship remains unfulfilled after he suffered an agonizing loss to Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 39 Night Two. The expectation going into this match was largely that Rhodes would finish his story which has seen him go from Stardust to The American Nightmare, from WWE to ROH, AEW, and back to WWE. Plus the fact his return had been well handled by the company, made it a near guarantee that he would win the big one finally at ‘The Showcase of Immortals”
But it looks like for now the championship will continue to elude Rhodes and his family, his quest to win the WWE championship to fulfill a promise to his father Dusty Rhodes will go on. But his defeat did send shock waves across the wrestling world and even his former colleagues in AEW had their response to the outcome on social media.
AEW stars express their feelings after Cody Rhodes came up short against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39
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The very reason Cody Rhodes left AEW, a company he helped set up, was to win the elusive WWE Championship and become a mega star in the promotion he left in 2016. And while Rhodes to an extent looked like a WWE-caliber main eventer, he was added to the long list of wrestlers who tried but failed to dethrone Roman Reigns at the top.
Despite having left AEW last year, a lot of his former colleagues, just like the rest of the wrestling world, had their eyes glued on the WrestleMania main event, hoping to see him achieve his dream, but in the end, history was made in a different way.
The finish with Reigns retaining his titles was a shock to many and divided fans. Rhodes’ personal journey outside WWE, his father’s legacy and his own return from injury to win the Royal Rumble made him a red-hot favorite going into this match and that is why it came as a surprise to many that WWE didn’t pull the trigger with him.
Apart from wrestling fans, many of Rhodes’ former colleagues also reacted to his drama-filled main event on Twitter. Here are the reactions of some AEW stars to Rhodes’ WrestleMania defeat.
His real-life brother Dustin Rhodes, who earlier had posted a tweet urging him to finish the story, had little to say.
😐
— Dustin Rhodes (@dustinrhodes) April 3, 2023
Wife of the late Brodie Lee, Amanda Huber didn’t agree with the decision.
That was the wrong call.
— Amanda (@MandaLHuber) April 3, 2023
Jade Cargill reacted to Huber’s tweet.
😭
— Jade Cargill (@Jade_Cargill) April 3, 2023
One of AEW’s hottest prospects Sammy Guevara was left shocked.
Wtf
— Samuel Guevara (@sammyguevara) April 3, 2023
Powerhouse Hobbs had a rather simple reaction.
Wowwwwwww
— “The MONSTAR” PowerHouse Hobbs (@TrueWillieHobbs) April 3, 2023
Nyla Rose expressed her shock with a popular meme.
— 🪓NYLA ROSE🥀 (@NylaRoseBeast) April 3, 2023
Fuego Del Sol wasn’t pleased with the finish.
Shocked. Disappointed. Going to sleep. pic.twitter.com/qNGBv3gOVk
— Currently Injured Fuego (@FuegoDelSol) April 3, 2023
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One of Rhodes’ biggest rivals in AEW Shawn Spears hailed him as a “megastar” despite the defeat.
A masterpiece.
A Megastar. @CodyRhodes #AmericanNightmare #WrestleMania
— Shawn Spears™️ (@ShawnSpears) April 3, 2023
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There is no doubt fans will now be intrigued to see what is next for Cody Rhodes after this big defeat. Is this the end of his story? or is the WWE telling an even longer one with Rhodes? Fans will hope that the RAW after WrestleMania will have some answers.
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