Nikunj Walia on January 29, 2023
The road to WrestleMania 39 has officially begun with the annual Royal Rumble coming to a close. A prime event highlight saw Cody Rhodes claim his destiny and win the Royal Rumble match, much to the delight of the WWE Universe in attendance. However, that blazing reaction might have diminished the chances of seeing Roman Reigns battle another crowd favorite, Sami Zayn.
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The fans have widely appreciated Sami Zayn’s storyline with The Bloodline over the last few months. However, there had been cracks appearing for weeks, with Sami put to the final test at the Royal Rumble event to prove his loyalty.
Roman Reigns went on to retain his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble. However, at the end of the match when Reigns ordered Sami Zayn to take out his best friend, he retaliated and attacked the Tribal Chief with a chair shot and was dismantled by the Bloodline for his betrayal.
On the other hand, The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes returned to action after months due to his torn pectoral muscle injury. He rose up to the occasion and won the rumble match, punching his ticket to a championship match at WrestleMania 39. Rhodes’ win garnered a positive reaction, with the fans firmly behind him to be the next champion.
The fan’s reaction to Cody Rhodes’ win might scrap the rumored plans for a Roman Reigns vs Sami Zayn match at WrestleMania. During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer claimed the same, while also noting that WWE might make a decision on how to move forward after this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW. Meltzer went on to say that he was told that Cody Rhodes was always the plan if The Rock couldn’t make the show of shows.
“That is the plan or at least was the plan as of Wednesday or Thursday … whether they will change it or not … even when we were talking about I already knew it was not Roman and Sami at WrestleMania which is probably why they didn’t talk about it so much last week … guess we’ll find out I haven’t heard anything tonight you know one way or the other … and if it is going to change, it wouldn’t be tonight anyway … it would probably be before TV on Monday if they were going to make a change in direction, and they may not because once you have that kind of Rumble win … kinda like the rule thumb is that the guy is got to get the shot … I mean that was the long-term decision they went with you know … they wanted Dwayne and, obviously there was the Austin talk, but it was … Cody was always in the mix, I mean, I was always told if it’s not Dwayne, It’s going to be Cody … you know, for the match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.”
WWE went ahead with their long-term plans of Cody Rhodes winning the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble match. However, with the immense popularity of Sami Zayn at its peak, things could certainly change on the road to WrestleMania.
Transcription by Ringside News
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January 29, 2023 8:42 am
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