Cody Rhodes Channels a Classic Hulk Hogan Poster With His WrestleMania 39 Merch

By Connor Casey

Cody Rhodes unveiled special WrestleMania 39 merchandise ahead of next month's two-night event that will only be available during the show and at WWE's WrestleMania Superstore in Los Angeles. The t-shirt design depicts Rhodes (and his dog Pharoah) recreating a classic Hulk Hogan WrestleMania VII poster as he stands on a mountaintop swinging an American flag behind him. Rhodes will try to finally end Roman Reigns' dominant run as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion in the show's main event. 

This week's SmackDown saw Rhodes try to finally reunite Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens as both fruitlessly attempted to bring down The Bloodline. The show ended with the two finally embracing as Rhodes looked on with approval. While not officially announced, all signs point to Zayn & Owens challenging The Usos for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championships.

Cody Rhodes on WWE Fans Supporting Sami Zayn

While Zayn's reunion with Owens was incredibly well-received, fans spent months vocally pushing for Zayn to be involved in the WrestleMania main event alongside Reigns and Rhodes. "The American Nightmare" talked about that in an interview on Out of Character earlier this month. 

"I looked at it as a challenge, is probably the best way to look at it, and not a negative challenge," Rhodes said. "Sami is doing amazing things. You didn't just buy yourself some future spot. You've got to get back in there and show people exactly what you can do. What a great problem to have when you have two very strong characters. One of the worst things we can do as a community is trying to turn the characters against one another. Sami got his shot in Montreal, in his hometown, and came as close as anyone. Drew may be very similar in terms of being close. Sami and I have a real genuine relationship. I thought, 'Well, if they love him, and I'm been so lucky that they love me in this moment too, I better make sure I give them the absolute best, and again, leave no doubt.' I never once looked at it as a problem. I looked at it as a challenge and for WWE as a whole, a great problem to have."

"Every show is a little more telling, but Brooklyn, in the Barclays Center, that filled me with confidence as far as their belief in what he's doing and their belief in what I'm doing," he continued. "There are stories to be finished here for both sides and the worst thing you can do is turn those against each other. As we stood there I thought, 'Well, I'd love to wrestle this guy.' I would love to wrestle this guy because you know, Sami wasn't sweating me when I was Stardust, and rightfully so. He didn't need too. He was coming up from NXT and on a roll. It's a different person now. So very much it's a match that I look forward to when and if it ever happens with somebody like a Sami Zayn. He's a next level performer and he's even more of an elite next level human being."

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