Booking Cody Rhodes' Story Back to Roman Reigns and WWE WrestleMania 40 Main Event

Cody Rhodes could not beat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, but he should get another opportunity next year.Credit: WWE.com.

WrestleMania 40 is still seven months away, but the hype is already starting to build.

WWE only began selling tickets for WrestleMania 40 on August 18. On just the first day, the company broke its all-time gate record of $21.5 million with over 90,000 tickets sold, as noted by Darren Rovell of The Action Network.

What is persuading fans to pay big money to attend the two-night event at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia? One big argument is the anticipated main event.

Most expect this coming Show of Shows to feature the same main event that headlined its predecessor: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes.

The Tribal Chief remains the undisputed WWE universal champion, and that won't change before WrestleMania 40. The American Nightmare, meanwhile, is still the biggest babyface in the company.

This can be the biggest match of the biggest show WWE will produce in 2024, but it is important that it tells the best story possible come April 6-7 next year.

This story first began at the Royal Rumble in 2023 when Cody Rhodes defeated a strong field in the same-titled men's match to earn his first world title opportunity.

He promised to dethrone The Tribal Chief and bring The Bloodline to an end. More importantly, he guaranteed that he would "finish his story" by becoming the first Rhodes to capture the WWE Championship.

However, he underestimated how far The Bloodline was willing to go to keep him from defeating Reigns. Even with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens keeping The Usos out of the fight, Solo Sikoa got involved at just the right time to set up The Tribal Chief's unexpected win.

The American Nightmare did not complain about his unfair loss. He merely wanted a rematch, but Brock Lesnar got in the way of that.

After finally defeating The Beast Incarnate at SummerSlam, though, Rhodes' path is open to focus back on The Bloodline.

At Payback, Rhodes announced he had facilitated a big trade.

He brought over Jey Uso from SmackDown, taking him away from the drama of his family. For the first time in years, Main Event would get a chance to be his own man.

It may seem like a small move, but it could be the first step in breaking up The Bloodline. Rhodes has a chance, alongside Sami Zayn especially, to convince Jey to work against his family.

He is likely to join the fight against The Judgment Day, working with Rhodes, Zayn and Kevin Owens. This should extend to Survivor Series on November 25 when the teams can battle inside WarGames or in a traditional elimination match.

Either way, Jey will get a chance to work with and rely upon those who will have his back no matter what. While it's likely Zayn will be the one to back the Uso brother more than anyone, Rhodes will stand as the man who made this move happen.

Once Rhodes has set Jey Uso on his own path, his entire focus should turn to earning another shot at Reigns.

While The American Nightmare has teased facing Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship first, it does not make sense to divert his attention.

He can continue to support Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Jey Uso until the Royal Rumble early in 2024 when he can proclaim his intention to win the men's match for the second year in a row.

On the road to WrestleMania this year, Rhodes faced little resistance. He was No. 30 in the Battle Royal and barely eliminated Gunther at the end of his run, who had come in at No. 2.

In 2024, the goal should be to humanize The American NIghtmare on his road to the rematch, so he should show what he can do from an early spot in the men's Rumble.

While the end goal is for him to defeat Reigns, he does not need to win the men's match next year. Instead, he should go long before falling to the contender who will challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship.

The most poetic option would be Gunther, but LA Knight would also make sense given his own popularity. This will leave Rhodes even more desperate to earn the shot he needs.

With two world championships back in play in WWE, the other No. 1 contender will likely be determined inside the Elimination Chamber.

This is the perfect setting to pit Reigns' many rivals against each other. Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso and either Seth Rollins or AJ Styles would make for a dramatic group of six to fight inside the structure.

Forcing The American Nightmare to wrestle this match from the start and go through all Reigns' previous rivals before last eliminating Zayn would be a powerful story to tell of deciding who would finally end his reign of terror.

From there, what matters most is that Rhodes and Reigns interact. The Tribal Chief has a mental edge he can exploit. He has previously defeated The American Nightmare, who has still to prove he can win in the main event of the biggest shows.

With at least Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa still by his side, Reigns would find every way to get a physical and mental edge over Rhodes before the big night.

Meanwhile, this would be a perfect time to play on Rhodes' family legacy. Legends such as Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, even The Undertaker could appear.

If they are available at the time, WWE could bring in his brother, Dustin, or his former manager, Arn Anderson to sell what it would mean for The American Nightmare to win for his family and especially his late father, Dusty Rhodes.

Over the past year, Rhodes has made some good friends. Zayn and Owens would still have his back. Jey Uso should be focused by WrestleMania on facing and defeating his brother, Jimmy.

The WrestleMania 40 bout must be a fair fight. It's unlikely Reigns will defend his title much in the coming seven months, so he would be fresher than The American Nightmare, who has been a strong workhorse for the red brand.

He should not need Solo Sikoa, who could have his own WrestleMania match. Paul Heyman should also be eliminated from the equation, and one of the legends who has supported Rhodes can help with that.

Once the match is under way, Reigns needs to be alone. He needs to appear vulnerable and fight like a man with everything to lose. This will make this bout feel different.

The American Nightmare will gain confidence over the course of the match while The Tribal Chief gets more desperate. When Rhodes finally hits him with the final Cross Rhodes, perhaps even a Bionic Elbow, he can stand tall as a true undisputed world champion.

Beyond any fantasy booking, the goal in these next seven months is to make Reigns vs. Rhodes feel bigger than it was the first time around.

The American Nightmare cannot just be the guy coming back from a rival company to stake his claim. He must be the champion of WWE, fighting for all those The Tribal Chief has put down.

This is already in progress as Rhodes continues to build his legacy alongside the top babyfaces on Raw. WWE cannot afford to pull him away from that any time soon.

It is best to keep Rhodes and Reigns apart but build each of their legacies. The Tribal Chief is more or less set for the night, but he would ideally defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship a few more times before WrestleMania 40.

By the time of The Show of Shows, he will have held the world title for 1,317 days. That is a record that will never be broken in modern WWE. There is no reason for him to hold the gold beyond then, even if he could break more old records.

WrestleMania 40 would be the perfect ending to the story. Let Rhodes forge a new path with the world title while Reigns continues his story with Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa without the gold.