Cody Rhodes is considered amongst the best in professional wrestling today, and with that, most would believe he knows which other superstars are also all-time greats.
However, the WWE superstar made a glaring mistake during his recent appearance on ESPN, and fans quickly took him to task. Rhodes appeared on “First Take,” and fill-in host Courtney Cronin asked him to list his top five WrestleMania wrestlers of all-time.
Seems simple, right? Rhodes called the concept “fun” and pondered the various best-in-the-business wrestlers he could name, seemingly opting for a few current superstars along with several legends.
He shared that Charlotte Flair would be fifth on his list, followed by the “Macho Man” Randy Savage and the “Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. Closing out the list were Roman Reigns at the second spot and Hulk Hogan at the very top of the list.
Fans quickly pointed out a glaring omission from Cody’s list, noting that all such lists should include The Undertaker.
“But no Undertaker?? No Cena?? Yeah … the replies about to be chaotic,” a commenter said on an X video clip featuring Cody’s picks.
“I don’t care if it’s his opinion, no undertaker makes the list invalid,” another commented.
Others commented, “lol Charlotte Flair over Taker give me a [expletive] break,” and “No undertaker is diabolical.”
“Everyone has there opinion which is totally understandable but not including Undertaker and John Cena should be a criminal offence,” a commenter suggested.
Some suggested it was “rage bait” to have Charlotte Flair on the list over Undertaker, or that “Having Charlotte and Roman on there was clearly a PR move.”
That seems to make the most sense, as WWE’s WrestleMania 42 is just days away. Cody knew it was essential to include several individuals associated with the current product, as Charlotte and Reigns are both featured on the two-day event’s card.
Charlotte will team up with her tag partner, Alexa Bliss, as part of a Fatal Four-Way match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship. The Bella Twins, the team of Lyra Valkyrie with Bayley, and the current champions, Lash Legend and Nia Jax, will also participate.
Reigns will get into the ring as part of Sunday night’s main event match when he battles CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship. It marks yet another main event match at WrestleMania for the “One Tribal Chief” in a legendary career.
Hogan, Macho Man, and Michaels make a lot of sense on Rhodes’ list. One has to wonder whether, if ESPN asked him to name the 10 greatest WrestleMania wrestlers, he’d have included John Cena, Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Rock, but it’s hard to know.
Undertaker is known for his legendary 21-0 streak at WrestleMania, which included plenty of memorable moments. Add in an extra shocking moment when he lost in an all-out battle with Brock Lesnar, who ended the streak at WrestleMania XXX in 2014.
Rhodes’ failure to include Taker is certainly a choice, but one can see he was clearly pushing the upcoming WrestleMania 42, and he stirred up some controversy among fans in the process.