Individual Who Blocked Cody Rhodes’ WrestleMania 39 Title Win Finally Identified

The shocking ending to WrestleMania 39 wasn’t just a creative decision — it was Roman Reigns’ idea, and it went straight to Vince McMahon.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter confirms what many fans suspected: Cody Rhodes was supposed to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in 2023. But Reigns personally pitched the idea of retaining instead, arguing that “a loss for Rhodes would make his eventual triumph more meaningful” if it came later, after a bigger build.

And Vince McMahon was all for it. At the time, Triple H — who was pushing for a full generational shift — didn’t love the idea. According to Dave Meltzer, Levesque “wanted the optics of a ‘change of eras across the board’ and viewed Rhodes as the champion and top star to lead that new era.” But in the end, McMahon still had final say, and the Tribal Chief’s pitch got the green light.

It’s unclear whether Triple H’s eventual acceptance was a show of unity or a real change of heart, but Meltzer noted that “with the benefit of hindsight, the argument appears to have been correct,” as WrestleMania 40 drew significantly more attention and momentum than the previous year.

Even though Rhodes is widely seen as a “Triple H guy” in the current WWE era, the entire Bloodline saga that led to his crowning moment in 2024? That was all McMahon. He’s the one who brought Cody back to WWE and approved the long-term storyline that headlined two WrestleManias.

Of course, that road to victory hit another major speed bump in January 2024 when TKO struck a deal with The Rock — briefly pushing Rhodes out of the WrestleMania 40 main event entirely. That decision caused major fan backlash, forcing WWE to pivot again. Rhodes was reinserted, The Rock turned heel, and the rest is history.

McMahon’s creative power finally ended when Ari Emanuel stepped in and stripped him of decision-making control — all before the Janel Grant lawsuit hit. Since then, McMahon hasn’t been seen at any WWE events, including John Cena’s farewell.

This means the entire Bloodline storyline arc — from Cody’s crushing loss to his eventual redemption — came directly from McMahon’s playbook, not Triple H’s.

Do you think WWE made the right call in delaying Cody’s big moment until WrestleMania 40? Or should he have won the title in 2023? Drop your thoughts below and let us know where you stand on this booking twist.