Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes is still expecting a huge showdown with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – and knows exactly how long he might have to wait.

Rhodes is the reigning Undisputed champ in WWE thanks to his epic WrestleMania win over Roman Reigns back in April.

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A sizable byproduct of the build to that main event match was the rivalry that developed between Rhodes and The Rock.

As well as leaving him bloodied and battered in a beatdown that left fans in tears, Rock got over on The American Nightmare by pinning him in the tag team bout that came the night prior to Rhodes’ major success.

As such, there’s plenty of mileage left in the feud between the two, with a future showdown almost inevitable after The People’s Champ vowed post-WrestleMania that he’d be heading back to WWE specifically to pick up where he’d left of.

In reality, Johnson stepped back away from wrestling commitments to film The Smashing Machine, but it hasn’t dampened speculation as to when he’ll tune back into WWE duties.

Rhodes is ready, however, telling The Pivot podcast that he’s prepared for the titanic tussle – once Johnson can spare the time.

"The Rock told me he’d see me when he comes back,” he explained.

“My head has been on a swivel every day since the day after WrestleMania, for when the Final Boss, as the Rock goes by now, for when his music hits.

“I’ll be 100% in the same spot I was, and I’ll be ready for him.

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"If he comes in any bit like he did for WrestleMania, he’ll be doing the whole ‘oh I finally got off, I’ve been so busy’ – the dude was on like a three-month training camp, he was dialled in, so I will certainly be dialled in myself.

"If I could give you a guess, I feel like, I hope it happens in the next year."

WWE have made no secret of the fact that a match between Rock and Reigns had been the original plan for WrestleMania, only for a strong fan backlash to force a frantic change of plans that saw Rhodes put back into pole position in the storyline, with The Undertaker and John Cena playing a part in a memorable Mania moment.

While Rhodes spoke mainly in character about the movie megastar, he did hint that the pair may have legitimately ‘butted heads’ on the issue of Rock being inserted into the title picture, effectively ahead of him, saying: "He found out I wasn't cool with it."

Rhodes later dodged the more direct question when asked whether it had resulted in real beef between the two, instead discussing his differences with fellow star Seth Rollins.

Rhodes will wrestle in a marquee match at WWE’s Money in the Bank Premium Live Event on Saturday, having successfully defended his title against the likes of Logan Paul and AJ Styles in recent months.

He teams with Kevin Owens and Randy Orton in a six-man tag team encounter with The Bloodline, in what promises to be a hard-hitting contest.

As well as the men and women’s ladder matches that give the event its name, Saturday’s show also features Sami Zayn defending his Intercontinental title against Bron Breakker, while Seth Rollins challenges Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship.