#285: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes, WWE WrestleMania 39, Night 2 (4/2/2023).
This is for Roman’s Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
After making his triumphant return to WWE at WrestleMania 38, Cody Rhodes made it known that his long term goal was to win the WWE Championship, a title he’d not held himself, and one that his father, Dusty Rhodes, never held, either. After returning from injury and winning the 2023 Royal Rumble Match, Rhodes set his sights on Roman Reigns, whose stranglehold on WWE had approached over two and a half years.
The crowd is molten for this during the introductions.
The bell sounds, and here we go! They face off in the middle of the ring. They lock up, and Cody takes control of the arm. Roman gets to the ropes, and we get a clean break. They lock up again, and Cody takes the side headlock. Roman tries for a back suplex, and Cody counters into a side headlock takedown. Nice right hand by Cody, and Roman powders to the outside. After a quick pep talk from Paul Heyman, Roman returns to the ring.
Roman takes control of the back, and Cody switches to get behind him. Roman with an elbow to the face, and another that knocks Cody to the mat. Roman connects with several clotheslines in the corner to Cody. Roman runs the ropes, and Cody connects with a dropkick to the bridge of the nose. Cody quickly grabs the arm and hyperextends it. Good strike to the head, and Cody springboards off the ropes for the Disaster Kick, but Roman catches him with a powerbomb. Roman covers, and Cody kicks out.
Roman chokes Cody against the middle rope, and follows up with a suplex for a quick nearfall. Another suplex, and Cody gets tossed across the ring this time. Roman throws him to the outside, but Cody holds onto the ropes, and flips himself back inside. He throws Roman to the floor, and Cody goes to kick him from the apron, but Roman grabs his foot and sends him to the floor. Roman hip tosses Cody onto the entrance ramp.
Roman connects with a powerslam on the hard ramp, and Cody is in danger. Roman goes for another, and Cody counters with one of his own. He forearms Roman back to ringside, and bounces his face off the apron. Cody sends Roman back into the ring, and with the referee distracted, Solo Sikoa grabs a chair and nails Cody in the ribs with it. Roman takes advantage of this and nails the Drive By. In the ring, Roman gets a nearfall off of that.
Roman locks in a Crovat next, as he targets the neck of the challenger. Cody is back up, and as he goes to run the ropes, Solo grabs his foot. Roman hits a clothesline to Cody for a 2 count. Roman hits a hard irish whip to Cody to the turnbuckle, and the crowd doesn’t like Roman at all here. Roman throws Cody to the outside, and now he tears apart the announce table. He smashes Cody’s face off the table, and joins him on top of it.
Roman looks for a powerbomb, but Cody reverses it and sends Roman back first through the table! In the ring, Cody comes off the ropes with a forearm and a right hand. Nice scoop slam by the American Nightmare. Springboard off the ropes with the Cody Cutter, and Roman is able to kick out. Cody connects with some stomps, and Roman wisely ducks out of the ring. Cody connects with a Tope to the outside, which sends Roman into the barricade.
Cody brings Roman into the ring, and with the referee distracted again, Solo uses Cody’s weight belt to whip him. This time, however, the referee heard the belt, and he sends Solo to the back! Roman has the weight belt now, and the referee tries to take it from him. Roman won’t let it go, but Cody takes advantage of the distraction and hits the Cross Rhodes on Roman! He covers, and the champion kicks out.
Roman with a jawbreaker to Cody, and a headbutt. Clubbing blows to the back of the neck connect flush. He tosses Cody over the ropes, and Roman catches him on the way back inside. Urinage by Roman, and Cody is able to kick out. Roman sets up for the Superman Punch, and Cody blocks it to hit the Pedigree! He covers, and Roman kicks out! Cody goes for the Disaster Kick, and Roman counters with the Superman Punch out of nowhere! Roman covers, and Cody kicks out at 2!
Roman goes for the Spear, and Cody counters with a sunset flip pin for 2. Cody goes right into the Figure Four Leglock submission! Roman is able to flip it around and reverse the pressure. Cody manages to crawl to the ropes to break the hold. Cody stands on the apron, and they exchange big right hands. Cody goes to the top rope, and misses his dive. Roman hits the Spear out of nowhere, but Cody kicks out at the last second!
Roman takes top position and unloadd with repeated elbows to the jaw. He now goes for the guillotine chokehold. The challenger is fighting his way out of it, until Roman gets the body scissors in, and Cody is completely trapped. Cody digs down deep, and he slips free! He lands several strikes on Roman’s head. He goes for a pump kick, and he knocks the referee down. Both men take each other out with clotheslines.
Cody is back up first, and he looks for the Cross Rhodes, but here’s The Usos with a pair of superkicks to Rhodes. They hit the 1D on Cody, and Michael Cole is pissed on commentary. Here’s Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, who attack the Usos and send them packing. Stunner by Owens to Roman, and Sami hits the Helluva Kick next! They continue to fight the Usos into the crowd. The referee returns to the ring, as Cody makes the cover. It’s only 2!
Cody with a punch, and one from Roman. They go back and forth on their knees. Roman misses the Superman Punch, and Cody hits the trademark Dusty Rhodes jabs and the Bionic Elbow. Cody with a Cross Rhodes, and another, and here’s Paul Heyman on the apron to distract the referee. Solo sneaks in from out of nowhere, to hit the Samoan Spike to Cody. Roman takes advantage to hit the Spear out of nowhere, and that’s enough for the win to retain. Post match, Cody sits in the ring, and he looks heartbroken.
That was a nice big time main event style match. It had a hot crowd all match long, and it certainly had the kind of aura most wrestling promotions wish they could conjure. Cody was a valiant babyface throughout, and his fire against the dominant Tribal Chief was incredible. Roman played the part of cocky heel well here, but I did like how you could see the cracks in his confidence as this match went on.
They had some great nearfalls towards the end of this, and they built the match well, only to have it have a meddling confusion. Solo’s interference killed the vibe for me. I know that’s his role, but it cheapened the feel of the match. It made the ending feel less than, and a bit anticlimatic. Still, phenomenal work between these two guys.