Cody Rhodes Praises Roman Reigns’ Run As Undisputed WWE Universal Champion

Cody Rhodes finally finished his “story” this weekend after defeating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, ending their lengthy feud. While the rivalry was very heated and personal, Rhodes still seems to have a lot of respect for Reigns, which he expressed in a recent appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

“As a good guy on the program, that’s the hardest thing, especially in 2024, to keep their faith and I’m so blessed and luck that I was able to keep their faith and pay it off,” Rhodes said, thanking fans for sticking with him throughout the year-long angle and noted how difficult it is in 2024 to grasp and hold people’s attention for long periods of time.

“I noticed this Saturday night, right out of the gate, Roman showed up not like a champion ready to hand off his championship, he showed up in the best shape of his career,” Rhodes lauded. “He showed up as the best incarnation of the Tribal Chief.” Rhodes could not help but respect how long his story’s antagonist managed to hang on to the title.

“I don’t agree with how Roman was champion,” Rhodes began. “We go about how we operate in the ring completely differently, but still – and I really mean it – I’m proud that I beat him at his best and I hope that I can be half the champion that Roman Reigns was.”

Rhodes also put water under the bridge with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, as both men shook hands and showed each other a modicum of respect following their emotional weekend, though Rock did promise he’d be coming back for Rhodes’s title.

Cody Rhodes Finishes The Story, Ends Roman Reigns’ WWE Title Reign At WrestleMania 40

Cody Rhodes has officially finished his story and captured the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship from Roman Reigns, ending his multi-year title reign, during the main event of night two of WrestleMania 40. The stipulation of the match was Bloodline Rules, determined by Rhodes and former World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins losing in the main event of night one to The Rock and Reigns. The match rules let the likes of Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa, and The Rock interfere on behalf of Reigns, but Rollins dressed in SHIELD gear, Jey Uso, John Cena, and even The Undertaker came to Rhodes’ aid.

Reigns and Rhodes battled it out from the middle of the ring into the crowd, as anything was legal during the match. Multiple spears, Disaster Kicks, Superman punches, Cody Cutters, and more were hit during the battle. Rhodes was able to get the victory after hitting three Cross Rhodes in a row after Reigns was distracted by former SHIELD teammate Rollins.

Following his victory, Rhodes was joined in the ring by various babyfaces from the back, including Kevin Owens, LA Knight, Randy Orton, and more. His wife Brandi Rhodes, his mother and the family of the late Brodie Lee joined Rhodes in the ring as well. Rhodes got on the microphone following the match and thanked Bruce Pritchard, and asked Paul “Triple H” Levesque to join in as well, in celebration of what Rhodes called a new era, and the two shook hands and embraced. Rhodes continued to celebrate with various members of the roster. fellow WWE employees, and members of the crowd to end the show.

Seth Rollins Credits WWE’s Pandemic Era For Roman Reigns’ Industry-Changing Heel Turn

Seth Rollins, Jon Moxley and Roman Reigns were a dominant force together in WWE as The Shield. But in the years since, Roman Reigns has become the face of the company. In a recent interview, Rollins shared his belief that both Reigns’ storyline and character came from an unexpected place.

“He really found his groove being ‘The Tribal Chief,’ this mob boss character.” Rollins said on Logan Paul’s podcast “Impaulsive.” Rollins said that Reigns was still very much learning during his time in their famed trio. As a result, post-Shield Reigns struggled to find an identity with Rollins citing Reigns’s lack of experience for his initial floundering in his singles career.

“One of the things that 2020 and 2021 gave us as an organization was an opportunity to do things we may not normally do,” Rollins explained, “because no one was watching TV at the time. We were still doing live shows every single week but we had a chance to play with our characters and take a risk.” Rollins said turning Reigns into a villain likely wouldn’t have happened without the experiments that took place in the WWE ThunderDome during the pandemic.

“It turned into one of the best possible outcomes for him and for the industry,” Rollins gushed. “If you look at the story arc of what The Bloodline and Roman Reigns have been over the past few years, it’s virtually unmatched.”

Rollins stated that being able to further a logical storyline in wrestling is often difficult as plans often change due to fan reaction, and also that he thinks he’s one of the few people that can dethrone the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

Major Update On WWE’s WrestleMania XL Main Event

Roman Reigns is currently set to defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL.

This is per Dave Meltzer, who reported as much on Wrestling Observer Radio.

WWE’s 40th incarnation of WrestleMania takes place at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Lincoln Financial Field across 6 and 7 April, 2024. With over nine months still to pass between now and the year’s biggest wrestling show, it’s entirely possible that WWE may change its mind prior to XL – though Rhodes vs. Reigns is what the company has in mind at the moment.

Reigns and Rhodes clashed in the WrestleMania 39 main event this April past, with Roman defeating Cody in an outcome met with widespread shock across the wrestling world. To earn his shot, Rhodes won the 2023 Royal Rumble, establishing himself as the betting favourite to dethrone Reigns, ending the Bloodline kingpin’s long reign atop WWE.

Roman took his first pinfall in well over 1,000 days at Money in the Bank 2023 this weekend, with Jey Uso putting his shoulders to the mat for the three-count, winning the Bloodline Civil War for The Usos. Jey vs. Roman is now expected to take place at SummerSlam 2023.

Seth Rollins: WWE World Heavyweight Title Needed Due To Part-Time Undisputed Champion

Seth Rollins made history in WWE once again when he defeated AJ Styles in a tournament finals match at WWE Night of Champions to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. Fans and pundits alike have heavily debated the title’s introduction in the wake of Roman Reigns keeping two world titles himself despite being on a part-time schedule. Rollins was not shy in calling out his former tag team partner during a recent appearance on “WWE’s The Bump.”

“This title doesn’t exist if our industry and our company isn’t so healthy across the board,” Rollins said. “There was a need for a title on Monday nights. There was a need because everybody is so good.” He named AJ Styles, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, GUNTHER, Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn as some of the other top guys in the company. “We needed a prize to fight for since our Universal Champion wants to keep his part-time schedule. We gotta have a title. I was more than thrilled to have it and to usher in this era of change.” To differentiate himself, Rollins said that he wants everyone chasing him to the top and wants the challenge more than ever after years of Reigns hand-picking his opponents. 

Following the WWE Draft that kicked off at the end of April, WWE’s Chief Content Officer Triple H appeared on “Raw” to introduce the company’s latest world championship, seeing as though Reigns was going to be exclusive to “SmackDown.” Reigns just passed the 1,000-day mark in his Universal title reign that began in August 2020. Along the way, he picked up the WWE Championship in a unification match against Brock Lesnar that headlined WrestleMania 38. As of now, there’s no end in sight for the longest reign of the modern era.

Interesting Note On WWE’s Long Term Plans For Roman Reigns

WWE is reportedly interested in booking a rematch between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes in the future. In fact, The Wrestling Observer claims that is the long-term goal for the longstanding Undisputed WWE Universal Champion heading through 2023 and into 2024.

The Observer called another go-around with Cody the “ultimate destination” for Roman. There’s even chatter behind the scenes in WWE that they could easily headline WrestleMania XL next year – that, of course, would be a repeat of ‘Mania 39’s main event.

Will WWE go back to back on Roman vs. Rhodes? It’s possible.

A lot can and will happen between now and next spring though. Someone new might pop into view that becomes WWE’s next ‘can’t miss’ prospect. Failing that, or some other plan, Cody is definitely a valuable option for the creative team.

Roman is set to team with Solo Sikoa against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in Saudi Arabia this weekend. There, at Night Of Champions, his Bloodline will challenge for the Undisputed Tag-Team Titles. Meanwhile, Cody will face Brock Lesnar again in another bout on the same PLE.

WWE has longer-term plans for both top stars though.

Cody Rhodes Still Aims To Beat Roman Reigns For The Undisputed WWE Universal Title

As part of the 2023 WWE draft, Cody Rhodes remains a member of the “WWE Raw” roster, while Roman Reigns has become exclusive to “WWE SmackDown.” However, speaking to “ComicBook Nation” about his recent WrestleMania loss, Rhodes has reiterated that his sights are still set on Reigns and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship despite being positioned on different brands.

“The goal is the same for me,” Rhodes said. “I came here wanting one thing. It doesn’t mean other stories won’t happen that will also be finished, and it doesn’t mean there aren’t other milestones. … But the most important thing to me is still the championship that sits on Roman’s shoulders.” Rhodes then made sure to add that a lot would need to happen in order for that rematch to come to fruition.

Rhodes also commented on the returning WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which will be exclusive to “Raw.” Though his top priority still seems to be the title held by Reigns, the “American Nightmare” stated that he still has interest in pursuing the new championship.

“[With] how WrestleMania 39 ended, a lot of people wonder how [I would] look at this,” Rhodes continued. “I try not to get into the discussion on it, because it’s more one of those things where, in my mind, the goal hasn’t changed, but also other things are going to come up.” The “Raw” star stated that he’s more focused on his upcoming match with Brock Lesnar at the moment.

Rhodes vs. Lesnar is set to take place this Saturday at WWE Backlash. The event will emanate live from the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico, marking the first time in 18 years the company has held a TV, PPV, or PLE taping in the country.

WWE’s Seth Rollins Shoots On Being “Second Fiddle” To Roman Reigns

Seth Rollins openly discussed what it’s like to play “second fiddle” to Roman Reigns during a recent interview with Ariel Helwani for BT Sport.

The sharp-suited heel told Helwani that he’s never felt like WWE were comfortable ‘putting the ball in his hands’. Doubling down on that, Seth also said that he’s been playing backup to old Shield cohort Roman since day one.

Is he cool with that? Yes and no. Rollins would clearly like to be front and centre himself, but he realises that Reigns is “the guy” and has been for a very long time. That was the case under Vince McMahon’s watch, and it hasn’t changed since Triple H assumed full control of WWE operations.

It just is what it is.

Seth believes WWE think of Roman first when weighing up who should headline the next WrestleMania supershow. It’s an automatic thought; the only time that changed was when Reigns temporarily left the promotion to battle health issues in 2018-2019.

On that, Rollins said “that’s just the way the cookie crumbles”. He still thinks he could perform as well as Roman in the head boy role, but says it’s “just never gonna happen”.

MJF Names WWE Star He’s A Fan Of

As we continue further into the 2-plus year WWE Universal Title reign of Roman Reigns, the legacy he and his family, The Bloodline, are creating grows more and more powerful. And it’s not just the WWE Universe and fellow roster members noticing the impact Reigns is making; AEW’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman is admittedly a fan of The Tribal Chief. “Yeah, he’s a stud. He’s a total stud,” MJF told Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour. “‘We the ones, baby;’ he’s a stud. Who’s not a fan? Yes, again, with the tribalism thing. Just because wrestlers are in a different company doesn’t mean they can’t watch another product. That’s silly. If you’re not watching, you’re not a student of the game, and you should be ashamed of yourself. I watch everything.”

Friedman might not be at the level of dominance as Reigns, but he is well on his way to becoming a legend in his own right. The Salt of the Earth created a whirlwind of buzz on the post-Double or Nothing episode of “AEW Dynamite” by roasting his boss, Tony Khan, pointing to his additions of former WWE talent to the roster since AEW formed. He would even go as far as to say the signed talent were “ex-WWE guys who can’t lace his boots” before getting heated enough to yell, “Fire me, [Tony], you fucking mark!” MJF would then disappear from AEW television until All Out earlier this month, where he executed a devious plan in the Casino Ladder Match to secure a shot at the AEW World Title.

Though both men are recognized as staples of their companies, MJF has teased that the “Bidding War of 2024” over his contract treads closer. If Friedman signs with WWE, Reigns and MJF working together could indeed become a reality.

Roman Reigns Comments On New Part-Time Deal With WWE

Since spring, there have been numerous reports that Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns signed a new deal that greatly reduced his schedule. That has since appeared to be true, with Reigns appearing only on select Premium Live Events and episodes of “WWE SmackDown,” and in an interview with the “Sports Illustrated Media” podcast, Reigns confirmed as much.

“When you’ve been on the road for 10 years straight, and someone who has been at the highest level, the main event level, I ran a full schedule for a long time,” Reigns said. “For me, it was really just trying to balance everything. And as someone who has five children, we’re at a very critical portion of their lives, where they’re so young. This is where we build these relationships and these bonds, and they get to know who their dad is. For me, it was extremely important that I can build my fatherhood as the priority, and the number one hat that I wear. And WWE, Vince, everybody was really good about accommodating that and making sure to keep me in the WWE family.”

But while Reigns isn’t around as much as he used to be, he still plans on being a major player on WWE programming going forward.

“We’re not going to be on every single PPV,” Reigns said. “But anything that I am on will of course be all the major ones, and a couple of the other ones that fall kind of in between. The Big Four and the Saudis. I’ll always support those with TV’s, to build the story and the rivalry going forward … It’s a part time thing compared to what I usually run, but I’m an annual character on WWE television.”