WWE: Cody Rhodes Says His "Finish The Story" Storyline is "Now or Never"

48 hours after he returned to WWE at WWE WrestleMania 38, Cody Rhodes laid out the blueprint: finish the story. Cody addressed the WWE audience on Monday Night Raw by sharing an anecdote about his late father, WWE Hall of Famer "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. As history tells it, Dusty defeated Billy Graham in 1977, the man who was reigning with the World Wide Wrestling Federation Championship, the prize that would eventually become the WWE Title. Dusty's victory came via countout, which meant that despite being technically victorious, Graham had retained the title due to the champion's advantage. Nearly five decades later, Cody has made it his mission to win the championship that his father never got the chance to hold.

"When I came back and the story was a real story, that is actually what I talked to Vince (McMahon) and Bruce (Prichard) about in that meeting," Cody told Chris Van Vliet. "'Hey, here's the WWWF Title. I have it. Dan Lambert gave it to me. This is the whole reason I wanted to be in the business. This physical piece of [metal], this thing right here, this belt, this championship belt.' So I was fine with leaning in because it feels like it's now or never."

Now or never is especially true with Cody specifically. While the 38-year-old is in his prime right now, he has expressed a desire to retire by 40 in past interviews. Beyond that, Cody is a bonafide main event-caliber talent within WWE at the moment, a far cry from where he was during his initial run in the company.

"There's things you have to earn, and when you're someone's kid and you're second generation, you have them all at your disposal at the beginning," Cody reflected on who he is now compared to who he was when he started wrestling. "But there's a difference from where you use them at the beginning and when you've earned them. I felt like I'd earned them.

"I remember Stephanie McMahon said this: 'Use everything. Use everything you have.' There couldn't be a more appropriate time to use everything. WrestleMania. The main event. Essentially being elected president is getting that match. Use it all. Use everything you have and leave no stone unturned. She was right."

Rhodes faces Brock Lesnar on Saturday, August 5th at WWE SummerSlam.