WrestleMania 40: The Avengers of WWE
Rhodes vs. Reigns: An Epic Showdown
Year after year, WWE advertises WrestleMania as the biggest wrestling extravaganza since… well, the previous year’s WrestleMania. While recency bias may play a huge role in touting WrestleMania 40 as the greatest WrestleMania of all time, what’s not up for debate amongst its fans is the culmination of Cody Rhodes vs Roman Reigns’ storied feud being an Avengers: Endgame-level phenomenon that paid off in spades.
A Sisyphean Struggle for Rhodes
Since returning to WWE in 2022, Rhodes’ story has been defined by a Sisyphean struggle to become its Undisputed WWE Universal champion. At last year’s WrestleMania, Rhodes failed to defeat the company’s big bad, Roman Reigns, thanks to outside interference from Reigns’ Bloodline faction family members. Rhodes’ rematch at Night Two of WrestleMania 40 was made all the more harrowing following The Rock and Reigns’ Avengers: Infinity War-esque cliffhanger victory over Rhodes and Seth Rollins the previous night. Rhodes’ defeat, which altered the match rules between him and Reigns, made outside interference legal. Or as WWE commentator Michael Cole put it, “Cody’s screwed.”
A Phenomenal Victory
Much like Captain America’s final stand against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, “The American Nightmare” saw Rhodes cinch a tremendous victory over Roman Reigns and company thanks to the concerted effort from WWE’s biggest babyfaces of today and yesteryear: Jey Uso, John Cena, Seth Rollins, and the Undertaker. This, in turn, brought about an influx of WWE fans comparing Rhodes vs Reigns’ bout to the 2019 MCU blockbuster. Arguably, the biggest comparison fans drew from WrestleMania 40 was Rollins’ Iron Man-esque sacrifice toward Cody’s victory. Here are some of our favorite reactions:
Legends Return: Supernatural Interference
Although Cena and The Undertaker’s Avengers: Endgame-esque appearances were a surprise to fans, their roles in Rhodes’ victory — like the MCU heroes — weren’t divorced from the WrestleMania main event’s in-ring drama. In fact, the pair’s interferences served as wrestling ghosts of Reigns’ and The Rock’s past.
A New Chapter for WWE
Wrestling premium live events are predicated on cliffhangers that can either see fan-favorite wrestlers overcome an opponent or fail to clinch victory. Like the MCU’s decade-spanning superhero narratives, WrestleMania 40’s main event interwove a myriad of its biggest performers’ storylines with gusto, delivering an emotionally satisfying ending for longtime fans. This year’s WrestleMania, while acting as a season finale of sorts for WWE, also doubles as an MCU-style phase reset. Having a new champion in Rhodes will have other wrestlers challenging for his belt as well as other storylines, like Rollins and Reigns’ unresolved fallout from the Shield breaking up. Let’s just hope this new phase with Rhodes as champion fairs better with fans better than the MCU has with its fatigued fanbase.
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About the Author
Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN.
Source: [Example News Website]
