Roman Reigns Highlights His Importance To WWE And Cody Rhodes

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For the second time in two years, Roman Reigns' record-setting run as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion is under threat from Cody Rhodes, who is set to challenge Reigns for the title at Night Two of WrestleMania 40. After defeating Rhodes to retain the title last year, however, Reigns isn't sweating Rhodes much at all. When asked about the upcoming match, and Rhodes' quest to "finish the story," during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Reigns described why he sees Rhodes' "story" as further proof that everything in WWE continues to revolve around "The Tribal Chief."

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"I think everybody's story revolves around me, you know what I'm saying?," Reigns said. "So I think he's just one of many that's just trying to tie this thing up. But at the end of the day, he's just a chapter in the big book...this thing's been started since August of 2020, since I came back and I told the whole world that I was the 'Head of the Table,' that I was the head of the greatest wrestling dynasty to ever exist, the Anao'i/Fatu dynasty. 

"And that's the thing. We've done so much great things that we've made this place...it's like there's a magnetism. We pulled you in. You're like, "Man, the Bloodline is doing all kinds of things. Let's go do that. Let's be a part of that.' Same thing with Cody. Cody was off doing who cares, a whole lot of nothing. He saw what we were doing in WWE, and he wanted to be a part of that. Hollywood, Dwayne [The Rock], saw what we're doing. I'm the only guy that didn't have to go to Hollywood. Hollywood came to me."

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Stepping away from trash-talking Rhodes for a bit, Reigns commented on always being driven to being the best, a mentality he believes he developed from growing up in the 90s and looking up to star athletes like Michael Jordan. It's a mentality that also believes his current run as Undisputed Champion separates him from champions of the past, including a 16-time World Champion like Reigns' former rival, John Cena.

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"For me, I don't take anything away from anybody," Reigns said. "What John [Cena's] done, as far as generations come, that's GOAT level stuff. For me, it's always been about quality, not quantity. John has a lot of title reigns, but he doesn't have a title reign that can compare to what I've done in the past four years. So this quality that I've put on display, it's speaks for itself. The business backs it. Everything that's happened, it's made this place more lucrative than its ever been. It's made this place attractive...My reign has gone through the most turbulent, crazy time in WWE's history. And that says a lot. I will always take the quality of this run over going 14, 15, 16 times any day of the week."

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If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Pat McAfee Show with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription