WWE Scraps Roman Reigns Vs. Cody Rhodes III; Reason Revealed
Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns have fought one-on-one two times already.
They first wrestled at WrestleMania 39 Night 2 in 2023, where Reigns (with The Bloodline’s help) beat Rhodes to retain the Undisputed WWE Title.
Their second bout was WrestleMania XL Night 2 in April 2024, where Rhodes finally beat Reigns in a Bloodline Rules match to end Reigns’ 1,316‑day title reign and “finish the story” on his own.
WWE initially planned for a third Rhodes vs Reigns match at WrestleMania 42 as the main event, building Reigns as the hired challenger to Cody’s Undisputed WWE Championship. According to reports, the pitch was to have Cody hold the title until Mania, then Reigns would beat him to close the trilogy.
Cody Rhodes Vs Roman Reigns III Not Happening At WrestleMania 42
Last week, Dave Meltzer reported that WWE had quietly scrapped the Rhodes vs Reigns 3 plan around the week of January 13, after deciding to take the title off Cody earlier than expected. (Rhodes lost the title to Drew McIntyre on WWE SmackDown)
On the January 19, 2026, episode of Self Made Session, Self Made Pro confirmed that Dave’s report is correct and the Reigns vs Rhodes III match at WrestleMania 42 won’t be happening. The reason for the cancellation was that not everyone was on the same page.
“What I can say right now is that Cody Rhodes versus Roman Reigns at WrestleMania is off. The match is not happening. They could not come to a creative situation that satisfied every single party involved. I can corroborate Dave’s report. The match is off. They thought they had everyone on the same page, and it turned out they didn’t. So yes, the match is off.”
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