Stone Cold Steve Austin giving The Rock a stunner to help Cody Rhodes would’ve been one of the epic moments of WrestleMania 40 this year! Instead, fans were treated to something unexpected and equally awesome that nobody saw coming.
It was when The Undertaker came out of nowhere to help Rhodes secure the championship win, leaving fans caught off guard. Mark William Calaway, aka The Undertaker, is truly a WWE legend, with a career that lasted over three decades.
He’s been a cornerstone in the WWE, and just hearing his entrance music gives fans goosebumps. When it comes to WrestleMania, he’s a legend there too, having competed in a whopping 25 matches at ‘The Show of Shows.’ His ties to WrestleMania are so strong that it’s hard to imagine the event without him.
Former WWE Star Grateful for Unexpected WrestleMania Twist
Cody Rhodes had high hopes of winning the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40 (which even came true). However, things didn’t start off well for him.
On Night 1, he teamed up with Seth Rollins for a tag team match against Roman Reigns and Dwayne Johnson. Unfortunately, they lost that match.
However, WrestleMania 40 ended on a high note with an incredibly dramatic finish! After facing setbacks earlier, Rhodes finally clinched the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
The Head of the Table’s ‘Bloodline’ crew tried hard to tilt the scales in his favor during the championship match. But then, out of nowhere, John Cena and The Undertaker showed up to help Rhodes.
With their unexpected help, “Dashing” Cody Rhodes managed to put an end to Reigns’ impressive 1,316-day reign as champion. According to The Miz, Undertaker’s presence added a lot of weight to the match, which looked like passing the torch from one legend to a rising star like Rhodes.
— Cesaro Hot Tag (@CesaroHotTag) April 12, 2024
Sure, a Stone Cold Stunner would’ve been fun, but the 59-year-old’s appearance was the perfect choice “Because he [The Undertaker] is the locker room leader.” His arrival didn’t take away from Rhodes’ big moment. Instead, it made his win even more special.
The Reason Behind the Absence of Stone Cold from WrestleMania 40
WrestleMania 40’s main event between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes had its fair share of legends involved, but one big name was particularly missing from the mix.
Reportedly, Stone Cold Steve Austin was originally planned to be part of the match. However, according to Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, financial disagreements kept the 59-year-old out of the ring.
Stone Cold Steve Austin was originally earmarked for Undertaker's spot at WrestleMania, but couldn't come to a "financial agreement" with WWE:
Undertaker’s gong hit and he choke slammed and took out Rock. Austin was the person originally earmarked for that spot, but in the end… pic.twitter.com/FuqEs1A8N8
— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) April 12, 2024
Instead, The Undertaker stepped in, and his entrance was still a massive hit with the Philly crowd. As the championship match heated up, John Cena came in to take down Solo Sikoa.
Then, The Rock came out and gave Cena a Rock Bottom. Just when everyone thought things couldn’t get crazier, the lights went off, the Undertaker’s gong played, and bam! The Deadman was in the ring, standing right behind The Rock when the lights came back on.
With The Rock now on TKO’s board of directors, it looks like he’ll be sticking around. There might still be a chance for Stone Cold to join in later on. But who knows if we’ll ever get another moment like this with all these WWE legends in one place again?
