WrestleMania 39: Roman Reigns (c) vs Cody Rhodes- Prediction and Analysis: The biggest pro wrestling extravaganza, WrestleMania is around the corner with some of the biggest stars in the business ready to put on a show for the ages. The card is stacked with marquee matches, but the one that will have everyone’s attention and investment at the SoFi stadium will be the clash between the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, and the 2023 Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes. This will be the first time ‘The American Nightmare’ will compete for the top prize in sports entertainment; the stage as well as the stakes couldn’t get any bigger.

After making his stunning return to WWE last year and defeating Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38, Cody Rhodes cut an emotional promo on RAW the next night. He highlighted how his father, Dusty Rhodes, despite being one of the most influential stars of his era never won the WWE Championship. ‘The American Nightmare’ said he promised his father that he will bring the prize home one day and put it on his shoulder and while he couldn’t do it when he was alive, he intends to keep his word. The question now is will Rhodes finish his story at WrestleMania with a career-defining win? Or will Roman Reigns ensure that the occasion turns out to be a nightmare for the son of the American Dream?

Here’s a look at why both superstars should or could win at WrestleMania 39.

Why does Cody Rhodes need to win at WrestleMania 39?

Cody Rhodes needs to finish the story: Ever since his spectacular return at WrestleMania last year and his subsequent promo on RAW, the narrative has been about Cody Rhodes finishing his story and winning the big one after all this time. With WrestleMania being in Hollywood this year, Rhodes’ journey to the main event of the marquee event is nothing short of a movie script.

After an underwhelming run in WWE and a failed Stardust gimmick, Rhodes bet on himself and left WWE in 2016. He did the hard yards on the independent wrestling scene, then NWA, went halfway across the world to make a name in Japan, and returned to the U.S. to set up AEW as a competitor to WWE in 2019.

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After being one of AEW’s top stars and making himself a marketable name, Rhodes believed the time was right for a WWE return, with the Stamford-based promotion keen on a reunion too given his growing fanbase. The moment has come full circle for Rhodes, from being “undesirable” to “undeniable,” a win at WrestleMania 39 truly cements him as a big star that WWE could bank on for years to come, although his record at the event doesn’t make for good reading.

Rhodes has won only two of his seven WrestleMania matches: If fans need to know why Rhodes felt he was going nowhere during his initial run in WWE, they need to look no further than his WrestleMania record. He has competed six times at ‘The Show of Shows’ winning only once, with his second win coming only last year against Seth Rollins.

Before his win over Rollins last year, Rhodes’ other WrestleMania win came against Rey Mysterio in 2011 at WrestleMania 27. If he loses to Reigns at this year’s event, not only it further blemishes his record on the ‘Grandest Stage of Them All’, it could take away from his growing stature as a top name in the company.

A case for Roman Reigns to win at WrestleMania 39

A 1000-day title reign beckons if Reigns wins at WrestleMania: In theory, the decision seems simple to let Rhodes have his moment. But standing in his way is Roman Reigns who is on a career-defining, record-breaking as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. ‘The Tribal Chief’ has carried the gold since August 2020, back when WWE was still in the ThunderDome era.

Currently, he has been the Universal Champion for 940+ days having won the title nearly three years ago at the Payback Premium Live Event in 2020. Last year Reigns added the WWE Championship to his name after overcoming Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 to unify the two world titles. As fans know WWE loves to create and break records and this could play a key role in their decision-making if they decide to give Reigns the win over Rhodes. This could mean a 1000-day title reign for the ‘Head of the Table’, something unheard of in modern-day pro wrestling.

WWE could set up a bigger showdown down the road: A reason to keep the belts on Roman Reigns would be to prepare for an even bigger clash at some point this year or next year at WrestleMania XL. WWE could decide to give ‘The Tribal Chief’ an even longer run that could cement him as one of the all-time greats before setting up a dream match with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson for the titles.

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Or they could have Rhodes wait till the summer to accomplish his dream and finish the story. That will allow WWE to showcase more of a redemption story arc for Rhodes if he fails to win the big one at his first shot. They could tie this in with Rhodes’ lack of big-match experience compared to Reigns and how it got to him. If someone thinks this is a far-fetched idea, you need to look no further than how despite being advertised as a ‘Once in a Lifetime’ gig, The Rock and John Cena went toe-to-toe twice only because it meant a bigger story and of course more money.

Which way will WWE go?

Going by simple pro wrestling logic, a Cody Rhodes win should be the way to go. A second-generation star returning to his prodigal home after earning his stripes elsewhere only to be derailed by an injury before making yet another comeback to win the Royal Rumble, this story only needs Rhodes to win to tie it all perfectly. But WWE loves to swerve and surprise its fans from time to time.

It was a similar feeling when Reigns himself lost to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34, despite being heavily favored to win given the ambiguity around The Beast’s WWE status. But Vince McMahon and co. decided to go in another direction leaving a lot of fans bemused. In fact, recent reports did suggest that WWE is yet to make up its mind about the finish of the Reigns-Rhodes match. Thus leaving the door open for any possibility.

Cody Rhodes winning makes sense from a storytelling point of view especially after Reigns painfully pointed out that he has never even competed for the world title in WWE, but if the promotion goes with Reigns it will create a huge buzz, negative or otherwise as to who could possibly dethrone ‘The Big Dog’? And that is what WWE likes to do, generate interest.

WrestleMania 39- Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes: Prediction

Cody Rhodes returned to much fanfare to win the 2023 Royal Rumble after being out of action due to his torn pectoral muscle injury. Such booking is usually reserved for the company’s biggest stars as history tells us. A win over Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, could be the realization of a lifelong dream for the youngest son of Dusty Rhodes. But you cannot rule out Reigns from the equation entirely.

In stark contrast to Rhodes, Reigns is entering his seventh WrestleMania main event, only Hulk Hogan has more. Moreover, this will be the third consecutive year he will be headlining the ‘Showcase of Immortals’. Reigns holds an impressive 7-2 win-loss record at ‘Mania and this WrestleMania will mark Roman Reigns’ third straight WrestleMania in the same title reign, making him the first star to achieve such a feat. Cody Rhodes indeed has a monumental task on his hand.

A win for Rhodes will usher in a new era for WWE and largely seems the way to go. But WWE might be keen on pulling a surprise as it often gets blamed for being too predictable. Surprises in pro wrestling can be good, but at times, going with the most predictable outcome isn’t a bad idea. With the rumors that Reigns may take some time off after this event, the time is ripe for a new face to hold the gold.

The storyline thus far, has seen Reigns and Paul Heyman put down Cody Rhodes, often bringing in his late father in the mix, with Dusty Rhodes having played a key role in Reigns’ development as a top talent while his son went through the hoops. Reigns could very well be the most hated man in the SoFi stadium if he walks out of the stadium as the champion, but if anyone could get away with it it’s him. In fact, he got away with beating a red-hot Zayn in his hometown of Montreal just over a month ago.

The entire story is so compelling it’s not as easy to predict who will win as it was a couple of months ago. This isn’t just a ‘David vs Goliath’ battle or a case of ‘The Immovable Object’ meeting ‘The Unstoppable Force’, it is more than that, it is a clash of family legacies. And Cody Rhodes has to win to back his claim that wrestling indeed has more than one royal family.

Prediction: Cody Rhodes will beat Roman Reigns to win the Undisputed Universal WWE Championship at WrestleMania 39.

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