Backstage News On Paul Heyman/Cody Rhodes WWE Raw Segment

Cody Rhodes' road to WrestleMania 39 heated up this past Monday night on "WWE Raw" during an emotional and heated exchange with Paul Heyman. The 2023 men's Royal Rumble winner is slated to challenge Heyman's associate Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the big two-night event in April. A new report has detailed how Monday night's promo came about. 

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Heyman was not originally booked to appear on the show but plans changed late last week, and the concept of what was initially planned went in a different direction. The in-ring segment that played out on Monday was said to be primarily put together by Heyman and Rhodes. The report indicated that the promo aimed to turn the upcoming Reigns-Rhodes bout into the "ultimate top match of the year," heading into WrestleMania 39. Earlier this week, it was suggested on "Wrestling Observer Radio" that the segment was done due to the popularity of Sami Zayn's storyline with The Bloodline right now; WWE doesn't want their main WrestleMania program to fall behind it. 

Another interesting aspect of the Rhodes-Heyman promo was that "The American Nightmare" implied that there are now two world titles that Reigns holds, not just the one unified Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Notably, it was reported earlier this week that there were plans to create a new world championship that Rhodes would have captured on the first night of WrestleMania 39. That idea is now said to be off the table because WWE could not lock down a Reigns-The Rock clash at the event.