Two years on from his return to WWE, Cody Rhodes is the new Undisputed Champion.
Dethroning Roman Reigns in a chaotic main event at WrestleMania 40, The American Nightmare brought the 1,300-day plus reign of The Tribal Chief to an end in Philadelphia, immortalising his place in history in the process as he won the one title his late father never did.
All the odds were stacked against Rhodes heading into WrestleMania Sunday. The night before, The Rock and Roman Reigns were victorious in the main event against Rhodes and Seth Rollins. Due to the stipulation of the match, Reigns was allowed to defend his title under Bloodline rules, meaning that anything goes and anyone is allowed to interfere. While this stipulation appeared to favour The Bloodline, this would be Reigns’ downfall as Rhodes had backup too.
Beginning one-on-one and with the fight spilling to the outside in the early stages, the pace slowed down as Reigns took control. As Rhodes fought back and took control, Reigns hit Rhodes with a Cross Rhodes, which saw The American Nightmare kick out at the very last moment. Rhodes would later hit a spear on Reigns, which also resulted in a near fall.
Interference then began as Jimmy Uso got involved, neutralised by Jey Uso as both went flying off the stage. Solo Sikoa interfered next, who was neutralised by John Cena. With things descending into chaos, The Rock turned up to confront Cena and laid out his old rival. The Shiel’s music played and Seth Rollins tried to launch a sneak attack but was taken out by Reigns. As The Rock gloated, he was chokeslammed by none other than The Undertaker, leaving Reigns and Rhodes alone.
The victory marks Rhodes’ first World Championship win in WWE and his first championship victory since 2018 after defeating Nick Aldis at All In to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion. 3 Cross Rhodes later and Rhodes won the match and the title.
Cody Rhodes Confirms Contract Report
With many top stars approaching the end of their deals and Rhodes now being the top champion in the whole company, it should come as no surprise that WWE was looking to retain the services of The American Nightmare as soon as possible. During an interview one week before WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes confirmed that he had signed a new WWE deal.
Featured image: WWE
