New details have emerged about when the WWE originally finalized The Rock’s upcoming fight with Roman Reigns, after the wrestling legend received strong backlash from fans following the announcement of WrestleMania 40 plans.
WWE fans became furious after it was revealed that the eight-time WWE Champion would take Rhodes’ place to challenge Roman Reigns in April, after Rhodes became the first man in 25 years to win back-to-back Royal Rumbles.
It came after the 51-year-old wrestling legend – turned Hollywood superstar – made a stunning return to SmackDown on Friday.
‘The American Nightmare’ seemed to be in a prime position to dethrone Reigns as WWE Universal Champion and finally ‘finish the story’ of what has been a bitter rivalry that has been building for more than 18 months. But on Friday he stepped aside from The Rock and told his rival that he planned to dethrone him, but not at WrestleMania 40.
The Rock then stepped into the arena and stood face to face with his cousin, Reigns, as the show went off the air.
WWE legend Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson made a stunning return to SmackDown on Friday and looks set to challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40
While it appears the two will face off in April, The Rock has received a lot of backlash from WWE fans
It comes after Cody Rhodes appeared to step aside for The Rock after being Reigns’ direct challenger
Although it was announced that The Rock would join TKO’s board of directors on January 23, according to Dave Meltzer, it appears that the 51-year-old had inked a deal to fight Reigns in early 2024.
The journalist also added that no one will answer his questions about why Rhodes won his second Royal Rumble last week.
“When he (The Rock) made the deal to get in on January 3, that (Roman Reigns at WrestleMania) was part of the deal, and why Cody Rhodes won the Royal Rumble is a question I can’t answer because no one will answer him for me,” he said on Wrestling Observer Radio.
“But the belief was that it was Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, and no one knew it, but the deal was done before that.
“It went the way they wanted it to go. The plan as of Friday night was Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes, and we’ll see how it plays out because now they’re trying to turn it into a story and see how the story goes.”
WrestleMania was expected to be headlined by Rhodes and Reigns
After his Royal Rumble win, fans hoped Rhodes would ‘finish his story’ against Reigns at WrestleMania
He added: “He’s wanted to do that (competition) for years. I can’t tell you they didn’t tell anyone.
“But they certainly didn’t tell many people or hardly anyone. I mean, he got £23.8 million ($30 million).
“And that was a deal with Nick Khan and Ari Emanuel, it was way over the heads of everyone in WWE except Nick.
“So Nick and Dwayne are friends and Ari represents Dwayne, signed the deal and that was part of it.”
Some fans took to social media to condemn Rhodes’ decision to step aside and allow The Rock to fight Reigns.
One wrote on X (formerly Twitter): ‘This could be the biggest misstep in history at this rate because we don’t want rock. We want Cody.”
“If you here REALLY think Rock/Reigns is the right thing to do because of ‘the money, the business,’ then you should be banned from talking about wrestling here.
“It’s a horse s**t call and a slap in the face to over two years of people standing behind Cody. It’s horrible,” another added.
Fans reacted enthusiastically to the decision to trade The Rock for Rhodes, with one writing: ‘This could be the biggest misstep in history’
The Rock broke his silence on Friday after a controversial segment on WWE SmackDown
On Sunday, The Rock broke his silence on the controversial segment on SmackDown in which he seemingly challenged Reigns.
“There is a word for this explosive, crazy reaction – undeniable,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“No matter the era, decade or city, the energy and connection between the People’s Champ and the People can never be broken and it is truly an exhilarating experience that delivers chills every time.
“Thank you Birmingham, Alabama, we made magical history in the ‘Magic City.’
“Thank you WWE and thank you Cody for the love and the house (dream & soul man). Roman, there is only one head of the table. See you in Vegas…Uso.”