During Monday’s episode of Raw, both Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns and Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair were announced for this year’s WrestleMania. Rhodes will take on Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the main event after winning Saturday’s Royal Rumble, while Ripley had the opportunity to choose her opponent. Pressing rewind on a previous WrestleMania match between the two, Ripley chose Charlotte.
Rhodes kicked off Raw and talked about his path to the Royal Rumble and how he might feel if he were able to go back and tell his 19-year-old self this is the journey he’d have taken to get to this point. He said he wouldn’t have changed a thing. Cody said that Reigns might be The Head of the Table, The Tribal Chief, and the biggest star in the industry when WrestleMania comes and goes. What he won’t be any longer is the champion. He stressed the importance of his entrance song and the words there is more than one royal family and he intends to add the biggest prize to his family’s name.
Meanwhile, Ripley said she was tired of fans bowing down to the Queen and that it was time the WWE Universe rise up and bow to the power of Rhea Ripley. “At WrestleMania, I put you in your place. Charlotte Flair, I choose you.”
The fact that WWE is running this back will have some fans not in love with the idea. That said, their first bout was solid and Ripley has come a long way since then. She’s probably the favorite going in and despite Flair playing the role of the babyface in this one, Ripley will likely have much of the WWE Universe on her side simply because her work has been so respected over the past few months.
At this point, these are the only two matches announced for WrestleMania, but the stage is set for a possible tag match featuring Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. The Usos for the Tag Team Titles, plus a father vs. son match between Rey and Domink Mysterio. WWE is also currently featuring qualifying matches for the Elimination Chamber. The winners of these matches will likely play a big role in the Showcase of the Immortals.
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