The road to WrestleMania took a dramatic turn on the latest episode of SmackDown, when Cody Rhodes announced that he would face Roman Reigns, but not at the biggest show of the year – WrestleMania 40.
Rhodes, who had won the Royal Rumble for the second year in a row, said he had received advice from his loved ones and a WWE legend who knows Reigns very well. He then introduced The Rock, who came out to a thunderous ovation from the crowd and stared down his cousin.
The Rock and Reigns have been on a collision course for years, ever since the latter declared himself the head of the table and the leader of the Samoan dynasty. The Rock, who is widely regarded as the most successful and popular member of the family, has been vocal about his respect and admiration for Reigns, but also his desire to face him in the ring.
The Rock made his return to WWE in 2023, when he hinted at a challenge to Reigns on Raw, but the match never materialized.
Now, it seems that he has finally secured his dream match with his ‘cousin’, and it will take place at WrestleMania 40, in front of a sold-out crowd at Lincoln Financial Field. This is a huge match for WWE, as it pits two of the biggest stars in the history of the company against each other, in a clash of generations, egos, and bloodlines.
It is also a match that WWE has wanted for a long time, and reportedly moved up the date due to the injury of CM Punk, who was supposed to face Seth Rollins for the world heavyweight championship.
But what about Cody Rhodes? The American Nightmare has been one of the most consistent and popular performers in WWE for the past few years, and he seemed to have earned his spot in the WrestleMania main event after winning the Royal Rumble twice in a row.
He also claimed to have unfinished business with Roman Reigns, who defeated him at WrestleMania 39, thanks to the interference of Jey Uso. As he once said, he wanted to finish the story with Reigns, and prove that he could beat him fair and square.
So did Cody Rhodes really make the right decision? Did he sacrifice his own dreams for the sake of The Rock and the fans? Or did he get robbed of his WrestleMania moment by WWE, who preferred to go with the bigger name and the bigger draw?
