The darkest moment in pro wrestling history is now available for full public consumption.
As ticket sales for WrestleMania 41 are underway, WWE continues to add to next year’s excitement by offering free matches from this year’s spectacular. On Friday, it uploaded the main event from WrestleMania Saturday to its YouTube channel, the tag team match featuring Roman Reigns and The Rock against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. Now, WWE has taken it a step further by uploading the main event from WrestleMania Sunday, Roman Reigns defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes.
As royally disappointing as the ending was to many, the match itself was truly a five-star classic in every sense of the word. Reigns and Rhodes engaged in a thrilling battle, with the action rivaling that of their first meeting at WrestleMania 39. As the finish neared, the most heralded display of shenanigans ever took place. But rather than take away from the contest, the copious amounts of outside interference starring the Usos, Solo Sikoa, John Cena, The Rock, The Undertaker, and Seth Rollins enhanced the match, making it a strong candidate for Match of the Year honors for 2024.
But, man, that finish.
Yeah, I mean, it was great and all for Rhodes and his supporters, the Cody Crybabies. But Roman Reigns was on the cusp of history. Ending Roman’s reign brought to an end an epic chase for immortality. Reigns was within months of passing Hulk Hogan for the third-longest world title reign in WWE history. Most of all, Rhodes’ victory ended Reigns’ pursuit of Bruno Sammartino’s fabled title run that lasted nearly eight years. In all likelihood, Rhodes closed the door on the closest anyone will ever come to reaching or breaking such achievements by Hogan or Sammartino.
Worst of all, Rhodes’ disputed victory for the Undisputed title drove another wedge between the Samoan Dynasty, leading to unnecessary infighting between Sikoa’s side and Reigns. Rather than working together to run Raw and SmackDown, both men are locked in a war of attrition for family dominance.
So, yeah, go ahead and celebrate it, if that’s your thing. The full video, featuring entrances and Rhodes’ celebration, is available below. Just know that I won’t be watching it. And I encourage all loyal supporters of Roman Reigns to join me in making your voices heard — either by ignoring the video or giving it a Sikoa-sized thumbs down on YouTube.