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Cody Rhodes Crowned Champion at WrestleMania 40

Cody Rhodes finished the story–and earned a place in professional wrestling history

Justin Barrasso

The end of Roman Reigns’ title reign unfolded in spectacular fashion.

Reigns and Cody Rhodes wrestled an unforgettable main event at WrestleMania 40, which was broken into three parts.

The first half of the match was an extremely compelling and tense singles match. That segued into part two, which began when Jimmy Uso appeared and superkicked Rhodes, tapping into the tried-and-true pattern of interference from The Bloodline throughout Reigns’ title run. Jimmy was stopped by Jey Uso, but Solo Sikoa then appeared as Rhodes has attempting to hit his third straight Cross Rhodes.

Sikoa hit the same Samoan Spike that ended the match last year, but this time, Rhodes kicked out of the pinfall. Reigns then hit a spear, but Rhodes kicked out again–and then John Cena evened the odds and took out both Reigns and Sikoa.

If that wasn’t enough, that was when business picked up.

The Rock came to the ring for a showdown with Cena, which ended with Cena taking a Rock Bottom. Seth Rollins, who promised to be Rhodes’ shield, then came out in his Shield gear–but he was laid out by a Superman Punch from Reigns. Then a familiar gong sounded, the lights went out, and The Undertaker chokeslammed The Rock.

Reigns had a chair in hand, but he used it on Rollins. After all of the interference, it ended the way it started: one-and-one. Three Cross Rhodes later, and Rhodes pinned Reigns to become the new WWE Undisputed Universal Champion.

There was no mention of Reigns threatening to leave the company if he lost, which was a storyline briefly introduced last week before being dropped. Instead, the focus from the commentary team of Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Pat McAfee centered around this being Rhodes’ final shot at Reigns. Wearing a Triple H-inspired mask in his entrance, where he was accompanied by his wife Brandi, Rhodes had a supporting crew in the house that also included his mother, brother, sister, and even close friend Ricky Starks.

Here are the results from Night Two of WrestleMania 40:

  • Drew McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins to become the new world heavyweight championship
  • Damian Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to defeat Drew McIntyre and win the world heavyweight championship
  • Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits defeated Karrion Kross and Authors of Pain in a Philadelphia Street Fight
  • LA Knight defeated AJ Styles
  • Logan Paul defeated Kevin Owens and Randy Orton in a triple threat to retain the United States championship
  • Bayley defeated Iyo Sky to win the WWE women’s championship
  • Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns to become Undisputed Universal Champion in a Bloodline Rules match
Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon / Courtesy WWE

Stephanie McMahon opened the show, welcoming everyone to–you guessed it–a new era. It was interesting to see the company reintroduce Stephanie, first this past Friday at the Hall of Fame ceremony and then again at WrestleMania. Regardless who owns the company, WWE will forever be associated with the McMahon family. So it is a positive for WWE to have some involvement from the family, even if it is just ceremonial. Especially considering she is married to Paul Levesque, Stephanie fills that role perfectly.

The match opened with an immediate Claymore from Drew McIntyre. Seth Rollins kicked out at two, but it was an emphatic start. The key story throughout the match was Rollins’ left knee, which The Rock re-injured during the main event on Night One. Despite the injury and punishment from McIntyre, Rollins continued to find a way to persevere.

Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins / Courtesy WWE

With CM Punk on commentary, McIntyre was constantly focused on Punk. After the fourth Claymore, McIntyre finally got the three-count to become world champion. Rollins did tremendous work as the first-ever world heavyweight champion, establishing the belt and adding an entirely new purpose to Raw on a weekly basis. Even with the legitimate knee injury he suffered this past January, Rollins was an excellent inaugural champ.

Post-match, McIntyre verbally assaulted Punk. After a DX-inspired crotch chop to the face, Punk attacked McIntyre.

CM Punk attacks Drew McIntyre
CM Punk attacks Drew McIntyre / Courtesy WWE

Once it was clear Punk had the upper hand, Damian Priest sprinted to the ring, cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, and pinned McIntyre to become the new world heavyweight champion.

Executed perfectly, it checked all the boxes–allowing McIntyre to finally win the title in front of fans, adding more fuel to his feud with Punk, and providing Priest his long-awaited chance to have a run with the belt.

Damian Priest
Damian Priest / Courtesy WWE

The Philadelphia Street Fight was next. Snoop Dogg joined the commentary team, and Bubba Dudley filled the role of special guest referee as Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits defeated Karrion Kross and the Authors of Pain.

Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg / Courtesy WWE

This turned into an homage to ECW and the Dudleys, with the Profits and Lashley even hitting the “Wazzup”. Montez Ford frog splashed Kross through a table, which set up the winning pinfall. After being left off the card last night, Lashley finished his night at WrestleMania 40 by pinning Kross.

Bobby Lashley, The Street Profits, and Bubba Dudley
Bobby Lashley, The Street Profits, and Bubba Dudley / Courtesy WWE

Following the six-man tag, LA Knight collected the most significant win of his career by defeating AJ Styles. The match, which ended with a Blunt Force Trauma, was a clean finish for Knight.

LA Knight
LA Knight / Courtesy WWE

At 41, two decades into his career, Knight is hitting his peak. It is time to get him on the same brand as Damian Priest during the upcoming WWE Draft and, eventually, put the world title around his waist. One unfortunate note–Styles introduced a new entrance song, which was nowhere near as good as his last one.

Kevin Owens, Logan Paul, and Randy Orton
Kevin Owens, Logan Paul, and Randy Orton / Courtesy WWE

WWE sponsor Logan Paul pinned Kevin Owens to win a triple threat match that also included Randy Orton. With the Prime logo in the middle of the mat, Paul hit a frog splash onto Owens for the victory. The match included a cameo from IShowSpeed, who was in the Prime bottle costume–and took an RKO on the broadcast table after saving Paul from a punt kick to the head.

The finishing sequence was especially solid. Owens’ pop-up powerbomb was reversed into an RKO from Orton. Paul eventually got Orton out of the ring, which is when he hit the frog splash for the win–and then celebrated atop his Prime logo.

Randy Orton hits an RKO on Kevin Owens
Randy Orton hits an RKO on Kevin Owens / Courtesy WWE
Logan Paul
Logan Paul / Courtesy WWE

The co-main event saw Bayley–in her first-ever singles match at a WrestleMania–defeat Iyo Sky. The victory made Bayley the new WWE women’s champion. Following a flying elbow and Rose Plant, Bayley pinned Sky.

This was everything it needed to be: physical, innovative, and suspenseful. The title run elevated Sky into a top talent in WWE, and this was the perfect finish. Bayley is one of the faces of WWE, and she deserved to win the title at WrestleMania.

In the main event, the Bloodline Rules match delivered. The show closed by Rhodes cutting an in-ring promo, thanking Bruce Prichard and Paul Levesque as he was surrounded by family and friends in the ring.

Thus concluded a storybook finish. Now, officially, the Cody Rhodes era begins.

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Justin Barrasso

JUSTIN BARRASSO

Justin Barrasso has been writing for Sports Illustrated since 2014. While his primary focus is pro wrestling and MMA, he has also covered MLB, NBA, and the NFL. He can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.