One of the world’s largest and most popular professional wrestling events, WrestleMania, is annually held between mid-March and mid-April. Thousands of fans across the world tune in to watch their favorite WWE superstars fight each other in a ring for the title. The 40th edition of the event will be held for wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions and is scheduled to take place at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
WrestleMania was the first pay-per-view live-streaming event by WWE and is regarded as the longest-running professional wrestling event in history. Forbes named WrestleMania as the sixth most valuable sports brand in the world. Dwayne Johnson a.k.a., The Rock teased his return to the ring against Roman Reigns as the main event for 40th WrestleMania, but Triple H has now clarified the speculations.
Triple H clarifies the speculations about Dwayne Johnson headlining WrestleMania 40
Actor-professional wrestler Dwayne Johnson, popularly known as The Rock, was rumored to be headlining WrestleMania 40 and going up against Roman Reigns as part of the main event. Fans were not happy with the update as they expected WWE superstar Cody Rhodes to go up against Roman Reigns. The #WeWantCody movement online created havoc for the company, which was indeed clarified at the press conference held recently.
WWE Chief Content Office Paul Levesque, popularly known as Triple H however confirmed that it is going to be Cody Rhodes facing Roman Reigns at the main event of WrestleMania XL. He shared the confirmation on his X account with a, ‘Decision Made.’
Triple H also showed up the next night at WWE SmackDown after the press conference, where he mentioned,
“The answers come from one place and one place only and right now, you are looking at him.”
Cody Rhodes made his return to the company at WrestleMania 38 and has not tried to hide the fact that he has only one goal, which is to get the WWE Championship title. He noted that his father was never able to capture the title, but he has his eyes set on it. WrestleMania XL will give him the chance to win the title.
Fans point out how WWE could have utilized Dwayne Johnson Vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40
There is no doubt that Dwayne Johnson is among one of the most popular and successful wrestlers who has solidified himself as an actor as well. His return to WWE last month left the fans wondering about his return to the ring and his taking on against his cousin Roman Reigns.
According to ESPN reports, there had been more than 79 million social media views for Johnson’s segment on SmackDown. These stats go on to suggest that WWE could have utilized Johnson vs. Reigns for TRPs for the upcoming live-streaming event. A match with Johnson could not only benefit the company but also Reigns, as it would have been an iconic match-up.
For Johnson, winning would have meant that he’s the icon of the Anoa’I Family, and for Reigns, it would have added another feather to his cap. Roman Reigns at the WrestleMania XL kickoff had also picked Johnson as his preferred opponent for the title with Cody Rhodes showing up to challenge Reigns, noting that he had rightfully earned the chance. Dwayne Johson didn’t care much about the booing of the fans as much as he cared about drawing profits for the company.
Everytime the Rock has been a heel, he's always been "funny heel Rock"….
This "scary as fuck Rock" that we're getting today is going to be MUST see tv! pic.twitter.com/6pYQF3reoy
— ChanMan (@ChandranTheMan) February 9, 2024
You know, I love about it, that the rock was protecting his little brother aka Roman and he was cool with Cody in the beginning but nobody talks bad about the bloodline family
— Kyle Pribila (@kyle_pribila) February 9, 2024
Everytime the Rock has been a heel, he's always been "funny heel Rock"….
This "scary as fuck Rock" that we're getting today is going to be MUST see tv! pic.twitter.com/6pYQF3reoy
— ChanMan (@ChandranTheMan) February 9, 2024
Fans pointed out how Johnson looked scary at the kickoff standing neck-to-neck with Rhodes. They tweeted, “Everytime the Rock has been a heel, he’s always been ‘funny heel Rock’, This ‘scary as f*ck Rock’ that we’re getting today is going to be a MUST see tv.”
They’re certainly doing something new and it will lead to twist and turns in Cody vs Roman’s story and what’s more interesting is how it will lead to Roman vs Rock.
We’re in for a hell of a ride.— Hussain (@_abbas08) February 9, 2024
This is not Hollywood Rock or Corporate Rock, this is Bloodline Rock.
— Josue Yong (@MomentosRM) February 9, 2024
Another user mentioned that they hadn’t seen a scary Rock since the time he almost went psycho on a guy on MTV Punk’ed. An X user noted that The Rock was trying to protect his cousin Roma Reigns and was cool with Cody Rhodes, but no one talks bad about the Bloodline
