Roman Reigns Retains WWE Universal Championship at WWE WrestleMania 39

Roman Reigns has secured his legacy once again and retained the WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes in one of the greatest main events in history at WrestleMania 39!

Match coverage courtesy of Matt Boone of Rajah.com:

Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
Roman Reigns (C) vs. Cody Rhodes

We cut to another commercial break, a lengthy one this time, and then return into the "Road to WrestleMania" video package for the very highly-anticipated showdown between "The Tribal Chief" Roman Reigns and "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Cody Rhodes emerges when we return inside SoFi Stadium and he gets the grand entrance. The man looking to finish his story tonight heads down to the ring to an enormous rock star crowd reaction. He has a big grand jacket on and heads down as fireworks and pyro explodes.

"The American Nightmare" makes his way down the long ramp and settles at ringside where he walks past the ring to the front row part of the crowd where his wife, Brandi Rhodes, sister Teal, mother and other family members are sitting. He holds his baby and shows the child to the crowd.

Now he heads inside the ring and even more fireworks erupt all over the massive venue. The fans loudly do his "Whoa!" spot for his entrance tune for the fifth time and he poses and soaks in the moment in the middle of the ring, kneeling down and kissing the mat.

The lights go down and then we see six pianos at the top of the stage and six pianists who begin playing in sync. The music cuts off after a minute or so and the familiar sounds of Roman Reigns' theme hits. Out comes "The Tribal Chief" accompanied by "The Wise Man" Paul Heyman and "The Enforcer" Solo Sikoa.

The Bloodline trio head down to the ring as an insane amount of fireworks explode and the fans boo. Reigns heads into the ring and the crowd noise picks up even more. It's that time folks. It's time to see if Cody Rhodes can finish his story. It's time for the main event on "The Grandest Stage of Them All." Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes.

With that all out of the way, the bell sounds and the crowd erupts again as it's time to get down to business. Before they get after it, Roman Reigns grabs the microphone and does his catchphrase. "WrestleMania ... ACKNOWLEDGE ME!"

Sikoa and Heyman exit the ring. The only two in there now that aren't wearing striped zebra polo shirts are two of the best performers on planet earth, and it's time for them to compete for the richest prize in the industry. The bell sounds again and the place goes absolutely bonkers.

Cody and Roman slowly close in on each other as the camera pans the venue and settles down in the ring. We see the two going face-to-face in an image that instantly looks like a memorable camera shot. As soon as you see it you can tell you'll be seeing it again a million times, kind of like The Rock and Hulk Hogan going the slow head turns, but not quite that powerful, obviously. Still, big fight feel times a million for this one.

They lock up and Cody snatches an arm. He takes Reigns arm behind his back and pushes him but Reigns gets under the ropes, bringing the referee over to separate the two. They lock up again and Cody grabs a side head lock. "Grab your best hold, kid!" He does and ain't letting go. Reigns hoists him up and looks to throw him but Cody hangs on and drops down and brings Reigns over.

Cody controls Reigns on the mat and squeezes away on the head lock. The two work their way back up but Cody continues to get the better of things. Roman heads out to re-group. "The Wise Man" tells Roman that he's the man and all that stuff and finishes by saying, "NOW SMASH HIM ... my Tribal Chief." Michael Cole reacts on commentary. "Paul Heyman is worth every penny."

"The Head of the Table" re-enters the ring and shows his dominance that fans come to expect, as he blasts Cody in the corner with a barrage of clotheslines and forearms. From there, it's turning into a typical, slow, methodical Roman Reigns match, complete with the facials and loud vocals from the champ as he plays with his food. He hits a couple of suplexes on Cody. He turns and mockingly waves to Cody's family at ringside.

From there, Roman goes to throw Cody over the top but Cody hangs on and skins the cat. The two end up on the floor anyways where Roman viciously slams Cody on the unprotected entrance ramp. He punishes Cody some more but then "The American Nightmare" starts shifting the offensive momentum in his favor. He slams Roman on the same bare entrance ramp that he just got his back better acquainted with.

Cody goes to bring Roman back in the ring and continue his assault, however with the referee not paying attention, Solo Sikoa takes full advantage and hits Cody with a steel chair shot. Roman follows up with his Drive-By spot on the ring apron before bringing "The American Nightmare" back in the ring and going for the cover. Cody kicks out and the match continues.

The action spills out to the floor again and we see Roman clear off both the English and Spanish-speaking commentary tables. He grabs Cody and brings him on top of the Spanish table. He goes for a power bomb onto the English table but Cody counters and hits a back body-drop that puts Reigns through the English commentary table.

Back in the ring, Cody fires up while selling his ribs. He hits a couple fast paced moves and then a beautiful slam. He hits a big Cody Cutter and goes for the cover but Reigns kicks out. Michael Cole is starting to do the passionate crazy-man voice, doing his best Mauro Ranallo impression as Cody gets closer and closer to "finishing his story."

Roman goes out to re-group on the floor but Cody hits the ropes, builds up a full head of steam, and dives through the ropes, splashing onto the champ and blasting him into the guard rail like a hockey player checking the opposition against the glass. The boss-man would appreciate that reference! Once again we see Solo get involved, blasting Cody with the weight belt. The ref heard it and ejects Sikoa from ringside.

We see Roman grab the weight belt now and he goes to wear Cody out with it but ends up in a tug-of-war battle with the referee over it. While this is going on, Cody comes from behind and surprises Roman. He connects with his Cross-Rhodes finisher and immediately follows up with a pin attempt, but "The Tribal Chief" kicks out at two-and-a-half to keep this one going.

Reigns fights back into the offensive driver's seat and hits a big Rock Bottom for a close near fall. The fans are starting to bite on some of the false-finishes now, as the two counts get a little longer, the kick outs get a little more dramatic and the feeling of this one getting closer to the end continues to increase each time. Reigns is back into a firm control of the action again and is back to his cocky, stalking style of punishing dominance.

The champ backs in a corner and looks over at Cody. He drops down and punches the mat and is locked and loaded. He charges across the ring for a Superman punch but Cody side-steps it and gets a Pedigree for a super close near fall. Cody fires up like crazy and leaps off the ropes for a Disaster Kick but on his way down, Reigns catches him with a Superman punch for a close near fall of his own.

We see Reigns scoot back into the corner in disbelief. He puts his head in his hands and has wide eyes looking at Cody. Corey Graves gives it the perfect narration, saying he's trying to fight the doubt that is creeping in his head. He gets ready for a Spear or another Superman punch but things don't go as planned, as Cody counters him and he locks "The Tribal Chief" in a figure-four leg lock. Reigns eventually reverses it and Cody grabs the ropes to break it up.

Cody comes off the top rope moments later but lands on his feet and charges at Reigns, who charges back and meets him in the middle of the ring with a Spear that nearly be-heads "The American Nightmare." He quickly follows up with a cover but Cody kicks out. Again we see Roman looking at Cody in disbelief. Reigns gets Cody in a guillotine choke and squeezes away.

We see Cody eventually escape and ground and pound the piss out of Roman to the roar of 80,000+ inside SoFi Stadium. Roman shucks Cody off and Cody charges at him upon standing up. He looks for a big kick but Roman moves and Cody takes out the ref. Now the two best performers in the world and the guy with the zebra-striped polo shirt are all down and recovering.

As the ref is still recovering, Cody gets up and yells at Roman to get up as well. Cody pulls Roman up and sets him up for the Cross Rhodes. Out of nowhere, The Usos appear and blast Cody with stereo super kicks and follow up with the 1D. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn hit the ring and beat down The Usos as the crowd loses their collective minds. Kevin hits Roman with a Stunner after The Usos are cleared from the ring. Sami hits his running kick finisher in the corner as well.

Now Kevin and Sami head out to the floor to continue beating down Jimmy and Jey Uso. They fight over the barricade and through the crowd. Alone in the ring are Cody and Roman. Cody crawls over and puts an arm over a lifeless Roman as the ref comes to life. The ref goes for the count and gets to two and a half but Roman gets his shoulder up to keep this one alive. The crowd goes nuts.

The two trade shots from their knees up to their feet. Roman backs up and looks for a Superman punch but Cody side-steps him and starts doing his father, Dusty Rhodes' iconic punch, step, punch, step, twirling hands and big bionic elbow. He goes for the Cross Rhodes but Solo Sikoa in a hoodie appears and cheap shots Cody. Reigns follows up with a Spear. He goes for the cover and gets the pin fall victory.

Solo Sikoa joins "The Wise Man" Paul Heyman in the ring and "The Tribal Chief" Roman Reigns is presented with his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. "Just because we're in Hollywood doesn't mean we're guaranteed a happy ending." The crowd continues to react and the three exit the ring as Corey Graves and Michael Cole talk us through some match highlights. They stop half way up the entrance ramp and Reigns raises both titles high in the air to continue his legendary 900+ day reign as fireworks erupt all over SoFi Stadium. Cody is shown looking disappointed in the ring.

Winner and STILL Undisputed WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns

➜ Join our WNS Goes Hollywood, WrestleMania DISCORD CHAT! ★

#RomanReigns WINS at #WrestleMania!#AndStill ☝️ pic.twitter.com/qNu7BQsDsN

— WWE (@WWE) April 3, 2023

#RomanReigns vs. #CodyRhodes#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/ZJ7iYIruTM

— WWE (@WWE) April 3, 2023

This #WrestleMania atmosphere is unbelievable as #RomanReigns and #CodyRhodes clash for the #UndisputedTitle! pic.twitter.com/OLUp56xc1K

— WWE (@WWE) April 3, 2023

NOT SO FAST!!!@FightOwensFIght & @SamiZayn have arrived to counter @WWEUsos at #WrestleMania! pic.twitter.com/mwqQJ4R6aN

— WWE (@WWE) April 3, 2023

⚡ WWE WrestleMania 39 Night 2 Live Coverage & Results (April 2nd, 2023)

The following are the live results of Night 2 of WWE WrestleMania 39, courtesy of Matt Boone of Rajah.com: WWE WRESTLEMANIA 39: NIGHT [...]

— Ben Jordan Kerin Apr 02, 2023 08:05PM