At WrestleMania 40, Cody Rhodes didn’t just finish his story, he capitalized on everything he’s worked for over the last few years to elevate himself to the face of WWE. Holding the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship for the first time in his career, Rhodes will also roll into Monday Night Raw as the driving force behind the band Downstait claiming the top song on the iTunes Rock chart following his win.
‘Kingdom’ is NUMBER ONE on the #iTunes US Rock Charts!!!
We will never be able to thank @CodyRhodes and all of you enough for making this happen, but THANK YOU, and we love you.
pic.twitter.com/9pJ9xvwGGV
— Downstait (@DownstaitBand) April 8, 2024
When Rhodes returned to WWE three years ago, he was intentional about every aspect of his character. Maintaining the gimmick he’d created wasn’t in question — he had trademarked everything and has the tattoo of his logo prominently placed on his neck. And when it came to his music, he was adamant everything stay intact.
“The music, it wasn’t that there was any pushback, as much as it was, what does it matter? We make great music here too, and really they do,” Rhodes told Uproxx Sports ahead of his American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes documentary. “I’ve heard a song that was a version for me here. That was an area where I was adamant, and Kevin Dunn was very generous in that he allowed that to be the case. Now I couldn’t think of the bit without it. There’s some fans who are absolutely on board and they know every part of this movie you’re going to see. And then there’s other fans who know, this is where we go, ‘whoa,’ at the show and that may be their only thing. What we’ve discovered was this rallying cry against WWE, which is what the song is, is very catchy. That was an area where I knew it was important enough to fight for it.”
The song has become tied to Rhodes and his rise to the top, and will now follow him into his first appearance as champion on Monday Night Raw.