Cody Rhodes kept his WrestleMania 42 media tour rolling with a First Take appearance on ESPN, where he was asked to name the five greatest WrestleMania performers in WWE history based solely on their WrestleMania body of work. The list he produced was both thoughtful and deliberate — placing two of his current-day peers alongside three all-time legends.
Rhodes’ five greatest WrestleMania performers: Hulk Hogan, Roman Reigns, Shawn Michaels, Randy Savage, and Charlotte Flair. He acknowledged upfront that the internet would not be kind to him for leaving Steve Austin off the list. He also pointedly excluded himself despite heading into his fifth WrestleMania main event, saying he hopes his statistics will eventually make him worthy of inclusion when someone else constructs a similar ranking in the future.
Cody Rhodes Says Headlining WrestleMania Is the Most Difficult Thing to Do in WWE Ahead of His Night One Championship Defense
Rhodes framed the criteria specifically around WrestleMania performance rather than overall career achievement, which explains choices like Randy Savage and the inclusion of Reigns and Flair alongside the Mount Rushmore-level legends. Reigns was involved in three of Rhodes’ own five WrestleMania main events — a detail that speaks to the shared history and mutual professional respect between the two. Rhodes defends the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton on WrestleMania 42 Night One on April 18 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, with ESPN’s First Take broadcasting live from the venue on Friday.
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