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Backstage Rumor on How WWE Changed Plans for Two Title Matchups at WrestleMania 39

February 7, 2023 | Posted by Jeffrey Harris
WWE WrestleMania 39 Image Credit: WWE

– During today’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed a plan WWE apparently had in place if they were able to move forward with Roman Reigns vs. The Rock and still have Cody Rhodes headline another night of WrestleMania 39.

According to Meltzer, the plan involved creating a new world title for Cody Rhodes on WrestleMania 39: Night 2, while Roman Reigns vs. The Rock for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship that would’ve taken place on Night 1. This way, Cody would still have been able to compete and possibly win a title during WrestleMania Weekend. Meltzer added that Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, and Seth Rollins were the names talked about for winning the new title.

Meltzer added that WWE still wants “to go back to two [world] titles” again at some point. He noted that in last night’s WWE Raw segment with Cody Rhodes and Paul Heyman, the titles were referred to as two belts rather than one title, with Meltzer stating, “At some point, they are going to separate them.”

Roman Reigns became the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion after defeating Brock Lesnar last year at WrestleMania 38 to unify the titles. While there have been rumors in the past about WWE splitting up the titles, there has been little development on that front since Reigns unified the titles.

Ultimately, since The Rock informed WWE he would not be able to train and prepare for a match with Roman Reigns in time for WrestleMania 39, WWE ultimately decided to move forward with Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the undisputed title as their backup plan. Currently, Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship is scheduled to headline WrestleMania 39. Reigns is first slated to defend the title at Elimination Chamber later this month against Sami Zayn.

WWE’s WrestleMania 39 will take place over two nights at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium on April 1-2. It will be broadcast live on Peacock in the US and the WWE Network everywhere else.