18 Ups & 15 Downs For WWE In 2023

1. Story Unfinished

WrestleMania 39 was headed toward all-time great status heading into the main event of night two, with tremendous matches, perfect outcomes and excellent storytelling.

And then the wheels fell off in the last five minutes.

Bloodline interference (where have fans heard that one before?) muddied everything, but Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens seemed to neutralize the Usos, paving the way for Cody Rhodes to finish the story and vanquish Roman Reigns. But Solo Sikoa’s poorly timed attack put the American Nightmare down, leaving fans with the lasting image of Cody in the ring with a rubber chicken being thrown at him.

The finish was inexcusably bad, and any justifications Triple H and others made afterwards rang hollow. Rhodes was immediately shunted into a program with Brock Lesnar, while Roman pursued tag gold instead. And then WWE unveiled a new World Heavyweight Championship – because Reigns never defended his title(s).

Meanwhile, Rhodes was forced to keep himself and his various side programs over by sheer willpower. Throughout the spring and summer, it was impossible to not envision that Cody’s programs would have been better if he was holding the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Even if WWE wanted to continue Roman’s epic title reign, they could have split the two titles off and had Cody win the WWE Championship, which was the title he coveted from the beginning anyway.

Instead, WWE went the worst route, tanking a wave of good vibes at Mania, making Cody look like a goof, and keeping a soon-to-be invisible champion strapped up, all in the name of continuing the story.