The latest hot topic from the world of WWE is Dwayne Johnson taking up Cody Rhodes’ WrestleMania 40 spot. Since then the fans have been enraged. This led to many questions ranging from why this decision has been taken, to why Cody Rhodes won the Royal Rumble in the first place if he was not going to face Reigns at WrestleMania. While we don’t have the answer to the first question, we might have the answer to the second one.
Was Cody Rhodes supposed to face Roman Reigns?
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, the original plan for WrestleMania 40 was Cody Rhodes facing Roman Reigns and CM Punk facing Seth Rollins. The plan was revealed to Rhodes a week before the 2024 Royal Rumble. Apart from that, the American Nightmare was given multiple assurances by WWE that this will be the plan moving forward and he will be working with Reigns.
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New from Fightful Select:
As of the week before the Royal Rumble, Cody Rhodes was told he was working with Roman Reigns, and the plan was CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins at WrestleMania.
There had actually been multiple reassurances to the former that it would be happening. pic.twitter.com/SSqr4MX5Uu
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) February 6, 2024
It looks like the plan was changed quite abruptly and a few factors might be the reason behind it. First off, Punk is out of action due to a triceps injury he suffered at the Royal Rumble which might have derailed WWE’s original plans.
Next up, it has been heavily rumored that Johnson main-eventing WrestleMania 40 and fighting Reigns is a part of the terms & conditions laid down by him before being inducted as one of the Board of Directors of the TKO Group.
Read More| Fans’ Unfaltering Support for Cody Rhodes May Get WWE To Change WrestleMania 40 Plans
However, according to Sapp, there was one thing that Rhodes had warned WWE about. And looks like he was right.
A warning for WWE
In the same report, it was mentioned that Rhodes did warn WWE about the potential backlash from the fans. However, as he is a “man of the company” he did not go against the WWE’s decision. If only the promotion had paid heed to his warnings. Since the major announcement, fans have hijacked every social media platform they can get their hands on. On X (formerly Twitter) the hashtag “WeWantCody” was trending for more than 72 hours.
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While fans have been generous in showing their support for the American Nightmare, things have gotten a bit worse lately. It has been reported that Johnson’s daughter and NXT GM, Ava Raine received threats on X even though she did not share her opinion on the matter. Apart from that, many other stars faced similar backlash that they were not supposed to get. Share in the comments below whether you think things have gotten out of hand.
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