It came as a huge surprise last year when Cody Rhodes failed to defeat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39.

Now, Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), has confirmed that Rhodes was initially booked to win last year:

“It is true that the original plan last year was for Rhodes to win. Both McMahon and Levesque were on board with the return from pec surgery and the title win, after the injury telling a story not altogether different from the HHH return from quad surgery and title win at the 2002 Mania.”

“A lot happened behind the scenes, with the key points being argued and eventually agreed by all parties it would be stronger a year later. It was also argued that keeping Reigns as champion would open up a key storyline to make Jey Uso into a major singles star and merchandise draw as a babyface. While Vince did make the call, Levesque was on board with the call and there were no significant issues with the decision. It was said that it was absolutely not Vince overruling Levesque and forcing the decision.”

Rhodes eventually finished the story, two-weeks ago at WrestleMania XL.

‍