#290: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes, WWE WrestleMania XL, Night 2 (4/7/2024).
This is a Bloodline Rules Match for Roman’s Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
What a long and winding road it took to get to this point, arguably the most anticipated match in WWE in a very long time.
At WrestleMania 39, the world was Cody Rhodes for the taking. He came in with all the momentum in the world, and he was ready to become the new top man in WWE. The crowd was fully invested in him, and his hard work had paid off to get him to this spot in the main event against Roman Reigns, the most dominant world champion of the modern era. Most expected Cody to take the win, and begin a new era for the company.
Except, that didn’t happen. Cody lost, and look completely heartbroken in the process. From there, he promised to “finish the story,” meaning that he would spend the next year working his way back to that main event spot for one more go against the Tribal Chief. At the Royal Rumble, Cody would win the Men’s Rumble, and valiantly yell Roman’s name, thus declaring himself as Roman’s challenger for WrestleMania XL, and setting himself up for another chance to finally win the big one.
Then, something happened. Cody Rhodes willingly stepped aside, and gave hist title shot to The Rock. Even as someone who doesn’t actively watch WWE, and as someone who’s very much in the minority in thinking that Cody Rhodes shouldn’t beat Roman Reigns, even I thought this was one of the dumbest moments I’d ever seen on WWE television, and do you realize how much ground that covers? The sight of Cody shaking The Rock’s hand, and passing on his chance to finish the story, was completely asinine.
In the six days that followed, a crazy amount of negative reception from the fans took place that hadn’t been seen arguably since the days when Daniel Bryan was being held back from the main event of WrestleMania 30. To put it simply, the decision to have The Rock take Cody’s place against Roman was met with universal negativity. It didn’t make sense, and it was a dumb move from a company that had been doing a damn good job in finding good will with its audience after years of shitty leadership under Vince McMahon.
There’s been much speculation on whether The Rock’s involvement at WrestleMania XL was the plan all along, or if it was some ego driven decision made by a man who is now on the TKO Board of Directors within WWE. Considering all the stories I’ve heard about Dwayne Johnson in Hollywood, all his ego problems with guys like Vin Diesel, or how he has a clause in his contracts that says he can’t lose in any of his movies – or that one time he lost a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with an interviewer and got legitimately butt hurt about it – I have no problem believing that he put himself in this match to stroke his ego.
One story that came out was that The Rock believed his involvement would be enough to distract wrestling fans from the recent Vince McMahon allegations that had come out the weekend of the Royal Rumble – you know, the ones where he sex trafficked a poor woman throughout the company, including to Brock Lesnar. If that’s true, and that’s the reason why, then Dwayne is an air headed fucking idiot for thinking that would enough to make people forget that Vince McMahon is a rapist.
There’s also the fact that WWE has wanted to do Roman Reigns vs. The Rock as far back as 2015, and this would be the chance to do so. That would be fine and dandy, but Cody Rhodes coming into 2024 was more deserving of that chance than a guy who doesn’t actively wrestle anymore. It could be a case of The Rock using his star power to override storyline plans that had been in place for a year, but who’s to say?
There’s also the possibility that maybe WWE planned to include The Rock in this all along, to which I ask “why?” Cody was even hotter coming into this Road to WrestleMania than he was in 2023, so adding The Rock to the mix is just excessiveness for the sake of it. Either way, fans hated the idea of The Rock’s involvement, and at the Press Event six days later, WWE pivoted hard by turning The Rock heel, and having him side with Roman Reigns instead.
Did they acknowledge the fact that Cody willingly stepped aside for The Rock? I don’t believe so, because how could they acknowledge something so fucking stupid?
Either way, The Rock was now heel, and this was the birth of the Final Boss character, where Rock gave promos that were barely cool in 2003, and he started to carry around his own Brahma Bull Title. Know what that and the BMF Title in UFC have in common? They don’t mean shit. If you can’t tell from reading this, I really soured on The Rock as a person around this time, because I have no trouble seeing him having an ego trip and inserting himself into a story that didn’t need him.
Anyway, Cody’s road to WrestleMania became even harder, as he had The Rock to deal with weekly. The goal was ultimately Roman Reigns, and the WWE Championship. With the help of World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, Cody would face Roman and Rock in a tag team match on Night 1 of WrestleMania, with the added stipulation that if he and Rollins won, The Bloodline would be banned from ringside during his match with Roman, but if he lost, it would be Bloodline Rules on Night 2.
Rhodes and Rollins lost, and that meant that all bets were off for Cody’s title match. Knowing full well that The Bloodline would be present, Cody would have to fight against all odds in order to finish his story and finally become WWE Champion.
Big pyro display and a bigger pop for the American Nightmare, who’s ready to give it everything he has for one last time. The Tribal Chief gets a fun marching band and choir entrance, as he enters his 1,316th day as champion.
After the introductions, the bell sounds, and we are finally under way. Both men approach each other in the middle of the ring, and we have a tense staredown. Rhodes goes for a takedown, and forces Roman into the corner. Cody takes control of the back, and Roman elbows his way free. He takes the side headlock, and then nails a shoulder tackle. They lock up, and Cody with a side headlock. He nails a big right hand, and Roman rushes him, only to go shoulder first into the ring post.
Cody grabs a table from under neath the ring, and brings it into the ring. Roman connects with the Drive By out of nowhere. Roman then takes the table and puts it back under the ring. What a heel. Cody reverses an irish whip and sends Roman into the steel steps. He brings Roman back into the ring, and the champion wisely powders to the outside. Cody goes to grab him, and Roman nails him with a kendo stick. In the ring, Roman unleashes a barrage of shots with it.
Roman misses a wide shot, and Cody now has control of the stick. He also misses a shot with it, but he manages to rebound with a bulldog. Cody then locks Roman in the Figure Four Leglock. Roman rakes the eyes to break the hold. He sends Cody into the turnbuckle and punches at his head. He then tosses Cody to the floor. Roman attacks Cody with the giant Prime bottle at ringside, then tosses the cart of Prime aside. Best moment of the match! They fight into the crowd now, and Roman has Cody on top of a platform. He tries for a suplex to the concrete, and Cody is fighting if off as best as he can. He counters it, and suplexes Roman on the platform. Cody tosses Roman over the barricade back to ringside, and in the ring.
Cody goes for the Disaster Kick, and Roman counters with a powerbomb. He gives Cody a suplex, and the challenger kicks out. He gives Cody some light kicks to the head, as he laughs at the crowd. He follows up with a back suplex, and Cody kicks out at 1. Roman with the Crovat next, as he looks to torture and wear him down. Cody blocks another back suplex attempt, but he can’t block the Perfect Plex by Roman, which gets a 2 count.
Roman gets Cody in the corner, and unloads with punches. He follows up with several clotheslines to the challenger. Cody comes out of the corner with a superkick, and Roman responds with a thrust kick. Double clothesline from both, and both men are down. Now back to their feet, they exchange heavy blows to the head and body. Cody is in the lead, as he takes Roman down with a scoop slam. Disaster Kick connects flush, and Roman kicks out.
Cody looks for the Cutter, but Roman catches him, and hits the Cross Rhodes on Cody Rhodes! He makes the cover, and Cody is able to kick out. The disrespect! Roman gears up for the Superman Punch, and Cody avoids it. He unleashes several jabs, Dusty Rhodes style, and follows with the Bionic Elbow! On the floor, Cody tears apart the announce table. He goes to grab Roman, who responds with a low blow.
Roman lifts Cody up, and drills him with a powerbomb through the table. He quickly brings Cody into the ring and hits the Superman Punch. He covers, and Cody kicks out. Roman goes for the Spear, and Cody counters with a knee to the head. Cody Cutter connects, but it only gives him a 2 count. Cody goes for Cross Rhodes, and Roman easily breaks out of it. Roman looks for a Rock Bottom, and Cody avoids it. He nails a Spear out of nowhere, and Roman kicks out again!
Cody hits the Cross Rhodes, and as he looks for another one, Jimmy Uso appears out of nowhere with a superkick to Cody. He holds Cody up, and Roman hits the Superman Punch. Here comes Jey Uso to make the save, and he brawls with his brother on the ramp. He then Spears him off the stage through two tables. Roman is stunned, and Cody catches him in a roll up for a close 2 count. Roman rebounds with a Spear off the ropes, and Cody kicks out! Roman is pissed.
Roman with the guillotine choke, and Cody tries to force Roman into the turnbuckle repeatedly. They tumble to the outside, and the submission is broken up. Cody is back up, and he spears Roman through the time keeper’s barricade! He rolls Roman back into the ring, and gives him two Cross Rhodes, but here’s Solo Sikoa with the Samoan Spike, just like last year at WrestleMania 39. He drags Roman onto Cody for the pin, but the challenger kicks out again.
Solo goes on the attack against Cody on the mat. He yells at Roman to finish it. Roman hits the Spear, while Solo hits another Samoan Spike at the same time. Roman covers, and again Cody kicks out! The crowd pops, as John Cena runs down the ramp and attacks Solo! He sends him to the outside, and then hits the AA on Roman. He rushes to the floor, and tears apart the other announce table. He grabs Solo, and gives him the AA through the table.
Now The Rock’s music hits, and here comes ol’ Dwayne. Cena returns to the ring, and awaits the man he main evented two straight WrestleManias with. Rock enters the ring, and he has a staredown with Cena. Rock gives him the Rock Bottom, and then undoes his weight belt. The Shield’s music plays, and here’s Seth Rollins in full Shield gear. He had a chair, but Roman cuts him off with a Superman Punch. I wonder how many people who were there thought Jon Moxley was going to come out?
The gong hits, and the lights dim. Behind The Rock is The Undertaker, who gives him a chokeslam. The gong hits, and the lights dim. The Undertaker is gone, and so is The Rock. Roman is confused, as he grabs the chair that’s been left behind. He sees Rollins returning to his feet, and he swings it at his back, just like Rollins did to him once upon a time in 2014. He kicks Rollins away, and sets up for the Spear on Rhodes.
Cody catches him with a knee to the face, and hits a Cross Rhodes, and another, and a final one! Rhodes makes the cover, and he finally gets the 3! The story has finished, and Cody Rhodes has done it! He’s dethroned the Tribal Chief, and he’s the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. Post match, Cody celebrates with Brandi Rhodes, his mom, his family, Jey Uso, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Randy Orton, CM Punk and Triple H.
Commentary signs off, with Corey Graves saying that Pro Wrestling is back, which is a pretty stupid thing to say when Pro Wrestling never left to begin with.
This match is the epitome of what WWE is all about, and as someone who doesn’t actively watch their product anymore, I say that with absolute sincerity. There’s stuff I liked about this, and stuff that I didn’t.
First off, this match absolutely nails emotion down. Everybody in that stadium, and everyone watching around the world, knew what was at stake here, and both Roman and Cody sold those stakes perfectly throughout this. The match had a more basic layout than their Mania 39 encounter, but it doubled on the emotion tenfold. Kind of like how the WrestleMania 26 match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker isn’t as well remembered as their match at Mania 25, but no one disputes the sheer emotion in the room that night. This match worked on emotion, acting, facials, etc. It wasn’t a work rate style match, and it didn’t have to be. This style is just as important as a match with moves.
The right call was made in Cody taking the win here. It was a big moment for him that was well earned after everything he’d been through. He sold the importance well, and props go to Michael Cole for how emotional he got in reacting to Cody’s big win. I know I’m in the minority when I say that it should’ve been Sami Zayn in this spot, because I think his history within the Bloodline made for a better story, but Cody fits it well, and this came off like a big moment in American Pro Wrestling.
Now, for the things I didn’t like, which is all the interference spots that took up the last quarter of the match. Look, I’m not stupid. I know this kind of thing has its appeal – clearly, since this was the most financially successful WrestleMania of all time. And it’s not like the spots didn’t make sense, because aside from The Undertaker’s appearance, everyone involved has had some kind of web weaved in the Bloodline’s story, so it made some type of sense to have those knots tied up.
But, was it needed? I guess with Bloodline Rules in play, you can expect some kind of chaos like that. It didn’t work for me, and it only served as one big distraction from the match itself. It really became tedious when John Cena made his presence known, and the match literally stopped for a few minutes. His staredown with The Rock, which Michael Cole acknowledged by saying “This is a WrestleMania moment,” was really silly. Isn’t that the point, though? Yes. WWE does American Wrestling better than anyone, and a moment like that sums up why. It’s as much about the moments as it is about what happens in between the ropes. The beauty of wrestling is that it incorporates many styles, and is a melting pot for so many things. What happened here, with all the interference and the cameos, is just that – a style that WWE does well. It belongs in wrestling. It’s just a style I don’t care for.
Those aren’t necessarily critiques of this match, either. It works in this bubble that WWE has created and maintained for decades. And it resonates present day, as their business is as grand as ever. By the end, I said to myself “WWE has perfected the art of American Wrestling.” And I do stand by that, even though a lot of it is stuff I don’t like.
The only outright negative thing I didn’t like about this match is that the ending sequence with Roman and Cody felt incredibly rushed. Like, all those cameos happened, and then Cody just hits the three Cross Rhodes on Roman, and it’s over. It didn’t have the ending of a match where something extraordinary had happened, that being Roman’s 1300+ day reign as champion had ended. The crowd reacted that way, sure, but the way the match ended felt like it was missing something. It’s like after all the legends appeared and cleared house, there was no more doubt that Cody would win. I think one more moment of dominance from Roman, and a little doubt for Cody, would’ve really amped things up.
Overall, I thought this was fine. I thought WrestleMania 39 was a way better match, but this one topped it 10 times with the level of emotion that it brought to the table. It’s one I’ll likely not revisit in the future, as I’m not a fan of big interference spots and cameos from wrestlers of days gone by. It is, however, a match that I can look at with objective lens and see why it works, because if you’re a fan of modern WWE, this fucking ruled. It’s the closest that I’ve ever seen a wrestling company come to an “Avengers: Endgame” style match, and I think it’ll be a long time before we see it happen again.
Cody Rhodes finished his story in perhaps the most grandiose, excessive and entertaining match in WrestleMania history, and it works for the audience it’s made for. I will continue to die on the hill that it should’ve been Sami Zayn.
Also, I want to address one other thing about this, and that’s the “discussions” people had about what pro wrestling is and isn’t in the weeks that followed this. See, after WrestleMania XL wrapped up, AEW would soon host their Dynasty event, where Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson had a universally raved about wrestling match, and it sparked conversation on whether Pro Wrestling is “Storytelling and Emotion” or “Moves and Spots.”
It was one of the most absurd discourse between wrestling fans I’ve ever seen. Here’s my answer: It’s all Pro Wrestling, and it all makes it work! Myself, I preferred Ospreay/Danielson, and I think it’s one of the best matches I’ve ever seen. When I saw that match, I thought “this is Pro Wrestling!” That said, I can also see why a match like Roman/Cody at WrestleMania XL works as well as it did, and I can also say “this is Pro Wrestling!” It all works in harmony, and it’s why wrestling is one of the most diverse forms of storytelling that has ever existed!
So, please, spare me these discussions of “WWE does storytelling, that’s what wrestling is,” or “AEW has exciting matches with lots of moves, that’s what wrestling is.” It all works, and it all makes wrestling unique. Argue about something that actually has some fucking merit, thank you.