The main event of night one of WrestleMania 40 saw The Rock and Roman Reigns take on Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a tag team match. Dwayne Johnson brought back the vibes of the attitude era to the WWE event after threatening to fire veteran referee Chad Patton from the company. During the match, the fight between the teams went outside the ring, during which the referee warned them of disqualification, making The Rock very unhappy.
With the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship title taking place on Sunday night between Reigns and Rhodes, the tag team match proved crucial. The Rock and Reigns defeated Rhodes and Rollins in the match, making the Rhodes vs Reigns match a ‘Bloodline Rules’ match, meaning anything goes in the match, including interferences and weapons.
The Rock Threatens To Fire WWE Referee In This Viral WrestleMania 40 Moment
The Rock took some swings at both Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the main event of night one of WrestleMania 40. The Rock and Roman Reigns won the tag team match against Rhodes and Rollins at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. One notable moment in the event came when the wrestlers took the match outside the ring.
According to the set rules, the referee starts counting to ten and disqualifies the wrestlers for fighting outside the ring. However, The Final Boss made an unusual demand to the referee to stop counting when the fight went off the ring. Dwayne Johnson even threatened to fire the veteran referee, Chad Patton, who started counting.
Pointing his fingers at Patton, The Rock warned him, “You count, you’re fired. You know The Rock, I don’t f*ck around. You count, you’re fired.” The referee immediately stopped counting as he knew that The Rock had the power to get him fired from the company. Johnson joined the TKO Group Holdings board of directors, which has ownership over the WWE, in January 2024.
The FINAL BOSS demands NO referee counting outside the ring in this main event at #WrestleMania XL! pic.twitter.com/py3cR5mMSN
— WWE (@WWE) April 7, 2024
Fans also seemed to vibe with The Rock’s newfound authority as they demanded more of him in the WWE after WrestleMania. One fan shared that he was giving pure final boss vibes, while another shared that they loved the match with The Rock in it. Another comment shared that Johnson reminds them of The Authority. Some fan reactions read:
You know The Rock, I don't fuck around. You count, you're fired. pic.twitter.com/upeLGpZEXp
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) April 7, 2024
We need more Rock after Mania
— SB24 (@SkolBros) April 7, 2024
Pure final boss vibes 😎
— Rakshit Shah – DUNKI (@rshah2611) April 7, 2024
I love this match 🔥🔥🔥
— 🏴☠️ Monkey-D-Jonathan 🏴☠️𝕏 (@DeMolJonathan) April 7, 2024
Final Boss is reminding us of The Authority 😂😈
— Ahmad Chaudhary (@Aleee_313) April 7, 2024
The Rock’s threat to the referee may have turned the match in favor of the Bloodline cousins. Rhodes was unable to pin Reigns since the match was allowed to continue outside the ring. Rhodes fans will definitely call out the heels’ cheating in the match as The Rock abused his powers to change rules mid-match.
The Rock Was Earlier Accused of Abusing His New WWE Powers
Earlier, Dace LaGreca accused The Rock of abusing his new WWE powers to take Rhodes’s main event spot in the WrestleMania 40. Speaking on his Busted Open podcast, LaGreca shared that Johnson was abusing his power as a member of the Board of Directors of TKO to put himself in the main event at WrestleMania 40. LaGreca shared:
“You know who is my favorite wrestler right now? It’s Cody Rhodes. Do you know who I hate and I fucking despise in this moment, it’s Dwayne Johnson. I hate that man right now in this moment, not as a person obviously, but as a wrestling fan watching the product. Because I am looking at the Board of Director that came in, used his power to take this opportunity away from Cody and put himself in the main event at Wrestlemania 40. That’s how I look at it right now.”
However, Johnson released a 21-minute rant on X, where he called LaGreca a goof, an idiot, and a “Cody Crybaby”. He shared in his The Rock persona that LaGreca knew nothing about Pro Wrestling to accuse him of abusing powers.
The Rock will now accompany Roman Reigns on the sidelines during his match against Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 40 on Night 2.
