SUMMARY
- WWE is expected to announce Dwayne Johnson vs Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 soon.
- With the dream match around the corner, interesting reports have come out on how the match apparently came to be.
WWE is going through a tumultuous time since the beginning of the new year. While the year kicked off with the company securing a $5 billion streaming deal with Netflix, it soon turned sour as the WWE co-founder and former CEO Vince McMahon faced a s*x trafficking lawsuit from former employee Janel Grant. While McMahon has resigned from his position since then, the Stamford-based promotion is now dealing with fresh drama involving Dwayne Johnson.
On the latest edition of SmackDown Live on February 2, Dwayne Johnson made his WWE return and confronted Roman Reigns. While the fans would have loved it under normal circumstances, the reaction ahead of WrestleMania 40 has mostly been negative. The reason behind the reaction can be attributed to the way Cody Rhodes was pushed aside. And, if a recent report is to be believed, Johnson may have had a huge role to play in it.
Dwayne Johnson reportedly flexed his power to replace Cody Rhodes
Dwayne Johnson is one of the greatest WWE superstars to ever grace the ring. His legendary rivalries with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan have become a part of the professional wrestling folklore. While his Hollywood career is certainly booming, it looks like “The Rock” has caught the wrestling bug once again! However, most of it can be attributed to his appointment to the TKO board of directors.
Not only does he have a seat at the table, but he also holds shares worth $30,000,000 in TKO. According to a report from PWInsider, the 51-year-old also holds a significant amount of power in the company. The report states that having Dwayne onboard was a tactical choice. Reportedly, Johnson’s influence in the company could be even greater than that of Triple H’s.
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It is important to mention that Hunter is currently in charge of the creative in WWE. Hence, the report about Johnson’s increasing powers does possibly hint at why Cody is not facing Roman Reigns at the WrestleMania 40 main event. However, the report also clarifies that there is no beef between The Rock and Cody Rhodes. The booking choice was made strictly from a monetary point of view.
With allegations from Janel Grant rocking WWE, Dwayne Johnson was perhaps the biggest ace up TKO’s sleeve to garner some positive PR, and they have seemingly decided to cash it in. Roman Reigns is on the run of his life and has pretty much cleared out the WWE roster. Other than Cody, there isn’t any credible threat left in the company for Reigns.
However, The Rock vs. Roman is a far bigger draw than the rematch between Cody and the current WWE Universal Champion. Hence, one should not be surprised that WWE has repeated what happened in 2013 and has chosen the bankable star rather than letting Rhodes finish his story.
WWE to announce Dwayne Johnson’s WrestleMania 40 match against Roman Reigns soon
WWE is reportedly in the process of announcing the Roman Reigns vs. Dwayne Johnson match as soon as February 8. Recently, the company announced that the WrestleMania 40 kickoff press conference will take place and start from 4 p.m. PT. It will take place inside the T-Mobile Arena and will be available to stream on WWE’s social media platforms and Peacock.
.@TheRock and @WWERomanReigns are set for an iconic face-off at The #WrestleMania XL Kickoff, streaming live from @TMobileArena on Feb. 8 at 4pm PT across WWE social platforms and @peacock!https://t.co/GFRRsiFNWC pic.twitter.com/hJoODwONdv
— WWE (@WWE) February 3, 2024
While the fan sentiment is clearly against the contest, it is a dream match that has been in the making for years. The Rock’s last full-fledged match was against John Cena at WrestleMania 39, where he lost. Will The Rock put over The Tribal Chief in what could be his last-ever WWE match? Fans will get their answers at the grandest stage of them all.