- Rhodes beat Roman Reigns to win Undisputed WWE Universal Title on Sunday
- He put an end to the former champion’s near-four-year reign at WrestleMania
- The new champion explained how gift from officials had sentimental meaning
Cody Rhodes has revealed how a group of WWE officials gifted him a monumental watch after his victory over Roman Reigns.
Rhodes made history in WWE by getting the better of Reigns, ending a reign that had lasted over 1,300 days in a match that featured a number of WWE stars and legends getting involved in the match.
He cut an emotional figure after the match as his family joined him in the ring to celebrate, as well as a number of other WWE stars, standing alongside him after he became the new WWE champion.
Much of the story of Rhodes’ bid to win the title was led by the fact his late father Dusty Rhodes had never won the title, and Cody paid tribute to his father after the match both in the ring and after.
In the post-event press conference, Rhodes found it hard to hold it together as he explained a gift he received from WWE officials that related to his father.
Cody Rhodes revealed how a group of WWE officials gifted him a special watch after he beat Roman Reigns
Rhodes defeated Reigns (right) to become the new WWE champion, ending his opponents reign just short of four years
He explained how the gift he received related to his late father, Dusty (pictured), who passed away in 2015
‘I came to the back and Bruce Pritchard and Triple H and Nick Khan hadned me this. It is the same watch my dad had. That he pawned so that I could go to acting school.
‘The level of investment and responsibility that the company just put in my hands, I hope I can pay it back, pay if forward 100 times over.’
Rhodes cut an emotional figure discussing his father, who played a big role in his career in the WWE.
Rhodes made it somewhat his mission to carry on his father’s legacy when he passed in 2015, adopting ‘The American Nightmare’ as a nickname as a spin-off on Dusty’s ‘American Dream’.
When he returned to WWE two years ago, he made it clear his aim was to win the WWE title, a feat Dusty didn’t achieve in his career.
Last year he came up short against holder Reigns, though this year got the better of his rival to win the belt.
Rhodes had made it clear since he returned to WWE two years ago that he wanted to win title
WWE boss Triple H (left) and fellow official Nick Khan (right) were involved in the process of sourcing the gift
Rhodes broke down into tears as he discussed his father’s legacy in the post-event press conference
WWE chief Triple H also took to the microphone at the press conference and was asked about the meaning behind the watch.
After joking that Rhodes was a ‘stooge’, he explained how the gift came about and how it was due to the size of the occasion.
‘We wanted to do something special for him,’ he said. ‘It is a special night for him. The storyline thing, this finish the story, it’s not a fabricated thing, it’s real.
‘Bruce was very close with Dusty, I was very close with Dusty. I know what this means to Cody, what this business means to him. He is the right human being.
‘It was Nick’s idea. He had this amazing idea. Bruce was just along for the ride a little bit. I thought it was great, Bruce went and found this watch that was the exact same that Dusty had an we just wanted to give him something that in some way commemorated his dad being here when this happened, because he was.’