Roman Reigns has reigned as WWE Universal Champion for well over 900 days, smashing records and cementing himself as the top champion of the modern era. He added the WWE Championship to his shoulder when he defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38, making himself the first and only Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
At WrestleMania 39, he’s set to face Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes, who is on a quest to win the top prize in WWE, an accomplishment never achieved by either his Hall of Fame father Dusty Rhodes or his brother Dustin. The two men have come face to face in recent weeks, with Roman making pointed comments about Cody’s father.
Speaking on the latest episode of his My World podcast, AEW star and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett gave his thoughts on the upcoming bout, calling Rhodes’ ascent to the main event of WrestleMania an “emotional” story.
“I don’t remember a time off the top of my head that the industry had the opportunity because Cody, and they’ve positioned it, yes, it’s lineage and winning a title that his father never won. That’s emotional. Cody going away, maybe not having the most successful run. Started from the ground up. All the Independent scenes. All that bandwidth.
“Obviously the story at AEW, it goes without saying, is a part of this story. Him going back and the opportunity. Now on the opposite side of the fence is a guy that hadn’t been beat in three years. You don’t really get those opportunities to come around.”
“It Would Hurt Roman Worse Than It Would Hurt Cody” – Jeff Jarrett On a Roman Reigns Win At WrestleMania 39
Continuing, Jarrett said that he believes that Roman Reigns‘ career would be hurt if he were to defeat Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania as he only works a limited schedule these days. Rhodes, meanwhile, seems poised and ready to lead the company as a full time performer.
“I’ll say this. If Roman didn’t do the honors, I truly believe it would hurt Roman worse than it would hurt Cody. It’s no secret Roman only works select shows. I mean, he’s done Raw and SmackDown both here as of late, but for a long time, he was one day a week. I don’t believe that’s sustainable in so many ways in this industry. I just don’t.”
“You can use the analogy of a TV show, a movie, or a musical act. When you’re a touring company, you better have your lead singer on almost every show. That’s just the reality and when you don’t, the product is less than. My understanding is Cody is saying, ‘Line me up. Let’s go to work a la Cena, a la anybody in that top role, So it’s a no brainer.”
WrestleMania 39 is set to take place on April 1st & 2nd inside SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, CA.
h/t WrestlingNews.co