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As any member of the WWE Universe will tell you, there isn’t a better time to be a professional wrestling fan than right now. That’s because WWE is well and truly on the Road to WrestleMania, the biggest show of the year. In recent years, the event has been dubbed “too big for one night” and has been split into a two-day extravaganza. That will take place in 2023 on April 1st and April 2nd from Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium, and excitement has already reached a fever pitch.
The company has enjoyed a money-spinning year in which they have garnered plenty of mainstream attention. That has primarily been due to reigning and defending Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. The Tribal Chief has held the Universal Championship for over 900 days and hasn’t been pinned or submitted since December 2019. He added the WWE Championship to his collection at last year’s WrestleMania when he defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, and he has run roughshod over the company ever since. But many believe that his time at the mountaintop could well be coming to an end.
With that being said, let’s take a look at the two most intriguing storylines heading into April’s Grandaddy of Them All.
Will Cody Rhodes Defeat Roman Reigns?
As we alluded to, Roman Reigns has dominated the WWE over the last three years, unlike anything we have ever seen before. Since he formed the Bloodline faction alongside his real-life cousins Jimmy and Jey Uso in late 2020, he has been unstoppable. He added two new members to the stable during 2022, namely Solo Sikoa – the real-life younger brother of The Usos – and Sami Zayn. In recent weeks, the latter of those names became a nuisance; however, the Head of the Table squashed that beef at last month’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Now, all roads lead to WrestleMania.
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At the Show of Shows, Reigns will face off with Cody Rhodes. The American Nightmare was made the favorite to win January’s Royal Rumble match by comparison platforms such as OddsChecker, and he duly delivered. He outlasted 29 other men to punch his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania, and now all that remains is for him to fulfill his legacy by dethroning Reigns and lifting the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship high above his head.
Rhodes returned to WWE at last year’s WrestleMania following a six-year hiatus. During his break from the company, he helped found rival promotion AEW, and many thought that he would never wrestle for Vince McMahon and Triple H ever again. Those fears were put to one side last year as the youngest Rhodes son shockingly returned to face – and defeat – Seth Rollins, to a thunderous ovation. He has since defeated the former Architect of the Shield on two further occasions. There can be no denying that he is as hot as any babyface in wrestling today. Well, perhaps except for this man…
Can Sami Zayn End The Bloodline Once and For All?
We mentioned earlier that Roman Reigns integrated Sami Zayn into his Bloodline in 2022. However, following a number of disagreements, Zayn severed that business relationship when he planted a steel chair into the back of the reigning champion at the end of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Since then, his stock has risen considerably, and heading into last month’s Elimination Chamber event – which took place in Zayn’s hometown nonetheless – he was the jewel in WWE’s crown.
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In Montreal, Reigns would defeat Zayn, a result which was met with deafening silence. And while the Head of the Table has turned his attention to Cody Rhodes, his vanquished opponent still has his eyes firmly set on the Bloodline, namely Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa. The Montreal native has recently attempted to recruit long-time frenemy Kevin Owens so that the Canadian duo can take down the Bloodline together, but KO is yet to accept the former Honourary Uce’s invitation.
An X Factor in all of this is Jey Uso. Throughout Zayn’s time in the Bloodline, Jey and Sami became the closest of comrades, and Uso is yet to fire a shot in Zayn’s direction. The Road to WrestleMania is never a simple one, so what can we expect to see over the next month? Will Sami Zayn find a way to destroy both Reigns and the Bloodline, or will he be vanquished once and for all?
