WWECody Rhodes put on one of the best performances at Wrestlemania this year.

Sitting with Cody Rhodes the night before Wrestlemania, he revealed something few superstars in a world of bravado and badass-ness would admit.

"I'm nervous," he told me. "I'm not a fan of hyperbole, but Wrestlemania is the biggest night of my life. I'm terrified and immensely confident all at the same time. I've never had a singles match on a pay-pre-view before, so it's awesome to me to say, you know what, I started it at Wrestlemania."

A match that Rhodes and Rey Mysterio went on to wrestle beautifully, making Rhodes, at least in my eyes, the breakout performer of the night.

Funny thing is, as I spoke to Rhodes, his trademark Rip Hamilton-like protective mask was placed on the table in front of him while the son of "The American Dream" explained how suffering a broken nose (and the addition of the "grotesque" look and mask) might have just been the best thing that ever happened to the "Dashing" one's career.

The new mask provides edge, adds to his character from a "Phantom of the Opera" shame on the skin and soul scenario ... not to mention, it can be used as a weapon.

"Jeremy Murray designed Rip Hamilton's mask, so I called Jeremy Murray to design mine. So if they look similar, that's why. My mask has been fogged, and my nose was actually broken, so the mask isn't unnecessary, but it's not entirely necessary.

"Hats off to guys like Rey and Sin Cara who have been wearing masks for years. It is not easy. It's casted to my face but it still gets sweaty underneath and gets slippery. I got one that has a chin strap, so that will be the final, final version, and I'm going to wear it for as long as I want."

As in, Cody's mask could be used like "Cowboy" Bob Orton's legendary cast and not removed for years.

"I would love that," Rhodes laughed. "I might never take the thing off."

I was talking with Rhodes at a special pre-WWE Hall of Fame reception hosted by video game publisher THQ. In the background, members of the media squared off against some of the wrestlers featured in the new game, "WWE All-Stars," including Sheamus and Randy Orton.

"What's great about 'All-Stars' is it's not reality based," said Rhodes as we checked out a virtual match. "When you leave a WWE event and you see Randy Orton RKO CM Punk, you walk away talking about how they must've flown six feet off the mat. In this game, they actually do. The WWE is not about what you see necessarily, it's about what you feel. When you're a kid, you talk about how Randy Savage jumped 30-feet in the air to drop the elbow. In this game, he actually does. That to me is cool because it's more about the feeling the fans get than what you actually see."

Rhodes is going to be a downloadable character in the game later this year and is anxiously waiting to see how his player model is sculpted.

Added Rhodes: "I'm terrified because I haven't seen my render yet. I see all these bodies where everyone is jacked and I'm afraid they are going to make me skinny or lanky. I hope I'm jacked. Rey Mysterio is jacked, so I hope I'm jacked. I'll never live it down if I'm not.

"Either way, though, I can't wait to download myself. I'm the only person I want to play as. What can I say, I'm just a selfish megalomaniac."