The largest annual professional wrestling event in the world took place this weekend in Philadelphia, as the World Wrestling Entertainment produced WrestleMania 40, giving fans a cinematic experience as “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes defeated “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title.
Reigns had held the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship for a historic 1,316 days. This marks the fourth-longest title reign since the top title was established in 1963. Reigns was about 150 days from surpassing Hulk Hogan’s record of 1,474 days as champion, according to the WWE Website .
The title match, which main evented night two of WrestleMania 40, was the second matchup between Rhodes and Reigns, with the first matchup taking place during the main event of last year’s Wrestlemania. This time around, there were a few more stipulations, along with an added sense of pressure on Rhodes to finish his story.
Rhodes’ father, Dusty Rhodes, had also been heavily involved in the business of professional wrestling. “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes had won championships in promotions across the United States. He eventually climbed the ladder to the top wrestling promotion, the WWE (then World Wrestling Federation). It was only in the WWE where he failed to capture a world championship title. Dusty Rhodes would retire from professional wrestling without ever obtaining the WWE title. He passed away in 2015.
Rhodes also had to worry about more than just a historic champion during his journey to the top. Reigns had the support of his faction, “The Bloodline,” featuring the likes of his cousins, Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The match was fought under “Bloodline Rules,” a unique stipulation that essentially allowed for no disqualification for either competitor.
The Rock is a prominent figure in the world of pro wrestling. Not only is he a WWE Hall of Famer, but he is also a board member of WWE parent group “TKO.” The Rock returned to the WWE full time in February, on an episode of the weekly taping of the “Smackdown!” show. Since then, he has fully embraced his family’s history of dominance in the sport, and made it clear that Rhodes’ path to victory would be even tougher than before. The Rock emphasized this at the WrestleMania 40 kickoff event in February.
“When you’re talking about [Reigns’] family, you’re talking about my family,” The Rock said. “When you’re talking about his ancestors, you’re talking about my ancestors. And when you’re talking about his blood, you’re talking about my blood.”
During the title match, Rhodes and Reigns began with about 20 minutes of uninterrupted battle, with neither man able to get a clear advantage over the other. In typical “Bloodline” fashion, Jimmy Uso would interfere in an attempt to help Reigns. He would be countered by his brother, Jey Uso, who left the faction in August of 2023.
Next, Solo Sikoa would show up, only to be countered by WWE Hall of Famer, John Cena, who had feuded with Sikoa last year. The crowd was then treated to a callback to WrestleMania 28 and 29, as The Rock came out and hit John Cena with his signature Rock Bottom.
Seth Rollins would then appear, and attempt to take out The Rock, but Roman Reigns was swift with a steel chair and countered Rollins. Just before The Rock could devastate Rhodes with a belt lashing, the stadium went black to the sound of The Undertaker’s iconic bell entrance. The lights would return, and The Undertaker would chokeslam The Rock, leaving just Reigns, Rhodes and Rollins.
Reigns was then met with a decision: to strike Rhodes with a chair, and continue his title reign, or to strike Rollins, the man who had betrayed Reigns many years ago. An emotional Reigns went for Rollins, allowing Rhodes to weaken Reigns with three Cross Rhodes, leading to a three-count pinfall.
Rhodes was asked in the WrestleMania 40 press conference what he would say to his father given the chance now having won the elusive WWE championship. Rhodes delivered a heartfelt response.
“If I’m being honest, I think I would want to say to him that I hope I lived up to your name,” Rhodes said. “Then, thank you for the name.”