LA Knight, not Cody Rhodes, should face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL

Ahead of tickets going on sale for WrestleMania XL, I can’t help but wonder what the main event of next year’s extravaganza will be. Most believe the headliner will be a rematch between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Universal Championship, where The American Nightmare will finish his story and capture the one crown that has eluded the Rhodes dynasty.

Meh.

Nothing against Rhodes, but I’ve already seen it. His motivation, like his proposed opponent, is still the same. While their initial match was fine, I thought Reigns outclassed Rhodes on the microphone during the lead-up, so I can’t see a second war of words being any different or more entertaining.

The only thing that would be different is the outcome, which seems painfully obvious should WWE deliver the sequel next spring. I expect Rhodes to win the title. Everyone expects him to win.

Why? Because it’s practically a guarantee. It’s why Cody left All Elite Wrestling. So it’s not a question of if he’ll win the title but when. Sure, Reigns could beat him for a second consecutive year on wrestling’s biggest stage. But that would be the death of Cody’s career, and nobody wants that, not even me.

Now, considering that hard times are a theme in his family’s lore, stretching out Rhodes’ chase by placing other obstacles in his way helps delay his inevitable conquest. Plus, winning the title from anyone but Reigns creates intrigue for their eventual rematch, especially with Rhodes as the champion.

Unfortunately, few superstars are as popular as Rhodes, leaving WWE with few options to pair with its Undisputed Kingpin. However, there is a megastar that makes for quite an attractive choice to face Reigns at WrestleMania for the title. And his name is LA Knight.

I know. I can hear some of the counter-arguments now.

“Knight’s just barely getting over. And he’s going to be 41! WWE can’t build around him for the next five to ten years.”

Regarding age, Rhodes is 38; neither he nor Knight is a long-term option for WWE. Pertaining to the future, the next face to lead the promotion will likely come from NXT. In the meantime, WWE can continue with Reigns at the helm or break up his run with a temporary placeholder. In that case, there is no problem with booking for the here and now.

And the here and now is LA Knight.

For starters, Knight is organically over. He isn’t someone that WWE forced on audiences. Knight has won the fans over with a charisma not seen in WWE in years, and his merchandise is reportedly some of WWE’s bestselling. Moreover, any criticism of Knight’s character being a ripoff is out the window as crowds go bonkers just from hearing the first chords of his entrance theme.

And bonkers wouldn’t even begin to describe the reaction to a potential Knight-Reigns face-off. Unlike Rhodes, who refused to get physical with The Tribal Chief leading up to their first contest, I don’t see Knight backing down from Reigns in any manner. That the self-proclaimed Megastar might haul off and smash the champ in the face for getting cutesy with him excites me as a viewer.

But perhaps more compelling than the two throwing hands in a fresh, new matchup would be the build for this confrontation.

Going into last January’s Royal Rumble, LA Knight received the worst bag of lemons possible in facing Bray Wyatt in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match. Despite that fiasco, Knight made the sweetest brand of lemonade ever as the primary pitchman cutting promos for the spectacle.

Take that guy and his soaring popularity and put him against Reigns, the biggest star in the industry, and that’s the epitome of “Shut up and take my money.” As a business, it’s a reason for WWE to start handing out WrestleMania payoffs today.

But you tell me, Cagesiders. Who do you want to see face Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Universal Championship at WrestleMania XL: Cody Rhodes or LA Knight? Or would you prefer to see someone else face the Head of the Table next year in Philadelphia?