Roman Reigns Shocks the World and Retains Undisputed WWE Universal Title at WrestleMania

By Matthew Aguilar

It was finally time for the main event of WrestleMania 39, where Cody Rhodes looked to dethrone The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns of become the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. The two have battled back and forth on the microphone over the past few weeks after Rhodes' win at the Royal Rumble, but now it was time for them to finally get in the ring and clash one on one. It was far from one-on-one though, and throughout the match, everyone got involved, including The Usos, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, and Solo Sikoa. At one point it looked like Rhodes had it locked in, but Sikoa managed to get one last interference in, causing Reigns to spear Rhodes and get the win, retaining his Title.

The bell hit and the crowd lost their minds as the two stood face to face. Reigns smiled and the two circled each other and Rhodes locked up first but Reigns broke the hold with the ropes, all the while taunting the challenger. Rhodes dodged a move and hit the famous left hand from the mat, causing Reigns to roll out of the ring and regroup a bit, with even Paul Heyman chiming in.

Rhodes came back with a vengeance, keeping the challenger on his heels, but then Rhodes knocked down the Champion with a dropkick before locking in a hold to wear down Reigns' arm and shoulder. Reigns responded with a powerbomb after catching Rhodes from a springboard, and he looked to keep Rhodes from gaining momentum. Rhodes attempted to pick up the pace and knock Reigns back, but it backfired and Reigns sent him flying to the floor.

Reigns made him pay for that mistake by throwing him on the entrance ramp and then slamming him down on the ramp once more. Rhodes got back into the ring but while the referee was looking the other way Solo Sikoa hit Rhodes with a chair, bashing it into Rhodes' ribs. Rhodes got him back in the ring for a cover but he kicked out. Sikoa got involved again though by grabbing Rhodes' ankle, allowing Reigns to deliver a big clothesline and go for the cover.

Reigns started clearing the announce table and put Rhodes on top of it. Reigns went to lift him but Rhodes reversed it and slammed Reigns into the table next to them, shattering it and swinging momentum back his way. Rhodes got Reigns back in the ring and they exchanged big moves but Rhodes got the last laugh of the exchange with a slam and a Cody Cutter. He went for the cover but Reigns kicked out.

Rhodes had Reigns reeling, but Sikoa stopped the momentum again by hitting Rhodes with the weight belt. The only thing this time was that the referee heard it happen and threw Sikoa out. Then Reigns had the weight belt but the referee caught him again and Rhodes hit the Cross Rhodes and the cover, but Reigns kicked out. Rhodes had him on the ropes again but he recovered and slammed Rhodes down after catching his attempted return from the outside, and after the slam he went for the cover but Rhodes kicked out.

Reigns went for the Superman Punch but Rhodes countered and hit a Pedigree and went for the cover, but Reigns somehow kicked out. Reigns missed another hit but did connect with the Superman Punch, but Rhodes kicked out of the pin again. Reigns went for the punch again but Rhodes countered and tried to pin but he kicked out. Then Rhodes locked in the Figure-Four and Reigns was clearly in pain, though he did manage to reverse it. Then Reigns finally hit the spear on Rhodes and yet Rhodes kicked out of the pin again.

Reigns pounced and hit Rhodes with heavy punches to wear him down, and then he went for the Guillotine. The referee allowed it to continue because Rhodes kept his hand up, and then Rhodes managed to break the Guillotine, something no one else has managed to do to Reigns. Unfortunately, Rhodes accidentally kicked the referee and knocked him down, and that let Reigns hit Rhodes with a Superman Punch. Rhodes bounced off the ropes though and punched Reigns, and both men were on the mat. Rhodes was then hit by Jimmy and Jey, who hit Rhodes with a 1D. They dragged Reigns to Rhodes, but then Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn came in and cleared the ring of The Usos.

They surrounded Reigns and Owens hit Reigns with a stunner while Zayn hit Reigns with a Helluva Kick. Rhodes started crawling to Reigns and covered him but then Reigns somehow got his shoulder up. Reigns and Rhodes hit each other with punches and kicks. Reigns went for a Superman Punch and then Rhodes hit the Dusty Punches and then hit Cross Rhodes, but he wasn't done. He then hit Cross Rhodes one more time but then Solo Sikoa came in while the referee was distracted with Heyman and he hit the Samoan Spike on Rhodes. That let Reigns hit the spear on Rhodes and pinned him, retaining his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

What did you think of the main event? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!

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