SUMMARY
- Roman Reigns is set to defend his Undisputed Universal title against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40.
- As The American Nightmare lost his match against Roman Reigns last time, fans are certain that he's going to win this time.
The WWE Universe is just days away from WrestleMania 40, and looking at the match card, it is going to be one of the greatest pro wrestling events in history. Out of all the storylines that are set to come to a conclusion on the show, the most hyped feud is the rivalry between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns.
The American Nightmare made his way to his second consecutive WrestleMania main event by winning the 2024 Royal Rumble, as he has his eyes set on finally finishing his story in Philadelphia. But it seems that Cody will once again lose to The Tribal Chief at WrestleMania XL. What gives us a hint that this might be the plan is a promo by Paul Heyman.
In a video that has been going viral on the internet, Heyman cuts a promo, and it explains precisely why Roman is going to win against Cody at WrestleMania. During his promo, The Wiseman said, “Without these titles there is no Bloodline, without these titles there is no Paul Heyman. Ladies and gentlemen, without these titles there is no Roman Reigns.”
This is all you need to listen to and it tells you why roman reigns will retain at #wrestlemania ☝🏽🩸 pic.twitter.com/dlj6xV28Ce
— WrestlingBizwithAndiz (@WrestleconAndiz) March 31, 2024
This old promo by the wrestling figure has given fans a hint that Rhodes might lose again, as he could grab all the limelight if he dethrones Reigns. Also, as rumors have been circulating that The Tribal Chief might be fighting Dwayne Johnson at next year’s WrestleMania, it’s possible that he enters that match as the Undisputed Universal Champion.
An argument can be made, saying that Roman vs. The Rock doesn’t really need a title. But without the titles with Reigns, the focus will probably shift to Cody and other things rather than the cousins match at WrestleMania 40, which is understandable. If WWE is considering this aspect, Cody’s story might get delayed for an extended period of time.
Fans believe that Rhodes is going to dethrone The Bloodline Leader, but Paul’s promo doesn’t add confidence to the fact that Reigns is going to lose. Even though a victory for Roman Reigns might make fans furious, the promotion always does what’s best for business, and if they feel like Roman’s win is the better thing, they’ll do so. Thus, it remains to be seen what happens at The Show of Shows.
Dwayne Johnson was keen to fight Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40
Heyman’s promo about The Tribal Chief hints that he might retain against Cody Rhodes so that the rumored Roman Reigns vs. The Rock at WrestleMania 41 doesn’t lose its charm. But it’s important to point out that Dwayne Johnson was keen to fight his cousin at WrestleMania 40.
When The People’s Champion returned to WWE at Day 1 RAW, he made it clear that he wanted to sit at the Head of the Table. Even though he didn’t mention Roman’s name, it was an indirect dig at Reigns, and people felt that they’re going to get the dream match at this year’s WrestleMania.
But after The American Nightmare won the 2024 Royal Rumble, the WWE Universe was certain that he’d get the opportunity to finish his story against Roman. In fact, it was probably the actual plan, but when Rhodes and The Bloodline Leader came face-to-face on a SmackDown episode, the actor made a surprise return.
Moreover, it was revealed that Cody Rhodes is no longer going to face The Tribal Chief, as it’s going to be the Samoan cousins going up against each other at The Show of Shows. This was a decision that didn’t sit well with the fans, and that’s how the “We Want Cody” movement started on the internet.
The support for Rhodes was so high that WWE had to book a whole WrestleMania 40 kickoff press conference to reveal that it’s going to be The American Nightmare vs. The Tribal Chief at WrestleMania. But The Rock’s slap to Cody Rhodes made headlines, as it was the start of a historic heel turn by The Brahma Bull.
After this, it was revealed that WWE’s original plan was for a rematch of the WrestleMania 39 main event. But it was Dwayne Johnson who pushed himself to be the opponent of his cousin by using his power as a TKO member. Despite all this, the Triple H-led promotion ended up doing what the fans wanted, and now Cody is set to challenge The Tribal Chief at The Grandest Stage of Them All.
What does the future hold for Cody Rhodes if he loses again to Roman Reigns?
The American Nightmare’s fanbase played probably the biggest role in giving their beloved WWE star the place he truly deserved. In fact, the whole social media movement in favor of Cody Rhodes was the potential reason the company decided to give fans what they wanted, but as per speculation, Cody might still lose at The Grandest Stage of Them All.
In such a case, the question that obviously pops up in every member of the pro wrestling community is: What does the future hold for Rhodes if he loses again to Roman Reigns? A major reason why fans aren’t thinking in this direction is because they are convinced that the promotion wouldn’t give their favorite star another WrestleMania loss.
But as per the viral Paul Heyman video, The Tribal Chief is nothing without his title, and this makes it possible that Roman might retain it at The Show of Shows. If that’s really what the plan is, the ending of WrestleMania XL is going to be interesting. But if The American Nightmare is going to end up as the losing participant, WWE might want to give him something big after the event.
In this aspect, there’s no bigger match for the former Intercontinental Champion than to go up against The Rock. What makes this a real possibility is the kind of interactions these two had in the build-up to this year’s WrestleMania. In fact, Dwayne’s heel persona has given him the opportunity to do some of his best work in the industry, and he may end up getting into a feud with Rhodes after The Showcase of the Immortals.
Looking at the exact timing when this rivalry might come to its conclusion, it’s safe to say that WWE might be looking to give fans a Johnson vs. Cody match at SummerSlam 2024. If this is what the actual plans are for the event, it’s surely going to be a spectacular show. But it must be noted that the WrestleMania 40 results will have a major impact on the storylines after it. Thus, it’ll be interesting to see if Reigns extends his run or Cody Rhodes dethrones him to finish his story.