SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - JANUARY 28: Cody Rhodes reacts after winning the WWE Royal Rumble at Alamodome on January 28, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
WRESTLING NEWS
Backstage News On Scrapped WrestleMania 39 Plans For Cody Rhodes
By Matthew Wilkinson
Cody Rhodes promised to take the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship from Roman Reigns during his promo exchange with Paul Heyman on the February 6, 2023, episode of “WWE Raw.” However, at one point in time, WWE had other plans for him regarding WrestleMania 39, according to Dave Meltzer on “Wrestling Observer Radio.”
This plan would have seen a brand new title created by the company that would have been defended on Night One of WrestleMania, while Reigns would defend his titles on Night Two. It was noted that Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, and Seth Rollins were the names discussed to walk away with the mysterious new title, with WWE hoping to have two top titles once again.
There had been a “pie-in-the-sky” idea for The Rock to win the 2023 Royal Rumble match and go on to face Reigns at WrestleMania. Of course, Rhodes won the Rumble match instead, and The Rock is not scheduled to be in a WrestleMania match this year due to the Hollywood star not having enough time to get into ring shape.