The current undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes says he hopes wrestling bonanza WrestleMania will be hosted in the UK within the next five years.
The 39-year-old, known as the “American Nightmare” in the wrestling world, told BBC 5Live: “If I’m aiming, it would be cool to get it [in the UK] in the next five years.”
WrestleMania is usually held in the US over two nights between mid-March and mid April and is the longest running wrestling event in professional wrestling history.
Rhodes said: “There’s some really big venues over here that could host a WrestleMania,” adding, “I think American fans would jump at the chance to come to a WrestleMania [overseas], whether that that be in Manchester or London, I think they’d go nuts for it.”
Rhode’s comments come after 16-time WWE world champion John Cena talked up the possibility of the biggest show in wrestling being hosted outside of the US, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan held talks with WWE Chief Content Officer and former wrestler Paul “Triple H” Levesque earlier this year.
Rhodes said: “When the greatest of all time, as we like to call John [Cena], goes out there and says it, it almost wills itself into existence.
“I’m very much looking forward to watching that situation unfold.”
The son of wrestling legend the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, Cody won his first undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40 in April, after defeating Roman Reigns in a main event match that included appearances from the likes of Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson and The Undertaker.
Rhodes departed the WWE in 2016 and competed on the independent circuit and with rival-promotion All Elite Wrestling, only to return to the WWE and “complete his story” by winning the top title two-years later.
“If you look at it now, it feels like it was destined to be, but I never looked at it that way,” he said.
This article was originally published at www.bbc.com
