Cody Rhodes officially will take on Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 39 for the Undisputed Universal Championship. WWE has not confirmed whether the match will be on night one on April 1 or night two on April 2.
The build up to the match was heightened after a live segment on this week’s Raw with Paul Heyman and Rhodes. The latter came back at the Royal Rumble, entering in at No. 30 and winning the match.
WWE has hyped up the “American Nightmare’s” return from a torn pectoral he suffered last year, but there was anticipation for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to arrive at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas to challenge his real-life cousin for the title. Instead, he did not show up at the premium live event, and he is not expected to be at WrestleMania this year.
The Bloodline storyline took a turn when Sami Zayn was kicked out by Reigns after not falling in line. It’s not known where Zayn will go from that turning point. The Elimination Chamber is on Feb. 18 in Zayn’s hometown of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he will take on Reigns for the title.
But there reportedly were plans for Rhodes if a Reigns versus The Rock match were to happen at Inglewood, Calif. Rhodes would have received his own custom title belt, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter on Tuesday, per Bleacher Report.
It’s unknown what the title would have been called, and the only thing close Rhodes has come to having his own custom championship was the “Ring of Honor” during his ROH title reign in 2017.
But it’s safe to say this was a better path since WWE already has multiple title belts. However, it does show the company really does see the 37-year-old as a top star.
Rhodes has accomplished a lot during his 17 years in the pro wrestling business. But, like his father Dusty Rhodes, Cody Rhodes has never won the WWE Championship. He had the milestone of winning the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship in 2018 like his father did, but it looks like the story heading into WrestleMania will be winning the world title in WWE to complete his legacy.
