Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock, a dominant figure in both wrestling and Hollywood, continues to make waves with his latest move. By joining the board of TKO Holding Group, the parent company of the WWE and UFC, he keeps a close eye on the wrestling world. According to fans, he used his power to essentially take over the WrestleMania 40 main event and now it appears we finally know Roman Reigns’ original opponent for WrestleMania 40 as well.
Fans definitely want to see The Rock vs Roman Reigns at some point in time, but they most definitely did not want that to happen at the expense of Cody Rhodes not being able to finish his story. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened.
The Rock Outright Stole Cody Rhodes’ WrestleMania 40 Spot
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, recently appointed as one of the board members of TKO Group Holdings, will be duking it out with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. Initially expected to be a match between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, Rhodes decided to step aside on SmackDown this week. Despite securing his spot by winning the Royal Rumble for the second year in a row, Rhodes gave up his opportunity to face The Head of The Table, handing it over to The Rock.
Cody Rhodes revealed on the blue brand that he wouldn’t challenge Reigns at WrestleMania. Instead, he revealed that he spoke with someone familiar to Reigns, leading to The Rock’s awe-inspiring return. The Rock and Rhodes exchanged a handshake and a hug, and after a brief conversation, Rhodes left the ring and made his way to the back while looking dejected in the process. It had truly dawned on fans that he would not be finishing the story at WrestleMania 40 any longer.
Roman Reigns’ Original WrestleMania 40 Opponent Has Been Revealed
Dave Meltzer, on the Wrestling Observer message board, reported that The Rock strongly advocated for the match at WrestleMania 40. The original plan involved Cody Rhodes facing Roman Reigns, with The Rock potentially facing Reigns later, either at next year’s Mania or in Saudi Arabia.
However, with CM Punk and Brock Lesnar out due to injury, plans shifted. WWE decided to go with The Rock’s suggestion to change the narrative and divert attention from Vince McMahon’s situation. Initially, the lineup was Punk versus Seth Rollins and Cody versus Reigns until Punk’s injury altered the plans.
”‘The Rock pushed super hard for it. The WrestleMania 40 card changed when CM Punk & Brock Lesnar were out and all the dominoes fell. Dwayne already wanted it and they [WWE] felt they now needed it as well. Felt this was better to change the news flow away from Vince.’ ‘Cody was the plan. Dwayne was going to face him [Roman Reigns] later, maybe next year’s Mania, maybe Saudi. The Vince thing ends up worse than they thought and they changed the plan. 100% it was Punk vs Seth and Cody vs Reigns until Punk got hurt.”
This year’s WrestleMania will take place on April 6th and April 7th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Lincoln Financial Field. For better or worse, The Rock will be facing off against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 this year and no one will be stopping this outcome.
