Cody Rhodes vs Dwayne Johnson: The American Nightmare Overtakes the Rock Ahead of Their WrestleMania XL Feud

In the thrilling saga that is his story, Cody Rhodes seeks redemption by facing Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. Since his return in 2022, Rhodes has been a winner of the Royal Rumble for 2 consecutive years. It has also meant rediscovery for Cody Rhodes who has become a star after a disappointing previous stint in WWE as Stardust.

After leaving WWE, Cody Rhodes reinvented himself as “The American Nightmare”. The need for a new anthem provided an opportunity for Downstait. The band is known for having created entrance themes for WWE stars such as The Miz and Dolph Ziggler. And the reinvention has surely helped the band as well as their song and Rhodes’ theme ‘Kingdom’ just reached 40 million streams on Spotify.

Rhodes already dethrones the Rock

At last year’s WrestleMania 38, Cody Rhodes made an impressive return to WWE to face and beat Seth Rollins. However, his return wouldn’t have been the same if he hadn’t brought with him his AEW character and, of course, the entrance theme ‘Kingdom’. The song has already become an anthem in the WWE so much so that the fans love singing along to it as Rhodes makes his entrance. And fans can’t help listening to the tune at home as by the time of writing it has ‘40,078,280’ streams on Spotify. This makes the numbers of the Rock’s theme look puny with just ‘12,597,869’ plays.

Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Downstait frontman Zack Call revealed how they proposed ‘Kingdom’ to Rhodes shortly after his departure. According to Call, the band was surviving thanks to their previous work with WWE. At the same time, working with Matt Cardona on Zack Ryder’s ‘Radio’ gave them some breathing room.

The members of Downstait, far from the life of rock stars, have regular jobs. Call, a school administrator, Sean, a lawyer, and his brother, an auto body shop owner, faced the challenge of life on the road. The collaboration with Rhodes came about when Rhodes asked via tweet what entrance music he should use at standalone events. Downstait suggested the song ‘Kingdom,’ which Rhodes took to high-profile events such as Wrestle Kingdom, Battleground, and Slammiversary.

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However, uncertainty arose as to whether Rhodes would continue to use the song that had become distinctive of his entrance. WWE is known for tweaking the presentation of its talent, and Rhodes, previously with the theme ‘Smoke and Mirrors,’ faced the possibility of changes. Despite this, Rhodes insisted that ‘Kingdom’ would remain his entry into his return to WWE.

The transition wasn’t straightforward, according to Downstait frontman Zack Call, who revealed a legal battle with WWE. The band was looking for their fair share by using ‘Kingdom’. After back-and-forth, Rhodes chimed in, declaring that he wouldn’t accept anything other than ‘Kingdom’ as his entrance song. Can you imagine we almost lost that iconic song as the entrance theme in the WWE? Well, thank god we got it back. Are you a fan of the theme? Let us know in the comments.

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