'They Made The Right Decision,' WWE Legend Says Of Cody Rhodes Losing At WrestleMania

Pro wrestling fans were ready to welcome Cody Rhodes as the new face of WWE at WrestleMania 39 by dethroning Roman Reigns for the undisputed WWE Universal Championship, but WWE creative, led by Triple H, decided to hold off on his coronation.

A month has passed since the event and fans continue to still feel some type of way about the finish, but "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is of the opinion that the storyline is more important than the moment.

Speaking with Busted Open Radio, the iconic Attitude Era star explained his thoughts on the matter.

"I completely thought that they made the right decision... He (Rhodes) gets injured. He blows out a [pectoral muscle]. He competes in the Royal Rumble. Now he comes back and he gets in the main event with Roman. I just think it was so storybook," Austin said.

"Has he earned the opportunity to be there? Yeah, but would he have been the right guy, right now, trying to take out Roman Reigns? I just think not."

The story of Rhodes leaving WWE to explore the world and even create his own pro wrestling company in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) only to go back to where his family's legacy began was heavily highlighted by WWE over the better part of last year.

However, a torn pectoral ahead of his match with Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell derailed any momentum that Rhodes had built since he had to be sidelined in order to recover.

When he did return at the 2023 Royal Rumble this past January, there were more questions than answers for Rhodes' future since fans had gravitated to Sami Zayn as the one to beat Reigns because of his great character work in the Bloodline's storyline.

Zayn went on to lose to Reign at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in February and that outcome had fans convinced Rhodes was going to be WWE's chosen one.

Losing to Reigns at WrestleMania was always going to be in the cards since WWE has grown somewhat unpredictable since Triple H took on his current role, but few would have believed prior to the event that Reigns was coming out on top once again.

With fans singing his theme song word for word, it was "the moment" that would have cemented Rhodes as the top star as Reigns slowly prepares for life after pro wrestling.

But looking back at Triple H's history inside the ring and as a booker, he has never been one to compromise the storyline for "the moment" and it is looking more and more like the same can be said for Rhodes.

The Bloodline storyline has always revolved around two men that being Reigns and his cousin Jey Uso.

With that in mind, Uso being the one to finally beat Reigns appears to be the call for Triple H with Rhodes being the one to take it off half of the Uso twins later.

As it is in the world of pro wrestling, everything is subject to change and there is still a chance that it will be Rhodes who ends Reigns' run and Austin thinks it is still possible.

"Cody (Rhodes) is going to be there. To me, it made me respect Cody more when you're laying down there looking at the lights and you know that story is going to be completed one of these days, but it ain't going to be right here and it was for the right reasons, and the reasons were business," he stated.