This time, WWE gave the fans what they wanted.
Cody Rhodes finally ended Roman Reigns’ historic 1316-day run as world champion to conclude WrestleMania XL (40), and finished the story.
Unsurprisingly the match, contested under ‘Bloodline Rules’ – aka no disqualifications – featured a heavy dosage of interference, with Rhodes’ friends (and also some with little to do with him) helping him overcome Reigns’ allies.
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Jey Uso took out his brother Jimmy following their disappointing night one match, while John Cena fought off Solo Sikoa.
The Rock rocked up to deliver a Rock Bottom to his old foe Cena, before The Shield’s music hit – the popular mid-2010s faction including Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose aka Jon Moxley. But Rollins, for the third time this WrestleMania, was made to look silly as he was immediately Superman Punched by Reigns.
The absurd cavalcade of interruptions continued with The Undertaker appearing in the ring behind The Rock, chokeslamming him and then the pair disappearing, leaving behind a steel chair and The Rock’s weight belt which read ‘Mama Rhodes’ and had Cody’s blood on it from the beatdown on Monday Night Raw in recent weeks.
Reigns went to use the steel chair but turned it onto Rollins, in revenge for the latter’s initial turn on The Shield. But this opened up Rhodes’ chance to hit the Cross Rhodes multiple times and finally get the pinfall victory.
While the match was not exactly an in-ring display of technical wizardry, it was the perfect example of WWE’s ability to create a spectacle like no other company, and hit all of the nostalgia buttons for hardcore fans.
Rhodes called out long-time wrestling executive Bruce Prichard and Triple H to thank them after the match.
It completed the two-year story of Rhodes’ return to WWE after he left the company in 2016, seeking greater opportunities outside of the midcard position he was locked into. During his time away Rhodes was a founder of AEW, the upstart promotion that has done a better job competing with WWE than any company in decades – and will soon surpass WCW’s flagship Nitro show for longevity.
But two years ago, in an exit still clouded in mystery though seemingly revolving around his wife Brandi, Rhodes left AEW and returned at WrestleMania 38.
After a long-term injury halted his comeback, Rhodes – still using his AEW character and presentation as The American Nightmare – became WWE’s most popular genuine babyface in years, winning the Royal Rumble and challenging Reigns for the world title at WrestleMania 39.
But shockingly, Reigns and the Bloodline simply cheated once again to win, leaving the company’s top title in limbo for another nine months with Reigns rarely appearing. WWE even had to create a secondary world title to have some sort of target for its main event stars.
Rhodes and Reigns appeared destined for a rematch at WrestleMania 40 but The Rock finally becoming available for the match that had been planned with Reigns many years ago changed things. Rhodes, despite winning the Royal Rumble again, gave up his WrestleMania main event slot.
The ensuing fan revolt was spotted by The Rock, who spoke to WWE head honcho Nick Khan and told him changes were needed. While this made the storyline confusing, it worked, because The Rock became the most popular wrestler in the company after turning heel, featuring in the night one WrestleMania main event tagging with Reigns to beat Rhodes and Seth Rollins.
When Rock pinned Rhodes on night one in Philadelphia, it became clear a future singles match is on the cards, whether at a major stadium show like SummerSlam or one of the controversial Saudi Arabia shows for which WWE is paid tens of millions of dollars.
A Rock-Reigns match at WrestleMania 41 would also appear a likely destination.
Earlier on the show, the secondary world title changed hands twice.
The red-hot Drew McIntyre, who has built his popularity in recent months with unscripted promos and hilarious social media activity, finally won a major championship in front of fans when he pinned Seth Rollins.
But McIntyre’s focus on the injured CM Punk cost him as, after guest commentator Punk attacked the Scot, Damian Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and pinned McIntyre in nine seconds to become champion.
On a show severely lacking excellent in-ring action, Bayley and Iyo Sky brought it, with the former claiming Sky’s women’s championship in the semi main event.
The two nights as a whole were not overly exciting nor dramatic, continuing the trend of Triple H era shows being predictable, dragging in between the matches and, strangely given the talent available, not producing particularly great matches. However it perfectly suited the current hardcore WWE audience and the peak moments on night two in particular were fantastic.
WRESTLEMANIA 40 NIGHT TWO CARD
Sunday April 7 US time – Monday April 8 from 9am AEST
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Cody Rhodes def Roman Reigns (c) [Bloodline Rules, aka No DQ]
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Drew McIntyre def Seth Rollins (c)
WWE World Heavyweight Championship cash-in: Damian Priest def Drew McIntyre (c)
WWE Women’s Championship: Bayley def Iyo Sky (c)
WWE United States Championship: Logan Paul (c) def Kevin Owens and Randy Orton
LA Knight def AJ Styles
Bobby Lashley, Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins def Karrion Kross, Akam & Rezar [Philadelphia Street Fight]