WrestleMania 39: WWE's Major Changes For Cody Rhodes & More Revealed
Backstage update on WWE's creative changes ahead of WrestleMania 39.
Cody Rhodes, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, and other top stars have been the subject of WWE creative changes ahead of WrestleMania 39.
In collaboration with WrestlingNews.co, Fightful Select reports that as recently as November, WWE's internal rundowns listed two men's World Championship matches for the April two-nighter. One would have taken place on Mania's first day, with the other on the second. The Universal Title match was down as Roman Reigns defending against "TBA/Cody Rhodes. Elsewhere, Seth Rollins vs Rhodes or Drew McIntyre was listed as a WWE Title match.
Cody was always in line to win Royal Rumble 2023. McIntyre's tag team with Sheamus has taken off, while Rollins now looks set to face Logan Paul at 'Mania. Currently, Rhodes will challenge for Roman's Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at 'The Show of Shows', with the idea of two major title fights scrapped.
WWE has also made significant changes in the women's division, noting that current SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair was originally set to return on the Raw brand. Flair instead showed up on SmackDown last December, besting former title-holder Ronda Rousey on her first night back, and is now set to defend against Rhea Ripley at 'Mania. These switches came following adjustments to Ronda Rousey's creative for the show.
Rousey, who is back on television after taking January off, is expected to team with Shayna Baszler in a Women's Tag Team Title match, as reported by Dave Meltzer.