- Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson suggested that Cody Rhodes fight Roman Reigns
- Johnson, 51, was initially expected to fight Reigns on the pay-per-view
- The Rock faced backlash from fans before Rhodes was given a spot on the card
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson suggested Cody Rhodes should be given a spot on the WrestleMania 40 card to fight Roman Reigns after receiving backlash for initially appearing to try to talk his way into the pay-per-view lineup, according to reports.
The Rock was expected to have a WrestleMania showdown with Reigns after appearing on WWE Smackdown at the expense of Rhodes.
However, a late turn of events led to Rhodes getting the chance to end his saga with Reigns as the pair prepared to fight for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title at the two-day event starting April 6.
Johnson’s return to the WWE Universe put him in the spotlight to once again challenge for top honors, but fans were unimpressed with how he battled his way past Rhodes for a WrestleMania slot.
Rhodes clashed with both Reigns and Johnson on stage at the event’s press conference, where he was punched for insulting his competitors’ family and heritage.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson suggested Cody Rhodes should get a spot on WrestleMania 40 card
Rhodes (right) and Roman Reigns (left) will fight for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title at WrestleMania
The 51-year-old Johnson then also raged at Triple H during an X-rated rant about Rhodes.
But now it has been revealed that it was The Rock who supported a decision for Rhodes to fight Reigns instead of himself.
“It’s said that there is a lot more behind the scenes that hasn’t come out yet, but given the timing, it can’t be talked about right now,” said wrestling reporter Dave Meltzer.
It was previously expected that Reigns would fight The Rock at WrestleMania instead
Johnson could still be involved in a possible tag team match against Rhodes at WrestleMania
“But Johnson said this weekend that it was best to pull out of the Reigns match and put Cody in, which everyone admitted at the time.
It was Johnson who then threw the heel turn and he pitched the idea of the match between Reigns & Rock and Rhodes & Rollins for the first night. So that was his idea, if it turns out that way…’
There are further suggestions that Reigns and Rhodes will fight on the opening night of WrestleMania to decide the Universal title ahead of a tag team match the following night.
Johnson and Reigns would likely side with each other against Rhodes and world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins, but no tag team fight has been announced yet.