WrestleMania 40: How Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes rise as the top dog in WWE are similar

WrestleMania 40: The highly awaited WrestleMania XL is about to kick off in Philadelphia on April 6th and 7th. This year the grandest stage of sports entertainment promises to be bigger than ever as the two nights at WrestleMania will witness stars like Roman Reigns, The Rock, Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes and even CM Punk in action.

Heading into the main event this year, the fans have been treated with a spectacle of a storyline as The American Nightmare is touted to complete his story and become the man to knock The Tribal Chief off his throne. But the main event is not just a mere rematch of last year’s WrestleMania, this year an added layer of spice with the comeback of The Final Boss - The Rock.

The first night will see an iconic tag team match, with Roman Reigns and The Rock teaming up to face Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes. If Rhodes and Rollins win, then the bout between Rhodes and Reigns will be free of the Bloodline. But if Rock and Reigns triumph then the fight would be Bloodline Rules.

As Cody Rhodes prepares for the fight of his lifetime, oddly enough there are some big similarities with Roman Reigns' rise in WWE. Let's take a look at how the storylines collided.

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Roman Reigns vs The Authority

Back in 2015, Roman Reigns was the young kid on the block. Having won the WWE title twice already but losing out on some last minute drama by first Seth Rollins and then Sheamus, Reigns was ‘The Authority’ enemy number one.

Reigns frustration was at an all time high, and he lashed it out by throwing the Superman punch to Vince McMahon. In a dramatic turn of events Vince refereed the title fight between Sheamus and Reigns. A fight ridden with drama and Reigns winning after knocking out Vince in via another Superman punch.  

Reigns was then made to defend his title at the main event in Royal Rumble 2016, and amazingly Triple H came out of retirement to win the crown. A rematch was then set up between the two at WrestleMania  32.

In the buildup to the fight, Reigns was bloodied by Triple H with weeks till the main event. And when it came down to the main event at WrestleMania, Roman Reigns triumphed over Triple H in a fight that saw Stephanie McMahon go down with ‘The Spear’.

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Cody Rhodes’ up against the modern Authority

Back when Roman went head to head with the Authority, Cody Rhodes was an insignificant name in WWE. Flashforward 8 years, Rhodes has had a career revival and Reigns has went from the Good Guy to the Bad Guy.

The Tribal Chief and his Bloodline rule the WWE and are the established villain organization. Rhodes wants to avenge his last year’s loss and emerge as the New Face. During Roman’s time it was Triple H, and standing in Rhodes’ way is now The Rock who is also the boss.

Going into the main event, The Bloodline have made use of all their power to make things ‘unfair’ and frustrating for Rhodes, the same way it happened to Reigns. Much to the fans’ excitement, The Rock left Cody with stitches after bloodying his face and firing his warning to Mama Rhodes.

Call it coincidence but history has a funny way of repeating. When the dust settles on Sunday, will Cody Rhodes take control and mark the end of the Roman Reigns era just like Reigns ended the Triple H and Authority era?