Cody Rhodes Reveals Who He Regrets Not Having in Ring After WrestleMania Victory And Its Not His Brother Dustin Rhodes

Cody Rhodes regrets about one thing at WrestleMania 40. It is not having a wrestler on his side after his victory. Check out who Cody is talking about.

By Mohammad Bilal

Published on May 22, 2024 | 11:28 AM IST | 64.7K

Cody Rhodes after winning the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40. Photo: Getty

Cody Rhodes might have scripted history at WrestleMania 40 by winning the WWE title, but in his heart of hearts, he still has one regret. No, it’s not about having his father, Dusty Rhodes, or his brother, Dustin Rhodes, by his side after the victory; it's about not having a special person who played a monumental role in his career growth years ago.

That wrestler is Shawn Spears, the current NXT wrestler. Cody regrets not having Spears by his side in the ring after his win at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

For the unversed, Cody Rhodes and Shawn Spears share a deep association that dates back years. The two shared a Tag Team tenure at the Ohio Wrestling Valley (2006–07), and during those few months, Cody learned a lot of things from Shawn Spears.

What does Cody say about missing Shawn Spears?

Cody, while appearing at the Babyfaces Podcast, said that Shawn knew about the day when the former would make it big, and that's why he direly missed him that moment.

Cody goes, "He does not get enough credit from me for how special he is. He is the only person that I regret I didn't have in the ring after WrestleMania. I saw him that day; we took a picture together, and he was just like he always was. He knew what this day was. He knew it was big,” Cody revealed while speaking on the Babyfaces Podcast.

Cody said that he wouldn’t be where he is today without the help of Shawn. ”I wouldn't be where I'm at without Shawn Spears. He's a blessing to the business, and I'm so glad to see him in NXT," he said.

What special bond do Cody Rhodes and Shawn Spears share?

Cody Rhodes has immense admiration for Shawn Spears because the latter helped him a lot during his early days in professional wrestling. Shawn Spears once revealed that when Cody came to OVW, he was an amateur, while Spears had experience spanning at least 4 years. So, he guided Cody appropriately at an early point in his career.

“Cody was a brand new, young, up-and-coming baby that lacked experience but was adored by the fan base. I had about 4 or 4 1/2 years of experience under my belt, so I had the experience but was unknown, and no one cared. So it was a perfect pairing because I helped with the experience side of things and, by association, people liked me because I was Cody’s friend,” Spears had said this nearly four years ago, in 2020, in his appearance at the Busted Open Radio.

Spears had then also revealed that Cody’s father, Dustin Rhodes, had pulled him aside and told him that Cody was destined to be a singles star. Spears admitted that he didn’t understand then what Dusty meant by it, but he understood it years later—what Dusty Rhodes had seen in his son.

Cody then signed up with WWE by the end of 2006, and he stayed with the company for the next 10 years. In 2016, he left WWE to wrestle at Independent Wrestling Circuits and also had a brief time at TNA. In 2019, he started another wrestling promotion with Tony Khan, called AEW. That became a grand success, and Cody stayed there for 3 years. In 2022, Cody returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38, and he beat Seth Rollins in his return match. Since then, Cody has had a phenomenal run with the company, winning two back-to-back Royal Rumbles and ultimately winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40.