Cody Rhodes

And STILL -- Roman Reigns just defeated Cody Rhodes to retain the WWE Universal Championship on Sunday ... in a match that was nothing short of an instant ...

The match was as back and forth as it gets from there ... Of course, Roman was the Universal Champion for over 900 days ... and Cody took the quick advantage, forcing Roman to take a breather outside the ring. moving Cody around at his will. Roman Reigns Narrowly Beats Cody Rhodes ... And STILL -- Roman Reigns just defeated Cody Rhodes to retain the WWE Universal Championship on Sunday ...

Roman Reigns shocked the world that expected Cody Rhodes to end his legendary run to cap off a sensational WrestleMania weekend for WWE.

Asuka failed to land her mist, Belair missed with her hair and then Asuka locked in a nasty looking armbar as Belair looked for her KOD finisher. As the pair battled, Gunther suddenly made an impact to powerbomb both men and grab the 1,2,3. As the action broke down, Sheamus nearly had the win with a Brogue Kick, but McIntyre broke he pin. Then, as McIntyre lined up a claymore on the champion, Sheamus hit another Brogue Kick, but on the Scot this time. This was exactly what it needed to be. The champion powered out of the submission and deadlifted the challenger to land the KOD for the victory. Solo Sikoa was at ringside and kept getting involved before the ref threw him out. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler def. Likely because of her strapped up arm. A powerbomb on the outside of the ring had Asuka finished, but in the time it took Belair to roll her back into the ring, the Japanese star survived the pinfall. Sikoa would sneak back in as Rhodes had the match won and deliver the Samoan spike giving Reigns the chance to land a Spear for the win. Roman Reigns shocked the world that expected Cody Rhodes to end his legendary run to cap off a sensational WrestleMania weekend for

WWE stunned onlookers to finish WrestleMania 39, going away from what felt like the inevitable anointing of Cody Rhodes by having Roman Reigns retain his…

Money in the Bank is on the way soon, too, after all. 30 in the men's Royal Rumble match and winning it, just to get shooed in as the guy to dethrone Reigns, never vibed right. The Bloodline story started with Reigns abusing Jey Uso, so maybe that ends up being the finale. The parallel could be there eventually, but more notable is that's just modern pro wrestling. None of this means Rhodes is out of the picture, either. Along the way, The Tribal Chief retaining means there is still a real chance The Rock finally gets weaved into what started as a family-based storyline.

The Tribal Chief defeated Rhodes to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal championship, with plenty of help from The Bloodline in the WrestleMania 39 Night 2 main ...

[After he and AEW couldn’t agree on a new contract](https://nypost.com/2022/02/15/cody-rhodes-leaves-aew-presumably-returning-to-wwe/), Rhodes returned to WWE at last year’s WrestleMania as the first major name to move from AEW to WWE. It was all a celebration of the Anoaʻi family’s Samoan dynasty in the business, raising it to its highest profile. It appeared Rhodes was on the cusp of winning, but Paul Heyman distracted the referee as The American Nightmare got ready to hit a third straight Cross Rhodes finisher.

It feels like the Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes WWE championship match at WrestleMania 39 had the wrong ending.

of all cities on a card with just six matches. 1 contender for the women’s tag team titles. Lashley, after his program with Bray Wyatt disappeared from WWE TV, had to settle for being acknowledged as the Andre The Giant battle royal winner and Knight was nowhere to be found in L.A. He and Balor – who needed to get staples in the ring to close up a huge gash in his head – put on a violent and fun spectacle. But instead of reestablishing The Demon in a big way, it felt more like a pageantry prop to warrant cool entrances for Balor and Edge. He retained the Intercontinental championship in the physical banger of a match we expected from him, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. I get having Reigns beat him at Extreme Rules with a wonky finish, and I guess the babyface Edge needs to go over inside Hell in Cell to end their feud once and of all. It was almost as if the whole match and build – including have Reigns beat Sami Zayn at Elimination Chamber – was a giant troll job of the audience. It allowed Solo Sikoa – who had been tossed from ringside earlier – to come out of the crowd and give Rhodes the Samoan Spike and set up Reigns to deliver a spear to win. They finally had two babyfaces they could get behind and neither one of them was the one to beat Reigns. The match itself was everything you want from a WrestleMania main event with swing after swing of emotion, starting with seeing Rhodes’ family on screen in WWE for the first time – including his daughter Liberty giving him a hug during his entrance. He can scratch and claw his way back to Reigns again, maybe at SummerSlam or next year’s WrestleMania or WrestleMania 41 if WWE can get The Rock and Reigns in the ring either this summer or in Philadelphia in 2024.

Roman Reigns just has one plea to Cody Rhodes and the rest of the wrestling world after retaining his undisputed WWE Universal championship.

After all, in the main event of Wrestlemania 39’s night one, Jimmy and Jey Uso dropped the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship belts to Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens — two wrestlers who have been particularly prickly thorns on the side of Reigns over the past 11 months or so. [Roman Reigns](/tag/roman-reigns) for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the main event of Wrestlemania 39 Night 2. Thanks to members of his vaunted Bloodline,

Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: A phenomenal main event that capped off a great WrestleMania weekend. This match had ...

So while this didn’t do much for me and I felt like it was a bit of a waste of Lesnar, the only thing that truly matters is that it worked for the masses. That segment could have gone completely off the rails and yet they were able to improvise in a way that gave the segment a fun and satisfying payoff. It felt like Asuka winning through nefarious means and putting Belair on a quest to regain her championship was the way to go, but hopefully they have something else in mind to heat up the division. The live crowd bought into the spectacle and had a lot of fun with this. This match had all the drama and suspense that you want from of a WrestleMania main event and then some. I wasn’t a fan of having so many anticlimactic near falls during the first ten minutes of the match, but they found their groove once the near falls started to feel like they actually mattered.

Once again, WWE shies away from the cathartic moment all its fans wanted.

And then it was time for the night to turn back into the gutter. If only we had all really taken stock of the symbolism for what was to come. This was the booking of a man and a company that feels untouchable. That was followed by the three-way of Gunther-Drew McIntyre-Sheamus for the IC title, which was the match of both nights. Everything smacked of being directed by a guy who was ousted from his job for the crimes he committed, and then got that job and even more money back anyway. But Vince has never cared what the fans think, and now that Reigns is entrenched as the unquestioned and unreachable star of the company, you couldn’t help but feel he was the one deciding everyone’s going to pay now for their denial of it at the end of the last decade. [despite what I think](https://deadspin.com/wwe-cody-rhodes-roman-reigns-wrestlemania-aew-1850278198), made a good amount of the WWE universe think he was the superhero that Zayn wasn’t and was what was required. Asuka and Bianca Belair followed next, and while it was a very tough spot to be put in both women delivered a great match with Belair cementing her legacy as Mrs. It shapes the rest of the calendar. They were calling Rhodes-Reigns one of the biggest main events ever at the biggest show in the industry. It doesn’t matter what they want, because even though they won’t get it almost all of the time, more than enough of them won’t turn away to find something different. They decidedly have not, and it’s a wonder whether he’s actually [ in charge of creative anymore](https://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/36053219/ufc-wwe-combine-create-214b-entertainment-company).

Rhodes connected with family and friends prior to his title match. WrestleMania is known for its high-octane athleticism and over-the-top storylines, but the ...

He and Rhodes starred together in AEW up until the time of Huber's death, with Huber taking on the ring name of Brodie Lee. Huber, also known as Luke Harper during his seven-year run in the WWE, died in Dec. Cody Rhodes, who challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, took some time out from his ringwalk to connect with family and friends ringside.

On Sunday night in a packed SoFi Stadium, the stage was set for Cody Rhodes to finally become Undisputed WWE Universal Champion and fulfill his destiny, ...

[April 3, 2023] [Amanda Huber](https://twitter.com/MandaLHuber/status/1642732538966982658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1642732538966982658%7Ctwgr%5E1be59d7bb9d91333e39c1607d92ed260a74cf825%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fitrwrestling.com%2Fnews%2Faew-stars-react-to-cody-rhodes-crushing-wrestlemania-defeat%2F) who works in AEW’s community outreach program. (Negative One) was ringside for Rhodes’ bout and received his special weight belt.

Cody Rhodes needed a tag partner for his match against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa and it was Brock Lesnar who answered the call.

Coming out to the ring was Brock Lesnar, who embraced Cody. Rhodes stated that he wants a rematch but that was shut down. — WWE (@WWE)

On the April 3 episode of WWE Raw, Cody Rhodes confronted Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, one night after "The Tribal Chief" beat him in the ...

He even hit Rhodes with the steel steps. Lesnar proceeded to hit Rhodes with a chair. He hit another F-5, prompting Reigns and Sikoa to leave. He also said that if Rhodes lost, he would never again challenge for the title as long as Reigns was the champion. He made it clear that he believed he had Reigns beat, and he wanted a rematch. Paul Heyman said he wouldn't be getting a rematch, but Rhodes still wanted to fight, so he challenged Reigns and Sikoa to face him in a tag tean match.