Cody Rhodes Hands Solo Sikoa His First Pinfall Loss On WWE's Main Roster

Cody Rhodes picked up a big win to gain some momentum in his last match before his WrestleMania 39 main event this Sunday. On Monday night's episode of "WWE Raw," he closed the show, facing Bloodline member Solo Sikoa for just the second time. 

Unlike their Madison Square Garden house show match two weeks ago, there was a conclusive finish, with Rhodes picking up a clean pinfall win instead of the disqualification victory he scored at "the world's most famous arena."

The "Raw" main event reached its crescendo when The Usos made a move towards entering the ring after Rhodes kicked out of a Sikoa pinfall attempt after an uranage. That was the catalyst for their WrestleMania opponents and tag team title challengers, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, to run out, starting a brawl that quickly moved to the back.

After they regrouped in the ring, Sikoa blocked a Cody Cutter attempt and went for the Samoan Spike, but Rhodes dodged it and hit the Crossrhodes for the win, handing Solo his first pinfall loss since he was called up to WWE's main roster at Clash at the Castle in September.

Rhodes is set to take on Roman Reigns for the latter's Undisputed WWE Universal Championship this Sunday night in the main event of the second night of WrestleMania 39. He earned the shot by way of winning the men's Royal Rumble match in January, returning to the ring after over seven months on the shelf with a torn right pectoral muscle. 

Before his Rumble victory, he wrestled despite suffering the injury, which had turned his chest and shoulder various shades of red and purple, en route to picking up a win over Seth Rollins in a career-defining Hell in a Cell match at its namesake Premium Live Event.