Cody Rhodes is once again discussing his desire to bring back the Winged Eagle design for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Cody Rhodes won the 2023 Royal Rumble match and as such, has the opportunity to challenge for a WWE World Championship in a singles match on pay-per-view for the first time ever. Shortly after winning the Royal Rumble, Cody Rhodes shared a picture of the Winged Eagle WWE Championship design from 1988-1998 on his social media.
Appearing on the latest episode of WWE's The Bump, Cody Rhodes discussed the possibility of resurrecting the vintage design. Of course, it all depends on if he manages to defeat Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39.
"Through my youth, the WWE that I was watching was really synonymous with the Winged Eagle," he began. "I think there's a lot of people who love the Winged Eagle design. Some people like the 'Big Eagle' [the design used from 1998-2002], whatever, but the Winged Eagle was the one for me.
"Today's design with the giant W is also incredibly special. It's this walking billboard for the promotion," Cody added.
Cody Rhodes would go on to say he has no idea whether or not bringing back the classic design is something that is actually feasible. He does not want fans to think that he is going into business for himself, but he knows that he was lucky enough to bring back the classic WWE Intercontinental Championship design in 2011 and is hoping he will have that same luck once again.
"The reality is I was able to change the Intercontinental Championship once before, which seemed absurd," he said. "If I'm able to get to the finish line, biggest WrestleMania of all time. SoFi [Stadium] in Hollywood, if I'm able to get to the finish line, and get my hands on these things that like I said, have eluded my family up until now. It just would be kind of a fun — maybe it's just a pipe dream. Maybe it's just a thought, a glimmer, but it would be fun to just say, let's just boil them [the two separate titles] down and bring back the Winged Eagle."
Cody Rhodes also stated that the company might be planning something completely different for the championship design; he truly has no idea. Still, he hopes to be able to cross one more item off of his bucket list.
That being said, Cody understands that there is equity in every championship design, and what they signify makes them special.
"All the titles, it's the equity within them that makes them special," Cody says. "From a design standpoint, I just have a lot of love and reverence for that one, and it's just a little pipe dream. I had the same pipe dream with the Intercontinental Title and I was lucky enough to make that come to fruition. So, follow along because this is where the fun begins."
What's the deal with @CodyRhodes and the WWE Winged Eagle Championship belt? --#WWETheBump pic.twitter.com/NBcfd1KVch
— WWE (@WWE) February 1, 2023
This is far from the first time that Cody Rhodes has discussed bringing back this particular design. As far back as 2014, on episodes of WWE Countdown on the WWE Network, Rhodes' admiration for the design and the potential pop one could get if they resurrected it, shone through.
Cody also discussed his desire to bring the Winged Eagle back shortly after his WWE return in 2022 on an episode of WWE After The Bell. Fans can read his comments from back then at this link.
So far, only two matches are set for WrestleMania 39. Fans can keep up with the card at this link.
Should you use any portion of the quotes above, transcription credit should go to Fightful with a H/T linking back to this article.
