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WWE WrestleMania Main Event Official After Cody Rhodes, The Rock and Roman Reigns Drama
WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes finally made his WrestleMania 40 decision.
In the end, it looks like Cody Rhodes – and the WWE Universe – will get what they want at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, but we can't believe the rollercoaster ride it took to get to where we are today!
It's time to get everyone up to speed.
The Rock, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns Drama Explained
The last few weeks in WWE have had the WWE Universe on the edge of their seats – and it all started with Cody Rhodes' triumphant victory at Royal Rumble 2024. The night ended with The American Nightmare gesturing to the WrestleMania sign hanging in the rafters before pointing directly at Roman Reigns and his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. In the eyes of fans worldwide, it sure seemed that Cody had already made up his mind and would challenge Reigns at WrestleMania, coming full circle after failing to dethrone the champion at WrestleMania 39.
But it didn't quite work out as we all thought it would. Things suddenly got very interesting, to say the least.
On the January 29 episode of Monday Night Raw, current World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins confronted Cody in the middle of the ring to make an inspired plea: "Challenge me instead of Roman Reigns at WrestleMania."
The WWE Universe was stunned. Never before has a champion openly politicked for a Royal Rumble winner to challenge them. Seth's pointed message to Cody about his championship being the workhorse title in WWE seemed to pique Cody's interest. Seth had made good points – the World Heavyweight Championship is the title that better represents everything Cody and his father (the late Dusty Rhodes) stands for. Still, Cody left Raw that evening without letting the WWE Universe know his plans for WrestleMania.
A few days later, on the February 2 edition of SmackDown, Cody marched to the ring to confront Roman Reigns. The WWE Universe held their collective breath as Cody told Roman there was nothing he wanted more than to take that championship away from The Tribal Chief.
Bizarrely, Cody revealed he would not do that at WrestleMania. It was perplexing. What made matters even more confusing was that Cody introduced The Rock, who seemingly indicated he would be the one to challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.
Why would Cody give up on his dream?
Nothing made sense.
Correction: Nothing made sense until the WrestleMania 40 press conference on February 8. As it turns out, in WWE, things aren't always exactly as they seem.
What Happened at the WrestleMania Press Conference?
On February 8, Las Vegas played host to one of the most intense and chaotic press conferences in sports entertainment history – and it's where the latest chapter in Cody's Road to WrestleMania came to fruition:
After doing everything but signing a main event contract, it seemed like The Rock and Roman Reigns would finally have their epic showdown at WrestleMania. After all, Cody hadn't officially made his decision, opening the door for The Rock to literally step ahead of him in line and go after the Undisputed WWE Universal Title himself. The WWE Universe in attendance made their displeasure known – while a Rock vs. Roman match has long been a dream for millions of fans, nobody wanted it to come at the expense of Cody Rhodes.
As it turns out, Cody felt the same way.
After weeks of silence, Cody interrupted the press conference-turned-Bloodline-love-fest and finally vocalized what we all knew he was feeling inside – as the Royal Rumble winner, he would officially challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.
Predictably, the press conference fell into disarray, with The Rock slapping Cody across the face at one point. The event ended in chaos, with most – if not all – fans wondering what the actual main event of WrestleMania would be.
Will Cody Rhodes Be in the Main Event of WrestleMania 40?
Despite The Rock's vocal – and profanity-laced – objections after the event, Triple H ultimately had the final say in what the WrestleMania main event would be. Just a few hours after the rails fell off the press conference, WWE's Head of Creative made it official: Cody Rhodes would challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
And that's where things stand today.
On either April 6 or 7 in Philadelphia, Cody Rhodes will once again have an opportunity to dethrone the unstoppable Roman Reigns for the most prestigious championship in all of professional wrestling.
Of course, everything can change instantly if the last few weeks' events are any indication. The Rock doesn't seem like the type of person to let things like this brush off his shoulders, so conventional wisdom states that there may be more twists and turns on the Road to WrestleMania for the foreseeable future!
(As if the WWE Universe would want it any other way.)
You can tune in to Peacock to watch WWE's Elimination Chamber on February 24. In the meantime, catch up on all things WWE Universe on Peacock.
