“It Was Legit Like Batman”: Cody Rhodes Shares His Incredible Interaction With Stone Cold Steve Austin

The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes returned to the WWE after six years. WWE brought Cody Rhodes back as the mystery opponent for Seth “Freakin” Rollins at WrestleMania 38. The last time Cody Rhodes wrestled at WrestleMania was at the same AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

But back in 2016, Cody Rhodes performed under his family’s “Stardust” gimmick. But, this time, Cody Rhodes emerged as The American Nightmare in Texas, and everyone had goosebumps as his theme song popped.

Cody Rhodes left Vince McMahon’s WWE in 2016 because it did not satisfy him with his role in the company. Over these six years, The American Nightmare imprinted his footsteps in other wrestling promotions. It included New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Ring of Honor (ROH), and of course, All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

Cody Rhodes on his incredible meetup with Stone Cold Steve Austin!

After the triumphant return of The American Nightmare appeared in front of the media. Cody Rhodes recollected an incident when he bumped into Stone Cold Steve Austin in 2017 during an NJPW show. Rhodes wrestled against Kazuchika Okada at the Long Beach show in California.

‘Dashing’ Cody explained that he didn’t know Stone Cold attended the show; he just heard a whisper that ‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ was in the same building. Rhodes tried to get some space in the parking lot, and Stone Cold Steve Austin bumped into him.

“He [Stone Cold] came up to me in the parking lot, and he was telling me about some holds that I could do differently. But he was giving me really sincere, genuine advice from wrestling’s most prolific money maker. So you had to stop being a fan and listen to what he’s saying,” Rhodes mentioned.

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The American Nightmare received expert knowledge about submission maneuvers from the WWE legend himself. At that moment, Stone Cold Steve Austin was like an idol to Cody. But since Austin was giving him advice, Cody had to stop being a fanboy and grasp every ounce of mastery from The Texas Rattlesnake.

Why was it like The Batman for The American Nightmare?

Speaking of Texas, the WWE Universe witnessed Stone Cold Steve Austin at The Most Stupendous WrestleMania. The Texas Rattlesnake came back to humble Kevin Owens at the grandest stage of them all.

WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin returned inside the squared circle after 19 years. But, just like Cody Rhodes, even Stone Cold made his return to WWE at WrestleMania 38. The American Nightmare continued reflecting on his experience of meeting Steve Austin in 2017.

Cody added, “So, I’m listening, and then all this press and media is slowly coming. Right as they got a little closer, he [Stone Cold] patted on the shoulder, turned around, and walked off into the darkness. There’s no car; there’s no hotel. It was like Batman. It was legit, like Batman, because there were people like, ‘Where did he go?’ He was gone. So, I don’t know if he turned the corner and sprinted. It was a really special thing.”

The Texas Rattlesnake and The American Nightmare had the same encounter at WrestleMania 38 when they met again. Rhodes was glad to see Austin at the Grandest Stage of them all when the glass shutter music popped. Cody Rhodes has the utmost respect for Stone Cold Steve Austin.

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Both men had their homecoming WrestleMania moment this year. The American Nightmare defeated Seth “Freakin” Rollins, and Stone Cold defeated Kevin Owen in his hometown.