Not everyone loved WWE pivoting away from having Cody Rhodes challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title at WrestleMania 40 in favor of having The Rock take on his cousin.
The moment
Heading into the Royal Rumble, there was speculation whether WWE could get The Rock for the match. Things seemed straightforward coming out of the event after Cody Rhodes won the Men’s Royal Rumble Match and made it clear he was going after Reigns at Mania. WWE backtracked a bit on Raw before having Rhodes appear on Friday’s SmackDown.
On the show, Rhodes told Reigns he was coming for him and planned to take everything from him, but it wouldn’t be at WrestleMania, before introducing Rock, who had a stardown with Reigns.
Plans change
As previously noted, the match has not been officially announced, but it’s expected that it will be on Thursday in Las Vegas at a press conference. The decision to change the main event was made in the last few days as Dave Meltzer reported Rhodes vs. Reigns was the plan on the night of the Rumble and Monday.
It changed the day after as Rock pushed hard for it. It appears Rhodes will officially challenge Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at Mania.
As seen below, the WWE’s YouTube channel uploaded the clip of the showdown, and there were over 50% more dislikes than likes on YouTube.
WWE’s upload of The Rock & Roman Reigns’ segment from #SmackDown tonight has over 50% more dislikes than likes on YouTube. pic.twitter.com/WowseQ67vY
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) February 3, 2024
