Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman backstage at WrestleMania XL (Credit: WWE)

WWE Superstar Roman Reigns has finally been dethroned. He held the company’s top prize for 1,316 days. However, it reportedly wouldn’t have got to that unprecedented of a reign if The Tribal Chief lost to a certain someone on the roster, a scenario which Vince McMahon and Triple H were allegedly on board for.

The man in question is none other than Cody Rhodes. The American Nightmare had just come off a torn pec injury on the Road To WrestleMania last year, having won his first Royal Rumble match. A heroic babyface coming in and putting the kibosh on the dominant reign of a heel champion. The story was there.

So naturally, many fans were disappointed that Rhodes lost on the grand stage. Sean Ross Sapp recently confirmed the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s claim that Cody was initially planned to win at WrestleMania 39 and that it was reportedly decided to keep the title on Roman Reigns so that the impact would be bigger if Rhodes won a year later.

Furthermore, Roman Reigns also seemingly did not agree to losing the title. Replying to a fan who suggested that this was the closest fans had ever come to learning about Reigns being unwilling to lose his title, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported that it was indeed the case. He added that this was known very early and was not a last-minute decision.

Check out Sean Ross Sapp’s confirmation below:

Vince McMahon allegedly made the final call, albeit Triple H was on board. The key points argued were ultimately agreed upon by all parties involved backstage.

It worked out perfectly, though, if the allegations are true. “Main Event” Jey Uso is now a bonafide fan-favorite superstar on RAW. He will challenge World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest soon.

As for Cody Rhodes, his win is cited as one of the best WrestleMania moments in recent memory. Roman Reigns is yet to resurface on WWE programming after losing to The American Nightmare.

Cody Rhodes is ready for Roman Reigns should he put a target on the WWE Champion’s back

After headlining two WrestleManias back to back, it appears Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns are done for now. However, The American Nightmare recently brought up the possibility of Reigns returning only to come after him and the WWE Championship.

Rhodes has been largely positive about The Tribal Chief, giving the latter flowers for his contributions to the wrestling business. However, Cody made it clear that he is game for when the former WWE Champion resurfaces:

“I’m speaking very kindly about him now and he might be thinking in his mind that he wants to smash me and murder me when he comes back. And, if that’s the case, that’s okay. I’ll be ready for it. (…) and we await the return of Roman Reigns.”

Interestingly, Roman is not the only member of The Bloodline Cody has to keep an eye on. Following WrestleMania XL, where Rhodes got pinned by The Rock in the main event of Night One, The Final Boss clearly indicated a future showdown between the two men.