Newly crowned Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes promised he'll "try my best" to bring back an iconic belt.
During an appearance on former NFL punter and current WWE commentator Pat McAfee's the titular ESPN talk show, Rhodes, 38, acknowledged that he previously changed the Intercontinental championship and teased reverting back to the WWE Winged-Eagle design of the 1990s.
"I think we should probably just come right out with it. This (the current WWE title belt) is what I got in the ring so there's a level of specialness to this, equity that's been put into it, that I have a warm feeling about so I feel differently about it today," Rhodes said with his new title sitting in front of him. "However, that said, I had changed a title previously in the past. I am not in charge of anything, I am no longer an EVP, I have no stroke other than the fact that I'm the champion but I just think it would be special perhaps to see a particular championship, one that I grew up on."
"Again, I'm not in charge of anything. [WWE Chief Content Officer Paul] 'Triple H' [Levesque] is in charge of things but you guys are damn right, the winged eagle," Rhodes said after the crowd started chanting for the iconic belt after his tease. "If it doesn't happen, just don't get mad at me, okay? I'll do what I did the last time, I'm going to try my best so thank you, guys."
Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns in a 'Bloodline Rules' match during the main event of WrestleMania XL Night Two on Sunday (April 7), ending the latter's nearly four-year, 1,316-day reign as world champion. Reigns initially won the Universal Championship at WWE's 'Payback' live event on August 30, 2020, having defeated the late Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a No Holds Barred triple threat match and the WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar in a Winner Takes All match at 'WrestleMania 38' on April 3, 2022.
Rhodes made his WWE return after a nearly six-year absence at 'WrestleMania 37' in April 2022, becoming the first major All Elite Wrestling star to sign with the company, having also previously served as an executive and a crucial factor in the promotion's 2019 launch. The 38-year-old was sidelined due to a pectoral injury in 2022 before making his return to action at the 2023 'Royal Rumble', winning the event's titular match during each of the past two years, having also headlined last year's 'WrestleMania' against Reigns in a losing effort.
The second-generation wrestler is the son of late WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes and younger brother of WWE legend and current AEW wrestler/coach Dustin Rhodes, formerly known as 'Goldust,' and began his wrestling career in WWE's developmental program in 2006.