WWE Rumors on Cody Rhodes-Paul Heyman Promo, Lita's Return and Roman Reigns' Titles

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

---

WWE's Reported Rationale Behind Rhodes/Heyman Promo

Cody Rhodes and Paul Heyman took part in a widely lauded promo segment on Monday night's episode of Raw, and it was reportedly a calculated move on WWE's part to begin the build toward Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns now.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said WWE officials were "well aware" of how hot the angle between Reigns and Sami Zayn has gotten, and they knew it was "imperative" to do something big in order to shine the spotlight on the upcoming WrestleMania main event between Reigns and Rhodes:

WWE did precisely that, as Rhodes and Heyman knocked their promos out of the park and built legitimate anticipation for WrestleMania 39.

Heyman interrupted Rhodes' promo and congratulated him on winning the 2023 men's Royal Rumble match, but he reminded The American Nightmare that winning in the main event of WrestleMania would be an entirely different animal.

Rhodes went on to tell a story about how Heyman essentially saved his family in 2000 when he brought his father, late WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, into ECW to work a program with Steve Corino.

Cody noted that at the time, Dusty was down to his last $100, and Heyman helped keep the family afloat by giving Dusty a payday.

Heyman teared up when Cody thanked him, but he took a cheap shot by telling Cody that while Dusty had told him Cody was his favorite son, Reigns was the son he wished he had.

Cody got in Heyman's face and vowed to make Reigns pay at WrestleMania by taking the undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

First, Reigns is set to defend this month at Elimination Chamber against Zayn in Zayn's hometown of Montreal, and it is shaping up to be one of the biggest matches in recent memory.

Zayn turned on Reigns and The Bloodline at Royal Rumble when he refused to attack his friend Kevin Owens and instead hit Reigns with a steel chair. The Bloodline savagely beat down Zayn, but he resurfaced last week on SmackDown by attacking Reigns and challenging him to a title match at Elimination Chamber.

The spectacular nature of the angle at Royal Rumble led to a cross-section of fans clamoring for Reigns vs. Zayn at WrestleMania rather than Reigns vs. Rhodes, but WWE got the Reigns vs. Rhodes storyline off and running on Raw, and it seems unlikely that there will be much pushback when it comes to proceeding with that feud.

---

Lita Reportedly Scheduled to Wrestle at Elimination Chamber

WWE Hall of Famer Lita made a surprising return to WWE programming on Monday's Raw, and it was reportedly done to set the stage for a match this month.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Manik Aftab of Ringside News), plans are in place for Lita to compete at the Feb. 18 Elimination Chamber premium live event in Montreal.

In the closing stages of a steel cage match between Becky Lynch and Bayley on Raw, Lita showed up and prevented Damage CTRL members Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai from interfering on Bayley's behalf.

Becky won the match and celebrated with Lita, thus setting the stage for a potential match at Elimination Chamber.

In a subsequent report by Fightful Select (h/t Liam Winnard of WrestleTalk.com), it was noted that another WWE Hall of Famer in Trish Stratus is set to appear on Raw next week to cement a likely Elimination Chamber match of Lynch, Lita and Stratus against Damage CTRL.

It is well established that Bayley was a huge fan of Lita growing up, so working with her is likely a dream come true. It also stands to reason that the events of Elimination Chamber could lead to a singles match between them at WrestleMania.

As for Stratus, she is a Canada native who promises to get a massive reaction in Montreal if she does indeed return and wrestle.

It had been unclear what the plans were for Bayley and Lynch at WrestleMania, but with two legends potentially back in the fold, things are starting to take shape.

---

WWE Reportedly Wants Two World Titles

WWE has had only one world champion for the past year, but the creative decision-makers reportedly desire to have two world champions in the near future.

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News) reported that if WWE had been able to secure The Rock for WrestleMania 39 to have a match against Reigns, the main event of Night 1 would have been for a newly created world title.

Meltzer noted that Rhodes likely would have won that title, although Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre were part of the discussion as well.

With The Rock no longer in the mix, Rhodes will challenge Reigns for the undisputed WWE Universal Championship, but Meltzer made it clear that WWE still wants to split up the belts eventually.

Such a move makes sense for as long as WWE is committed to the brand split since it would allow there to be separate world champions on Raw and SmackDown.

Rhodes has often discussed his desire to win the WWE Championship since it was the title his father never won, which could be a built-in way to separate the titles.

Assuming Rhodes beats Reigns at WrestleMania and ends Roman's historic title run, the door would be open for Rhodes to potentially vacate the Universal Championship, and WWE could then hold a tournament to determine a second world champion.

---

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.