Cody Rhodes and Stone Cold (Image credits: WWE’s website)

Cody Rhodes has reacted to the reports that Stone Cold Steve Austin didn’t appear at WrestleMania because of financial disagreements.

On WrestleMania XL Night 2, The American Nightmare won the Undisputed WWE Title by defeating Roman Reigns. Many fans were expecting to see WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin make an appearance to help Rhodes against The Bloodline.

Instead, The Undertaker showed up and hit a Chokeslam on The Rock during the final moments of the match. Later, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Austin didn’t appear at ‘Mania because the two parties couldn’t reach a financial agreement. Cody Rhodes has now responded to the ‘stories’ about Austin’s absence from The Show of Shows. Here’s what he had to say to Austin on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast:

“I’ll say this. I know a lot of people talked about Stone Cold Steve Austin and him being there, him not being there, and stories and all that. I have nothing but love for Stone Cold. Again, the most profitable and unbelievable wrestler for his time. The Attitude Era has been held up against what we’ve been doing for so long. It’s such a great feeling to know that we’re now out kicking it. They set that bar for us and they set this table for us, and now we’re doing it all again. So nothing but love for The Texas Rattlesnake.” [From 11:09 to 11:52]Check out the video below:

The Undertaker’s appearance proved to be a game-changer for Cody Rhodes

The final moments of the match saw The Rock come out and put down John Cena. Suddenly, the iconic gong hit, and out came The Deadman. He attacked The Final Boss and the latter was taken out of the equation.

Mere seconds later, Cody Rhodes pinned The Tribal Chief and became the Undisputed WWE Champion. He celebrated with several top names to close out the show, while Reigns and The Bloodline headed backstage with disappointment on their faces.