Cody Rhodes is main-eventing WrestleMania for a third successive year, which may prove highly costly for his bank balance.
The American Nightmare splashed out on a lavish gift for The Rock, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins ahead of last year’s Show of Shows.
The quartet headlined night one of WrestleMania XL, which saw the Bloodline prevail after the returning ‘Final Boss’ pinned Rhodes.
The build-up to the rivalry was brutal and bloody on screen, with Rhodes and the Rock in particular relishing sneaking expletives past WWE’s usually strict censors.
However, behind the scenes, Rhodes has since shared the classy gesture he organised for those involved in his WrestleMania match.
The 39-year-old revealed last year he splashed out on custom-made, matching Rolex watches that had the number ’40’ engraved on them.
Rhodes discussed the bling he gave Rollins on Ariel Helwani’s MMA hour, with Rock, Reigns, and Paul Heyman all later spotted with them.
Discussing his and Rollins’ history together, he said: “You’re bonded over people you have these significant memories with, so we’re going to WrestleMania 40 to main event, his first main event, together.
“Main event with the guy I returned against, the guy who won the first NXT Title with my dad [Dusty Rhodes] handing him the belt.”
Rhodes added: “We’re bonded by our wristwear, our timepieces.
“There’s more than two [in the world], I can’t say who all has them, but there’s more than two.
“I will say I was really excited to give it to him because we will forever be competitive against one another, but we don’t have to not be respectful and even friends, we can be that.
“My dad and Ric Flair were at each other’s throats for years, two decades.
“They were at their best when they were at each other’s throats competitively, but they remained loving and respectful.”
Watches are particularly significant for Rhodes, who has himself been gifted a gold Rolex by Triple H, Nick Khan, and Bruce Prichard.
The Georgia-born grappler previously revealed his father, the late wrestling icon Dusty Rhodes, had promised him his Rolex should he ever win the WWE World Title.
Upon Dusty’s 2015 passing, Rhodes discovered the watch had been pawned to pay for him and his sister Teil to go to acting school.
“He gave both my sister and I $10,000 cash each and I would find out later that he had pawned his Rolex,” he said in a 2023 documentary. “And I always thought I’d get that Rolex. He was willing to go great lengths.”
Years later, on night two of WrestleMania 40, Rhodes finally completed his story by capturing the Undisputed WWE title.
Having come back through the curtain with the belt, he was gifted with the same solid gold Rolex Datejust 36 model his father had.
Speaking in April 2024, Triple H explained: “We wanted to do something special for him, it’s a special night for him.
“Bruce was very close with Dusty, I was very close with Dusty, so I know what this means to Cody, I know what this business means to him…It was Nick’s idea. Nick had this amazing idea, and I’m just along for the ride a little bit. Nick’s idea, I thought it was great.
“Bruce went and super sleuthed down this watch that was the exact same watch that Dusty had to present to Cody, and we wanted to give him something that in some way commemorated his dad being here when this happened, because he was.”
Rhodes has held both watch and the title for the 12 months since, with the latter being put on the line at ‘Mania 41, though it’s yet to be revealed what expensive item, if any, awaits opponent John Cena.
