Cody Rhodes opens up on WrestleMania 42 fiasco: 'It was probably the most proud I'd ever been of how I dealt with anything'

​  WrestleMania 42 is long in the rearview after a rollercoaster of a weekend in Las Vegas this past April. To close out WrestleMania Saturday, Cody Rhodes retained his Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton, though not without criticism.The feud between Rhodes and Orton was a long time coming; 20 years, to be exact, dating back to Rhodes’ earliest years in the WWE. With such a rich history of lore and potential storylines to pull from between the two men, fans were none too pleased once celebrity involvement was added to the mix in the forms of Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSpeaking Wednesday on “The Ariel Helwani Show” while backstage at a WWE live event in Cardiff, Wales, Rhodes reflected on his most controversial WrestleMania appearance yet.”I hope wrestling fans can understand that behind the scenes for me, it was probably the most proud I’d ever been of how I dealt with anything,” Rhodes told Uncrowned. “It was probably the most calm I’d ever been on the day, and probably, even though my eye was shot afterward, it was probably the most calm I’d ever been leaving the ring. There were a lot of new factors. Companies change, directives change — that’s part of every walk of life, every type of entertainment. I really just wanted to take a page out of the guys who had been mentors for me.”I thought a lot about my dad, and I thought a lot about ‘Hunter’ [Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque], and how they would deal with something that was unique. You’re wrestling the guy who you’ve got almost 20 years of history with. But then there’s this unbelievably bold Pat McAfee character with such a crossover appeal, and doing so great on ESPN. Then there’s Jelly Roll, who was just coming off winning these Grammys.”I just wanted to make it work for the night, and for everyone to feel that we had given them our best efforts,” Rhodes continued. “I have been looking back at it. I may be thinking too internally about it, but internally, I was so proud because you’re dealing with a lot of big names and potentially a lot of big egos. I wanted to do right again by the people who raised me in the business, and hey, I’m going to make this work, and not just make it work, I’m going to make it sing if I can.”Rhodes, 40, admitted there was a moment throughout the storyline where he lost his cool backstage and had an outburst of sorts. While Rhodes didn’t specify exactly when the moment occurred, he said it was a reaction to him dropping an “F-bomb” on live TV.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”I knew right when I got to my bus — and when I say ‘outburst,’ it’s just like me muttering some curse words like on the ‘Christmas Story’ [movie] and yelling, knocking over some water bottles a la Sami Zayn,” Rhodes said. “Nothing too intense. But I remember getting to my bus and thinking, ‘Yeah, you outgrew that.’ If you want a job in the wrestling space, nobody has a harder job than Triple H right now. There’s never been a booker in      ​Read More Feedzy