Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes: Who Will Be WWE's More Successful Star in 2025?

No two men lead WWE quite like Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. They are stars at the top of the marquee, leading the charge toward the future.

This was true in 2024 when a battle between Reigns and Rhodes headlined WrestleMania 40, which will continue into 2025.

In 2024, The American Nightmare overtook The Only Tribal Chief, capturing his world championship and keeping it throughout the year.

Reigns took some time away before he slowly took back control of The Bloodline, not even regaining the ula fala until the first Raw of 2025.

This year offers a fresh opportunity for the ultimate competition. Both men are working on SmackDown, though they will also certainly appear on Raw on Netflix.

In many ways, their history is more intertwined than ever before. Rhodes' primary rival, Kevin Owens, is also after Reigns and The Bloodline. Both have unfinished business with The Rock.

2025 will also see the end of John Cena's WWE career, and both men will likely play a part in The GOAT's retirement tour.

All the stars are aligning to make this a highly competitive battle for the top spot in the wrestling business.

Which man will come out of this year looking better? Who will solidify their name as the true face of this era?

Both men will be placed at the head of the company in 2025. However, Cody Rhodes has a major advantage in terms of opportunity.

While Roman Reigns frequently takes time off, The American Nightmare appears weekly working house shows and dark matches.

He still holds the WWE Championship and is unlikely to lose at least until WrestleMania 41.

As WWE champion, he will headline one of the two nights of WrestleMania this year, and it is still hard to imagine anyone dethroning him anytime soon.

The only options that stand out would be John Cena or The Rock, both of which would be huge matches for Rhodes to further establish his own legacy.

The Only Tribal Chief will continue to find enemies in his contest with his own family. The Bloodline is in shambles that should occupy much of Reigns' time.

Championships will elude Reigns while Rhodes will be holding gold and competing for more in 2025.

Advantage: Rhodes.

No one quite captures the attention of the WWE faithful quite like Roman Reigns. Whenever he appears on television, he is the center of attention, even if someone else has the gold.

The Bloodline story remains WWE's biggest angle, even if it's in as unclear a position as any time in the angle's lifetime.

If The Rock does choose to compete at WrestleMania, it will almost certainly be against Reigns, and that is a clear main event on the biggest show of the year.

Rhodes will be so omnipresent that the spotlight upon him will be dimmed in comparison.

It is hard to feel special every single week, but only one man will truly feel more special when he is around.

Advantage: Reigns.

Roman Reigns is a certain headlining WWE Hall of Famer, even if he did nothing more in WWE. If WWE could use him weekly for the foreseeable future, he would likely outshine Cody Rhodes.

This does not diminish the legacy The American Nightmare is building. He is still defining how he will be seen amongst the greats, but he is certainly raising his stake consistently.

The difference between the two is availability. Rhodes works so much that Reigns cannot keep up, and fans pay to see him far more often than The Only Tribal Chief.

If Reigns takes more time away, WWE will miss him, but fans will still tune in to see what Rhodes will do next.

When The American Nightmare is off TV, Reigns is often gone as well, and the lack of top stars becomes far more obvious.

If Reigns eventually fully transitions to Hollywood, Rhodes will still be around. As long as he can compete, it is hard to imagine him off WWE television for a prolonged period of time.

Advantage: Rhodes.

Both Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns have proven they can compete and talk at the highest level. They have delivered some of the best matches of the modern wrestling era.

The American Nightmare has delivered more consistently in the ring in the last couple of years, but The Only Tribal Chief has always kept the crowd invested in everything he does.

Reigns has the clear advantage on the microphone, delivering promos driven by a level of subtle emotion rarely seen in WWE. Rhodes can deliver at a main event level but is a more conventional talker.

Fans' emotional investment in Reigns is second to none, and that is a testament to his ability as a wrestler and storyteller over the past five years.

Rhodes is a versatile performer with strong fan support, but he has yet to show he can truly eclipse The Only Tribal Chief.

Advantage: Reigns.

While Roman Reigns holds a strong advantage over Cody Rhodes regarding legacy, 2025 is the most important year of The American Nightmare's career.

The Only Tribal Chief will find success wherever he goes and whatever he does, but Rhodes will define his legacy by his work in 2025.

For this reason, it still feels like this year will be Rhodes' year. He is the world champion. He is the workhorse that is promised to appear at every major show.

While Reigns' legacy in 2025 may be tied to The Rock, John Cena's legacy will be tied to Rhodes.

It feels likely that The GOAT will put over Rhodes in a big way, passing the torch to his closest heir apparent during his retirement tour.

Depending on how this year goes, The American Nightmare could finally eclipse The Only Tribal Chief as WWE's true face.