Nic Nemeth Assesses How WWE Booked WrestleMania 40 Main Event

It may have taken place over a week ago, but Cody Rhodes finishing the story and defeating Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania remains the talk of the town. And this past Friday on “Busted Open Radio,” Nic Nemeth became the latest to chime in with his thoughts on Rhodes’ victory. Pointing out how impressive it was that Rhodes’ story remained captivating for multiple years, Nemeth believes WWE ultimately stuck the landing.

“It was the right call,” Nemeth said. “I knew, we all knew there’d be shenanigans, and people coming down. I was just hoping that one, it wasn’t nonstop run-ins from the heroes that you grew up on, and then they saved the day. I just wanted them to neutralize all the outside interference, and then get back to it.”

Like The Rock, Nemeth also took the time to praise Seth Rollins for his work in the storyline. In particular, Nemeth pointed out how much of a team player Rollins was in allowing his owns storylines to take a backseat in favor of highlighting Rhodes’ story.

“We were all a few months ago going ‘Who’s he going to tear it down with for the World Heavyweight Championship?'” Nemeth said. “And he puts it all on hold, multiple different times, to help one person tell one story that will lead the company down the line. 

“That’s a huge thing that we kind of overlook that happens a lot, and you have to remember that. You have to remember that when Seth needs a favor down the line, it’s time for Cody to jump on the grenade for him one day and go ‘Okay, you go tell your story brother.’ Because all we are is stories, and there just can’t be one.”

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.

Bayley Beats IYO SKY For WWE Women’s Title At WrestleMania 40 While Philadelphia Sings

Rocking a new haircut and entering to a new theme song, Bayley hit the WrestleMania 40 stage ready to take care of business and win the WWE women’s title. Amid chants of “Hey, Bayley! Ooh! Aah!” she was able to capture her fourth world championship, defeating IYO SKY after an elbow drop that would make “Macho Man” Randy Savage proud and possibly the best-looking Rose Plant of all time.

Early in the match, Bayley was favoring her right knee after a dive to the outside gone awry, and SKY took advantage, working the leg throughout the match. Oddly, SKY’s Damage CTRL mates only accompanied her onto the WrestleMania stage and not to the ring, nor did they reappear at any point; perhaps that was a choice she’ll come to regret as her title reign is now a thing of the past.

After a series of varietal suplexes from Bayley, SKY locked in a crossface multiple times, but the challenger was able to avoid tapping out. Bayley then attempted a Rose Plant, to which SKY masterfully countered into a flip to the corner, but Bayley was able to regain the upper hand with a monstrous clothesline. From there, she ascended the ropes and landed the Savage-esque elbow, followed by the Rose Plant to secure the win and become new WWE Women’s Champion as Philadelphia erupted around her.

Damian Priest Leaves WWE WrestleMania 40 With World Heavyweight Title Thanks To CM Punk

The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during Night 2 of WrestleMania 40 — with a little help from CM Punk, who was on commentary for the initial match.

Drew McIntyre won the World Heavyweight Championship from Seth Rollins in the night’s opening match with a Claymore Kick in a battle of finishers. McIntyre started off the match against Rollins hot, hitting the Claymore within seconds and attempting to pin the former champion. McIntyre and Rollins traded finishers and attempts at them throughout the match. At one point, Rollins was able to hit a Stomp from the Spanish announce desk to McIntyre’s head on the English announce desk. McIntyre was still able to pull out the victory and took the championship ringside to his wife. He then got in Punk’s face; Punk swept McIntyre — who was on top of the announce desk at that point — off his feet, took off his triceps brace, and started to beat the new champion down.

That’s when Priest’s music hit. The former Punishment Martinez ran down the ramp with the briefcase, hit McIntyre with it, rolled back in the ring, and cashed in, hitting the South of Heaven for the win. Priest met the rest of The Judgment Day at the top of the ramp in celebration, leaving Philadelphia the new World Heavyweight Champion one night after he and Finn Balor lost the Undisputed tag team championship in a six-team ladder match on Night 1.

Sami Zayn Ends GUNTHER’s Historic WWE Intercontinental Title Reign At WrestleMania 40

Sami Zayn defeated GUNTHER at WWE WrestleMania 40 to capture the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The match took place immediately prior to the show’s main event and lasted just over 15 minutes, with Zayn’s wife seated in the front row, watching the action and cheering her husband on.

With his loss, GUNTHER’s Intercontinental Championship reign comes to an end at 667 days, surpassing the previous record by a significant amount. This is the fourth time Zayn has held the title. The WWE star previous captured the belt twice in 2020 and again in 2022.

Prior to the match, Zayn was shown backstage speaking first to Chad Gable, followed by his wife and son, and lastly with his longtime friend and former rival, Kevin Owens. As one would expect, GUNTHER spent much of the match in control, with Zayn serving as the underdog giving his all to stay in the fight. Just when it would look as though Zayn would start getting momentum, the Austrian would take charge and shut things down.

The longer the match continued, the more intense both men became, with Zayn taking the Intercontinental Champion further than any of his other recent opponents. Finally, a Helluva Kick led into a Brainbuster off the top rope before Zayn delivered two more Helluva Kicks, giving him everything he needed to end GUNTHER’s record-breaking reign.

GUNTHER first captured the Intercontinental Championship on June 10, 2022 after defeating Ricochet on an episode of “WWE SmackDown.” Since then, GUNTHER has feuded against and defeated Ricochet, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, The Miz, Gable, and more. Throughout that time, the Austrian has been backed up by his fellow Imperium members Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser.

Why Booker T Hopes WWE Puts The World Title On Drew McIntyre

While Seth Rollins has showcased a high level of resiliency since winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship last May, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T is hoping to see a new face attached to the title soon. On a recent episode of “The Hall of Fame” podcast, Booker looked ahead toward WrestleMania 40, where Rollins will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against the winner of the 2024 Men’s Elimination Chamber match, Drew McIntyre. Rollins, of course, already holds a victory over McIntyre during his reign. Booker T, however, is envisioning a different outcome this time around.

“I hope they put the title on [Drew],” Booker said. “Nothing against Seth, but Seth has had an okay run. It’s nothing been like standout as far as Seth’s run. Like I said, it hasn’t been a bad run or anything like that, but I do think it’s time for Drew McIntyre to get back in that position. I really don’t think we would have put Drew McIntyre in such a position where he had to work so hard to get back to it, to win a match like the Elimination Chamber, to go on [and] not win it. So that’s just my thing. I hope to see Drew win. I’m a fan of Drew McIntyre as well, let’s just say that.”

As Booker alluded to, a third-world title run has heavily eluded McIntyre due to a variety of factors over the last three years. Despite the setbacks, though, McIntyre has asserted that WrestleMania 40 will be the stage in which he finally finishes his story, and once again becomes a world champion in WWE.

Bayley Splits With Damage CTRL On WWE SmackDown, Will Challenge IYO SKY At WrestleMania

Bayley has chosen which title she’s going after following her Royal Rumble victory. Following a confrontation with Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley and Nia Jax on “Raw,” Bayley said she’d be making her choice on “WWE SmackDown.” As it turns out, she’s headed to WrestleMania to face off against former best friend and founding member of Damage CNTRL, WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY.

In a backstage segment, Bayley overheard SKY in conversation with Women’s Tag Team Champions Kairi Sane and Asuka, saying that “Bayley is done tonight.” When Damage CNTRL made their way down to the ring for Bayley’s announcement, the other women, sans Dakota Kai, were looking at her awkwardly as she took the microphone. Bayley said Damage CNTRL is more than just the best women’s faction of all time — it’s family, and they’ve always been there for her in the tough times. She seemed to allude to challenging Ripley, who was seen watching backstage, but she said she could also fight a different fight and follow her heart.

“Sometimes the people that you thought were your biggest support system and friends … sometimes you have to prove them wrong,” Bayley said, before speaking Japanese to SKY. Bayley said that ever since Sane and Asuka came into the picture, SKY had turned her back on Bayley. Meanwhile, while the Rumble winner had her own back turned, Sane and Asuka jumped her. They pushed her toward the steps, but Bayley had hidden a metal pipe and proceeded to beat them down with it.

Bayley went to hit Sky with the pipe, who defended herself with the championship, leading to a face-off. After SKY rolled out of the ring. Bayley grabbed the microphone and said she would see SKY at WrestleMania, making the very first WrestleMania 40 match official. It remains unclear whether Bayley vs. SKY will main event one of WrestleMania’s two nights, as befits the Royal Rumble winner.

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.

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.

Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field To Host WWE WrestleMania 40

WWE has today announced that WrestleMania 40 will emanate from Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.

Again sticking to the two-day format for the company’s Showcase of the Immortals, the 2024 iteration of ‘Mania will take place on Saturday 6 April and Sunday 7 April.

BREAKING NEWS: @LFFStadium in Philadelphia will host @WrestleMania 40, on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7, 2024, as first reported by @PhillyInquirer and @SBJ.https://t.co/UNpWPeh8aF pic.twitter.com/oHrX8bk9uz

— WWE (@WWE) July 27, 2022

This will be the second time that WrestleMania has taken place from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the First Union Center – nowadays known as the Wells Fargo Center – hosting WrestleMania XV back in 1999. There, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin defeated The Rock to become the new WWE Champion in front of 19,514 fans.

As for Lincoln Financial Field, the Linc is the home of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. The regular capacity sits at 69,879, and the stadium dates back to 2003 – with Manchester United vs. Barcelona on 3 August ’03 being the first event to take place from the venue.

Before WWE gets to WrestleMania 39, of course, there’s the small matter of WrestleMania 39 next year. There, the 2023 edition of the Granddaddy of Them All will take place from Inglewood, California’s SoFi Stadium on 1 April and 2 April – with plentiful speculation, as ever, that we may finally get to see The Rock face off against Roman Reigns there.