Roman Reigns Beating Cody Rhodes At WWE WrestleMania 39 Was Always The Right Call

Cody Rhodes achieving the dream of holding the WWE Championship that eluded his late father — "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes — seemed like a foregone conclusion heading into WrestleMania 39. WWE leaned hard into the idea of Rhodes' "finishing the story," with Cody telling the story to every outlet that interviewed him of his emotional journey to get to this point. His rise to the top of WWE was inevitable.

Undeniable. Undesirable. Uncrowned. That'd all be coming to an end, right? Erroneous on all counts! Roman Reigns retained the title. And whether you like it or not, it was always meant to be that way. 

"The American Nightmare" will one day get a chance to live the dream that's become so much a part of his identity since returning to WWE — just not now. Because Cody Rhodes losing at WrestleMania 39 was always the right call to make.

It was never going to be this easy for Cody Rhodes. If you thought Rhodes was going to smoothly waltz into WrestleMania without a taste of adversity, that likely explains your disappointment today. 

But WWE is employing basic storytelling here, calling upon the concept of "the Hero's Journey" to ultimately get Rhodes where he eventually needs to be. In the meantime, some trials and tribulations await him — and it began in the main event of WrestleMania 39. 

Take a look at Rhodes' current stint in WWE, and you'll find zero challenges he's had to encounter. The prodigal son triumphantly returned at WrestleMania 38 with a feel-good victory over Seth Rollins. From there, he engaged in his one — and only — feud, sweeping Rollins across their trilogy of matches. Then came the injury — and there's no telling what would have happened had that never happened — but we're here now. And, after recovering from his torn pec, he walked right into the Royal Rumble as entrant No. 30 and punched his ticket to the main event at WrestleMania with his victory. Still no signs of trouble, difficulty, or even just a hint of bad luck. 

In the months since, Rhodes has stepped into the ring on a few occasions, and it's been a walk in the park. On one occasion, he even managed to defeat Baron Corbin while still wearing dress clothes. And at no point did you ever get the sense he was in jeopardy. Even on the mic, he seemed certain that a WrestleMania victory was on the horizon and conveyed that to his fanbase. As a babyface, he did what he was supposed to do — make you believe. But the downfall is truly what was waiting around the corner for Cody Rhodes because for his ascendancy to truly mean something, he must first overcome the struggle. 

The point that WWE should strike while the iron is hot is well taken. The same argument was made not too long ago for Sami Zayn. However, when Cody Rhodes' trajectory has only been upward, where is he left to go when he finally hits the ceiling? 

People don't want to see flawless success — not in their heroes. Ask John Cena or Roman Reigns how things went when fans believed that things were handed neatly to them. They want to see them go through it, just like the rest of us. And with that, we all project ourselves onto this avatar, seeing ourselves in their shoes, wanting to believe that we can make it through whatever we might be encountering, much like they have. We want someone we can put our hope in, someone relatable. That is now Cody Rhodes. 

He had the unified titles within his grasp and fell just short. At WrestleMania, he finally faced his first obstacle in the form of Reigns and lost. Disappointment and heartbreak hit hard. But now begins the real work. Isn't there something about it not being how many times you fall down but how many times you get back up? As Miley Cyrus brilliantly said: "It's the climb." This is Cody Rhodes' opportunity to dust himself off and climb again, driven by the bitter taste of defeat. He now knows what it takes to win. He has the experience of being in that moment. And next time, he may fare better. 

Cody Rhodes was in line for a storybook ending at WrestleMania, and sure, we all long for the chance to throw ourselves into the rare chance for such perfectly wrapped feel-good moments. But going one-on-one with hardship and coming out with a win on the other side, that's where satisfaction resides.