Seth Rollins has shed light on the secretive nature of Cody Rhodes’ return to WWE at WrestleMania 38. Speaking on the Games With Names podcast, the former World Heavyweight Champion revealed just how close the company cut it when confirming his opponent for the Grandest Stage of Them All.
“When did I find out about this? I do [the] Royal Rumble, I wrestle Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble. After that, there were some conversations about matches,” Rollins said. “I would say I didn’t know about Cody for sure until the middle of March, I wanna say. For sure.”
Rollins explained that while there were rumors and discussions, the actual confirmation came surprisingly late in the build to the April event. The uncertainty was significant enough that Rollins questioned whether the match was locked in just weeks before the show.
“I would say, WrestleMania is in April and so, we had maybe a month of lead time knowing Cody was for sure coming, and even ’til two weeks before I remember being like, do we have his signature on a piece of paper so we know this is what we’re gonna do?” Rollins recalled. “It was very top secret. There were very few people that knew what was going on.”
The match at WrestleMania 38 marked the beginning of a defining rivalry for the modern era of WWE. Rollins and Rhodes would go on to have a trilogy of matches that year, culminating in a Hell in a Cell bout that is widely regarded as a classic. Their story has remained intertwined ever since, most recently clashing at Crown Jewel 2025 in Australia.
In that bout, Rollins defeated Rhodes to become the inaugural Crown Jewel Champion, though he suffered a torn rotator cuff during the match. Rollins is currently recovering from surgery and is expected to be out of action for approximately six months, while Rhodes recently competed in a no-contest against Oba Femi at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Games With Names with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. Subscribe to Games With Names on Apple Podcasts.
