Roman Reigns Shockingly Beats Cody Rhodes In Smoldering Main Event

Roman Reigns defeated Cody Rhodes in a shocking finish at WrestleMania 39. Following the crushing loss, Rhodes was applauded by the live crowd.

In a heated match, where The Usos were fended off by Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, Solo Sikoa—who was kicked out earlier—managed to sneak his way back in to cost Rhodes the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship.

The match featured all the story, pageantry, excitement and crowd reaction of a WrestleMania main event and then some. Fans were almost unanimously behind Rhodes at SoFi Stadium, booing Reigns vociferously as Rhodes looked to finish his story in honor of his father the late great Dusty Rhodes.

With the benefit of hindsight, Rhodes made the best decision of his career by leaving AEW, where he was subjected to polarizing reactions despite being a babyface. Rhodes was also banned from ever challenging for the AEW World Championship due to losing a stipulation match to Chris Jericho.

Arriving in WWE with a fresh coat of paint at WrestleMania 38, Rhodes was an instant top star as he could do no wrong with the WWE Universe. Even when Rhodes got hurt it made him a bigger star as he wrestled an instantly classic match against Seth Rollins with a gruesome pec.

Rhodes emerged as the alpha option on the strength of multiple great segments opposite Roman Reigns and/or The Bloodline. Though both John Cena and Reigns endured the fan backlash of a “handpicked” top star, Rhodes saw nothing of the kind. With many of WWE’s most toxic and disillusioned fans jetting off to support AEW, a more cooperative fanbase not only embraced Rhodes’ journey, they salivated over it.

Rhodes told Dennis David Jr. of ESPN that he “wanted there to be a point where the audience decided” between him and Zayn. And with Rhodes in lock-step with WWE’s fanbase since returning from a company he created to oppose them, live crowds unanimously sided with Cody.

WWE’s long-term storytelling has been a lynchpin of the new regime, though Vince McMahon remains a wildcard as he seems to be inching closer to a return to creative. The next phase in The Bloodline storyline seemed to be Cody Rhodes finally prevailing over Reigns, and Reigns’ Bloodline crumbling. The Usos’ loss in Night 1 appeared to be a foreshadowing of just
just
that. In the end, WWE remained a whore for its milestones as Roman Reigns figures to cruise into over 1,000 days as WWE Undisputed Universal champion.