Ahead of tickets going on sale for WrestleMania XL, I can’t help but wonder what the main event of next year’s extravaganza will be. Most believe the headliner will be a rematch between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Universal Championship, where The American Nightmare will finish his story and capture the one crown that has eluded the Rhodes dynasty.
Meh.
Nothing against Rhodes, but I’ve already seen it. His motivation, like his proposed opponent, is still the same. While their initial match was fine, I thought Reigns outclassed Rhodes on the microphone during the lead-up, so I can’t see a second war of words being any different or more entertaining.
The only thing that would be different is the outcome, which seems painfully obvious should WWE deliver the sequel next spring. I expect Rhodes to win the title. Everyone expects him to win.
Why? Because it’s practically a guarantee. It’s why Cody left All Elite Wrestling. So it’s not a question of if he’ll win the title but when. Sure, Reigns could beat him for a second consecutive year on wrestling’s biggest stage. But that would be the death of Cody’s career, and nobody wants that, not even me.
Now, considering that hard times are a theme in his family’s lore, stretching out Rhodes’ chase by placing other obstacles in his way helps delay his inevitable conquest. Plus, winning the title from anyone but Reigns creates intrigue for their eventual rematch, especially with Rhodes as the champion.
Unfortunately, few superstars are as popular as Rhodes, leaving WWE with few options to pair with its Undisputed Kingpin. However, there is a megastar that makes for quite an attractive choice to face Reigns at WrestleMania for the title. And his name is LA Knight.
I know. I can hear some of the counter-arguments now.
“Knight’s just barely getting over. And he’s going to be 41! WWE can’t build around him for the next five to ten years.”
Regarding age, Rhodes is 38; neither he nor Knight is a long-term option for WWE. Pertaining to the future, the next face to lead the promotion will likely come from NXT. In the meantime, WWE can continue with Reigns at the helm or break up his run with a temporary placeholder. In that case, there is no problem with booking for the here and now.
And the here and now is LA Knight.
For starters, Knight is organically over. He isn’t someone that WWE forced on audiences. Knight has won the fans over <a