After nearly two months of build-up, the “American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes finally took on the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the main event of Wrestlemania 39 Night 2. Many expected a bout between one of the hottest babyfaces in the WWE and one of the most menacingly successful champions of his generation to deliver the fireworks, and deliver the fireworks it truly did.

However, as has been the case for Tribal Chief's 945-day reign as champion (entering Wrestlemania), Reigns always manages to find a way to overcome even the most daunting adversity. Thanks to members of his vaunted Bloodline, he once again retained his championship belts, leaving SoFi Stadium on top of the wrestling world.

As a result, Roman Reigns just has one request for Cody Rhodes, every other superstar he defeated during his reign, and for every wrestling fan sitting at home.

“Acknowledge me,” the undisputed WWE Universal champion said in a hushed tone, via his TikTok.

Of course, where the WWE takes this storyline should be very interesting, especially after a vast majority of fans expected Roman Reigns to drop the belts to Cody Rhodes as a sort of a bookend to the Bloodline's reign of terror. After all, in the main event of Wrestlemania 39's night one, Jimmy and Jey Uso dropped the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship belts to Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens — two wrestlers who have been particularly prickly thorns on the side of Reigns over the past 11 months or so.

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Dave Meltzer with Cody Rhodes on his left, and Vince McMahon on his right with the WrestleMania 39 logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Paul Heyman with a text bubble reading "Yes my American Nightmare" next to Cody Rhodes wearing all black with the WWE logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Jade Cargill with a text bubble reading, "Everybody wants to see me succeed" with the WWE logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

In the immediate aftermath of Solo Sikoa's Samoan Spike and the subsequent charged spear from Reigns leading to the pinfall victory over Rhodes, one could just feel the energy getting sucked out of the crowd of 80,000 at SoFi Stadium. The social media sentiment also seems to be overwhelmingly anti-Reigns, with most fans growing weary of his extremely long tenure as champion.

Even then, it's difficult not to acknowledge Roman Reigns' greatness. He has main evented Wrestlemania seven times, winning five of those matches, and he has defended his championships over and over again, screwy finishes notwithstanding. The Bloodline's fall may soon be upon us, but Reigns showed that that time hasn't come just yet.

Acknowledge him, indeed.