Without a doubt, Cody Rhodes is the face of the WWE after the likes of Roman Reigns and John Cena. Fans have diverse opinions about his existing persona; some call him the ultimate babyface, while others conclude that he is Homelander of the WWE. But in any case, his abilities inside the ring are unquestionable in the existing locker room.
As the world of professional wrestling anticipates with excitement as to who the next Crown Jewel Champion will be between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, the impeccable record Rhodes has in the WWE is worth having a look.
In light of the existing high-stakes encounter in Perth, Australia, here are 5 WWE superstars who pinned The American Nightmare before Crown Jewel 2025.
5. John Cena
John Cena was involved with Cody Rhodes with the dream of winning the undisputed WWE Championship that Rhodes had back during the beginning of the year. Things started to change drastically between Cena and Rhodes when he sold his soul to The Rock and ruthlessly attacked Rhodes at Elimination Chamber 2025.
Cena vowed to ruin wrestling and retire as the last real Champion of the WWE during the build-up to their high-stakes clash at WrestleMania 41. But what happened at the grandest stage of the year was truly unprecedented.
Travis Scott came to John Cena’s aid towards the end, which led to the distraction and an attack from Cena with the Championship belt to pin Rhodes down and win his 17th world title. Interestingly, this was the only defeat for Rhodes when he was pinned this year.
4. Solo Sikoa
This was the time when Solo Sikoa started a Bloodline of his own away from Roman Reigns’ OG faction, and stood against the combined forces of Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, and Rhodes in a 6-man tag team match at Money in the Bank 2024
Exhausted and heavily worn out, Rhodes was the main target of the Samoan faction. Sikoa delivered a vicious Samoan Spike to Cody Rhodes in the dying moments of the clash. Jacob Fatu then pushed the injured referee inside the ring and paved the way for Sikoa to seal a memorable and monumental win over the American Nightmare.
3. The Rock
While the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins are poised to face each other for the Crown Jewel title this time around, there was a time when these two prolific performers inside during were inside the ring as allies against The Rock and Roman Reigns during the highly coveted tag team clash that took place between these two groups at WrestleMania XL.
The Rock entered the ring against Rhodes when the American Nightmare was completely down and out after a relentless assault from Roman Reigns. The OTC was the undisputed Universal champion back then and displayed in true senses why he is such a dominant force inside the ring in the modern era of professional wrestling.
As soon as the People’s Champion entered the ring, it felt as if Rhodes had already surrendered. The attack from The Rock proved to be the final blow for Rhodes in the contest. Considering that his partner Rollins was nowhere to be seen, the final boss delivered a Rock Bottom and the People’s Elbow to pin Rhodes down and seal his fate for the match.
2. Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes have a history together, even though the American Nightmare managed to outperform the Scottish Warrior at Wrestlepalooza 2025, but there was a time when McIntyre got the better of Rhodes during the February 19, 2024, episode of Monday Night RAW (via WWE).
It was a highly exciting and the kind of clash where the match kept oscillating and the ultimate winner wasn’t decided until the final moments. As the clash kept fluctuating to and fro, Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa from The Bloodline came to the aid of McIntyre and assaulted Cody Rhodes.
Big Jim was the first one to initiate the interference as he allowed Solo Sikoa to enter the arena without Rhodes noticing. This turned out to be detrimental for the American Nightmare as he delivered a Samoan Spike to hand over the win to McIntyre on a plate.
The interference from the Bloodline turned the fate of the match in favor of the Scottish Warrior, who defeated Cody Rhodes to carve out one of the most coveted wins of his professional wrestling career.
1. Roman Reigns
The night of WrestleMania 39 was the moment when Roman Reigns, the Original Tribal Chief, defeated Cody Rhodes with the Universal title on the line. Both WWE superstars thoroughly tested each other inside the ring until Roman Reigns attacked Rhodes with a Spear and then consequently pinned Rhodes to retain the title.
Even though Rhodes failed to outperform Reigns that night, the American Nightmare demonstrated that he had what it takes to push Reigns to the edge and one day win the title, which he ultimately did at WrestleMania 40, marking the end of the era of domination from the Original Tribal Chief.
While Cody Rhodes getting pinned has been a rare feat in the WWE in recent times, these superstars have exemplified that it’s not impossible to beat the American Nightmare. What remains to be seen is if Seth Rollins can secure a place amongst superstars who have outperformed him in recent times.
What are your thoughts on these defeats in Cody Rhodes’s professional wrestling career? Share with us in the comments below.
Crown Jewel 2025 will be streaming live on October 11, 2025, on ESPN in the United States and Netflix everywhere else.
