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Cody Rhodes believes modern WWE can be traced back to one night: WrestleMania 40. The Undisputed WWE Champion says everything the company is doing now stems from that event.
Rhodes made the comments in a recent appearance on The National, where he looked back on the historic two night event in Philadelphia in April 2024. Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 40 Night Two to finish his story and win the Undisputed WWE Championship for the first time. The win was the culmination of a two year storyline and marked the end of Reigns’s 1,316 day reign as champion.
Rhodes believes WrestleMania 40 set the tone for everything that has followed. He said the event changed the way WWE presents its top stars and opened the door for the company’s current boom period. He also credited the fans for making WrestleMania 40 a cultural moment, saying the crowd in Philadelphia was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
The numbers back up Rhodes’s claim. WrestleMania 40 was the most successful event in WWE history at the time, setting records for gate, viewership, merchandise, and social media. It also launched a new era for WWE, with the company moving to Netflix for Raw in 2025 and expanding its global footprint with major events in Saudi Arabia, France, and Australia.
Rhodes has been at the center of that boom. Since winning the title at WrestleMania 40, he has become one of WWE’s biggest stars, headlining major events and carrying the company as its top babyface. He lost the title to John Cena at WrestleMania 41 in April 2025, but regained it from Cena at SummerSlam later that year.
What is confirmed is that Rhodes main evented WrestleMania 40 and won the Undisputed WWE Championship from Roman Reigns. What is not confirmed is whether WWE’s current success can be directly attributed to that event, or if it is simply part of a larger trend.
