“Was the Idea”: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Reveals Complete Details of Original WrestleMania XL Plans With Roman Reigns

Night One of WrestleMania XL, or The Dwayne Johnson Show, saw a spectacular victory for The Rock and Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. The Great One used every ounce of his muscle power and authority to secure a crushing victory over The American Nightmare. But, as the entire WWE Universe knows, this grand show was an improvisation and not the initial WrestleMania XL storyline.

Dwayne Johnson had initially come after Reigns and his WWE Championship by sideling Rhodes despite his Royal Rumble win. However, the dynamic quickly changed into a charged beef between Rhodes and The Rock, where Johnson even sent threats to the Royal Rumble winner’s mom. Interestingly, The Brahma Bull has now revealed what the blueprint of the original arrangement looked like.

Dwayne Johnson reveals the initial colors of his return

Dwayne Johnson added insult to the injury of Cody Rhodes’ Chicago thrashing by pinning him to enforce The Bloodline Rules match for Roman Reigns. After his triumph, The Rock headed to the post-event press conference with a smug attitude and a Championship Belt that said, “The People’s Champ.” Interestingly, a reporter asked him about what he and Triple H originally had in mind. Spilling the beans, Dwayne Johnson said, “When I came back, the goal was to come back and it was going to be Rock and Roman Reigns. That was the idea. This was back in, I think I made an appearance on SmackDown. We were in Colorado, third quarter of last year.” 

However, The Rock and his team noticed something before throwing all their chips on the table. The Hollywood star noted, “The idea was to start setting the table for a Rock and Roman WrestleMania main event, WrestleMania 40. So as we continued to stand everything up on its feet, we realized that we had an opportunity to listen to the fans.” The TKO Board Member said that the fans made him change his plans.

Johnson continued, “One or two things could have happened. We could have either trucked through it, which there were a few opinions in the room. Hey, of course, we’ve titled them the Cody Crybabies, which is, you know, fun branding. But the truth is they matter. Fans matter and their voice matters.” Interestingly, Johnson revealed that this wasn’t the first time he listened to the fans and held back.

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In fact, he had almost prevented the Rhodes vs Reigns story from ever getting started.

How The Rock let a rivalry brew before elevating it with his involvement

The WWE Universe was heavily invested in Cody Rhodes’ journey to win the WWE title and finally finish his story. The American Nightmare had developed a lot of traction for himself after his return to WWE. 

Dwayne Johnson, in the same interview, said that he initially planned to set the stage for a Rock versus Reigns match at WrestleMania 39. But, seeing that Rhodes was riding a wave of success, he thought of utilizing it instead of clashing with it.

This initial improvisation gave The Brahma Bull the chance to upset the beehive of WWE fans who are yearning to see Cody Rhodes win more than ever. The Super Heel turn made by The Rock and his Final Boss gimmick definitely upped the ante for everything. 

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Now, Rhodes’ fans are on their toes to see what will happen to their hero as Johnson prowls to take him down once again. What are your thoughts on this? Let them flow in the comments.