Roman Reigns admits his respect for Cody Rhodes.
In 2016, Cody Rhodes left WWE and started his journey on the independent scene, which eventually led to the formation of All Elite Wrestling. In 2022, despite being a co-executive vice president of AEW, Rhodes left the promotion to return to WWE.
In the lead up to WrestleMania 39, Reigns told Cody that he ran from the grind by leaving WWE while he stayed and helped build the promotion. Speaking to Daniel Cormier of ESPN, Reigns admitted that he wasn't sure he would have been able to do what Cody did.
"It's going to sound a little weird because, in our heated exchanges, I said some things, and I stand by them. From my perspective, he ran. Plain and simple. On the other side, he did something very resilient. He did something that, and that's one of the things that maybe bothers me or concerns me the most about him...I don't know if I would be willing or if I could do what he did. As a man, I don't like that. I want to feel like I can do anything, but he did something that, I don't know if I would have been willing to do what he did. I respect that. Me and Seth (Rollins), this is one of the only things we agree on, we don't want to be busting our ass this whole time, building this thing up for what it is, and just have some white knight coming sweeping in and take it from us. I've worked too hard, year after year, show after show, to put this place where it is. Then, here he comes. That's just not how it works for me," said Roman.
Rollins has been very outspoken regarding Rhodes returning and being in the spot that he's in, which is the main event of WrestleMania 39 against Reigns.
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