Cody Rhodes initially gave up his WWE WrestleMania 40 spot to The Rock earlier this year. As The Final Boss returned on SmackDown to confront Roman Reigns, he whispered something in The American Nightmare’s ear. The latter recently revealed what the legend told him.

On the February 2 episode of SmackDown, the 2024 Royal Rumble winner confronted the then-Undisputed WWE Universal Champion to tell him he would go after his title but not at WrestleMania. The American Nightmare stated that he received advice from someone Reigns’ knew before The Rock’s music hit.

Before Rhodes left the ring, The Final Boss whispered something in his ear that made him smile briefly. In a recent interview with Flagrant, Cody revealed that The Rock told him that they would make their fathers proud:

“Him and I had an embrace. He told me something super sweet in my ear. I’m sure he doesn’t mind me sharing, even though we’re not best buddies, but he said, ‘We’re gonna make both our dads proud.’ And I like smiled for a brief moment then I left,” he said. [From 1:42:08 – 1:42:26]

Cody Rhodes ended up main-eventing WWE WrestleMania 40

Despite Cody Rhodes initially giving up his shot at WrestleMania to The Rock, a fan movement led the Stamford-based company to change plans. Instead of facing Roman Reigns at The Show of Shows, The Final Boss turned heel and joined The Bloodline.

The Rock returned to the ring after a nearly eight-year absence to team up with Reigns on Night One of WrestleMania to defeat Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a tag team match. The following night, The American Nightmare defeated the Original Tribal Chief to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship.

On RAW after WrestleMania, The Rock confronted Rhodes and informed him that he would go after him when he returned from hiatus. Earlier this month, The Final Boss made a surprise appearance at Bad Blood to make a cryptic and seemingly threatening gesture to The American Nightmare, Reigns, and Jimmy Uso.