Cody Rhodes dethroned Roman Reigns at WWE WrestleMania 40 (Image: WWE/FOX)

WWE WrestleMania 40 was an emotional night on which Cody Rhodes finally ended Roman Reigns’ record-breaking title reign. The event will be remembered for decades to come.

In the second night’s main event of WWE WrestleMania 40, Cody Rhodes faced Roman Reigns in a brutal Bloodline Rules match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. The match saw appearances from John Cena, The Rock, The Undertaker, Seth Rollins, Solo Sikoa, Jey Uso, and Jimmy Uso, that helped finally finish the story that started over a year ago.

Without further ado, let us go through a few reasons why a stellar era ended today.

#5. The biggest stage

Roman Reigns held the Universal Championship for over 1000 days, defeating top names like John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, and Edge, just to name a few.

When it came to when the title reign would end, it was clear it had to be on The Grandest Stage of Them All. While last year’s Show of Shows was a good opportunity, building it for another year and leading to the mind-blowing end was perfect.

WWE WrestleMania 40 was the perfect stage for the conclusion of the reign, to say the least.

#4. Tensions between the cousins

The Rock facing Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 always seemed to be the plan until the “We Want Cody” movement took over. This led to a showcase of an unbreakable bond between the Samoan cousins.

While the brotherhood seemed as strong as it could, leading up to The Showcase of The Immortals, tensions between the cousins finally started to show when Reigns mistakenly speared The Rock on night one.

The Great One added the Bloodline Rules condition, which ultimately led to the fall of The Tribal Chief. Now, Roman Reigns has a very strong reason to go up against his cousin, potentially leading to a match at next year’s Show of Shows.

#3. An unpredictable scenario

Many fans believed The Head of The Table would retain the title at WrestleMania 39, which is exactly what happened. This year, a large portion of the WWE Universe also believed the title could be retained.

As Roman Reigns neared Hulk Hogan’s record for one of the longest world title reigns, the company could have realistically booked him to stay the champion longer.

The Bloodline Rules match made the result more unpredictable. Fortunately, the finish favored the babyface, leading to a thunderous pop at the event.

#2. Babyface run

Roman Reigns has carried the company on his back over the last four years with full responsibility as a heel. The Bloodline and The Rock’s return helped create and boost the aura of arguably the greatest heel in the business. It may be time for a change.

If any heel comes close to The Tribal Chief currently, it is The Final Boss, The Rock. After the teases mentioned above, a rivalry between the cousins is seemingly in the plans. For the best outcome, Roman should be the babyface moving forward.

A babyface Reigns will finally be supported by fans. He deserves the love, to say the least.

#1. Cody Rhodes was the right guy to dethrone Roman Reigns

Over the 1316-day title reign, many challengers put up a very competitive fight against The Tribal Chief.

When stars like Daniel Bryan, Edge, John Cena, Finn Balor, and Drew McIntyre challenged The Head of The Table for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, fans believed they could be the right choice. However, the build-up gave Cody Rhodes a larger-than-life status.

The American Nightmare is a good, hard-working, and respectful person who deserves to be world champion. He was the perfect person to dethrone Roman Reigns.