Cody Rhodes’ WWE Return Deal Came Down to the Wire Before WrestleMania 38

Cody Rhodes made headlines in 2022 when he returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 after a six-year absence — but according to Seth Rollins, the deal to bring him back came down to the wire.

While chatting on Games With Names, Seth Rollins revealed that WWE was in “top secret” mode and still didn’t have Cody’s signature locked down just two weeks before WrestleMania.

“He had been gone for six years. When did I find out about this? I wrestled Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble. After that, there were some conversations about matches. I would say I didn’t know for sure about Cody until the middle of March.”

With WrestleMania 38 happening in early April, that didn’t leave much wiggle room. Rollins admitted even then, there were still doubts backstage about whether Cody was officially on board.

“Even up until about two weeks before, I remember thinking, ‘Do we actually have his signature on a piece of paper? Do we know this is really what we’re going to do?’”

Rhodes left AEW in early 2022, marking the end of an era for the company he helped build. His return to WWE was one of the biggest surprises in modern wrestling — and Rollins confirmed that secrecy was the name of the game leading up to the moment.

“It was very top secret. There were very few people who knew what was going on.”

Cody’s return at WrestleMania 38 wasn’t just a triumph — it was a gamble that paid off big. But as Rollins made clear, it almost didn’t happen. Had talks fallen through just a couple of weeks before the event, WWE would’ve been scrambling for a Plan B and we may have never gotten the American Nightmare back in WWE.

Rhodes is now the face of the company heading into WrestleMania 42, proving just how wild and unpredictable wrestling business negotiations can be — even at the very top.

Were you surprised to learn how close Cody Rhodes came to not signing in time for WrestleMania 38? Do you think WWE handled the secrecy the right way? Drop your thoughts in the comments — we want to hear from you!

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