While perhaps a year later than some fans expected, Cody Rhodes is indeed the man to steer WWE into a completely new era.

His triumph over Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 and the post-triumph celebration were the proof of concept.

Case in point, the post-match happenings in which Rhodes asked for a microphone and addressed the crowd while joined by loved ones and other Superstars in the ring, eventually asking Triple H himself to come down.

The man behind the creative of said new era obliged:

This blurred-lines gathering of creative forces and Superstars themselves was something of a new twist for the end of a premium live event—and especially the biggest show of the year.

Some of those stars had past beefs with Roman Reigns, sure, but they're also supposed to be guys gunning for the very title Rhodes just won.

A nod of respect, even from Seth Rollins, one of Rhodes' biggest adversaries, is perhaps a signal of the idealist slant of this new era.

Rhodes recently filed a trademark for "The Renaissance Era," so the aptly named eon further embracing the blurred lines and acknowledging the slim gap that exists between company and fans now is smart.

But it was the userhing in of a new era in execution, too. Fans knew there were going to be interferences, especially after Rhodes and Rollins lost to The Rock and Reigns in the Night 1 main event, enforcing "Bloodline Rules" for Sunday's show-ender.

However, those interferences were unpredictable and—mercifully—short. Jimmy Uso got counteracted by Jey Uso quickly. Solo Sikoa threw his weight around, only for John Cena to return and get revenge. And The Rock came out for a staredown with Cena, only for Undertaker to appear for all of 20 seconds and put an end to that.

Some fans will rightfully call it overbooked and, in a way, it was. There's an elephant in the room, too, when so many fans expected "Stone Cold" Steve Austin to be in 'Taker's slot. But there was a respect to the whole thing in that it was brief and made historic moments.

Perhaps more importantly, as has been the case for the Triple H era that got acknowledged by Rhodes himself after the match, there was some carefully placed storytelling that overruled all the other interferences.

Rollins and The Shield lore.

After all the interferences ran their course, Reigns had a weapon in his hands and Rhodes on the ropes, with Rollins to the other side. He chose to smack his former teammate, instead, that oh-so-important character development WWE has drilled home in the story for years.

The scene:

Reigns never got over the betrayal that eventually led to him becoming The Tribal Chief, and it ultimately cost him everything.

If that's the attention to long-term storytelling that will define this new era led by Rhodes, then even cynical fans can shrug off the random interferences and other stuff that will pop up in even the biggest of programs in the coming years.

Because this new era will face challenges. Just ask Rollins how quickly the honeymoon phase for a new champion can evaporate. Rhodes himself will face these issues soon enough, especially now that the title around his waist transitions away from a periodically-seen major event and into a more traditional WWE fighting-champion role—just like the top title currently around the waist of Damian Priest.

For now, though, it's nothing but good vibes, especially considering Rock's meddling in the 'Mania main event (let's not forget Rhodes randomly giving up his Royal Rumble victory to step aside for The Great One before the hard pivot, folks).

He was the old guard, representative of the old era that didn't want to lose grip on power. Good guys like Cena and Undertaker helped quash that, acknowledging Rhodes at the helm of this new era in the process, too.

In the end, it was always going to take a special Superstar to put an end to one of the greatest modern stories and championship runs in pro wrestling history. That it came at such a tumultuous time of change for the industry as a whole makes Rhodes' ascension to the leader of the pack all the more impressive.

Some will argue it should have been Rollins, given the parallels, but WWE Creative did a fantastic job of weaving him and the Shield narrative into the finish in a way that leaves the door open for so much more.

And that's all fans can ask for in this new era. One historic title reign with an ever-improving champion who rewrote how fans view storytelling possibilities in the medium itself—into the only man right to take the torch and run with it.

Maybe Sunday night was the start of a Renaissance Era, but Rhodes as champion and Triple H and Co. leading creative, it might truly be a Golden Era before long.