The Rock Confirms Pivoting From Original WrestleMania 40 Plans Due To Fan Backlash

The recent transformation of The Rock into a villainous character has injected WWE programming with a refreshing and invigorating energy. However, days before he puts his Final Boss persona in place for a huge WrestleMania showdown, The Rock confirmed original plans slated for The Show of Shows.

During a recent interview on the Will Cain Show, The 10-time WWE Champion confirmed pivoting from original WrestleMania 40 plans, which would have seen the dream match between himself and his cousin Roman Reigns come to fruition in favor of another storyline the fans had been invested in for a couple of years.

“The original plan was for me to come back as the baby face, the big baby face come back and face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship and put on here in Philadelphia, the biggest main event of all time. I believe the qualities of a good leader, not to say that I’m a good leader, but I believe the qualities of a good leader is one who has the ability to pivot, but also make sure that you listen to the people. As I came back, I started to realize that while fans love the idea of The Rock and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, there was also this other storyline building that they had been invested in for a couple of years with a guy named Cody Rhodes, who, wrestling royalty, Dusty Rhodes is his dad. Dustin Rhodes is his brother.”

Moreover, he acknowledged the huge fan backlash, who sided with Cody Rhodes to be in the main event of WrestleMania 40. Therefore, The Rock, being the real People’s Champion, despite his villainous gimmick chose to go in a different direction, being on the TKO Board and had huge praise for his heated rival, Cody Rhodes.

“One or two things could have happened in that moment, and this happened in January. We could have either kept trucking through. I’m a director of the board. I got a little bit of influence here in the WWE. We could have kept trucking through. The thing that bugged me, I was in Hawaii, and I realized, man, there’s a segment of fans here who are just disappointed. It hurt my heart to think that, well, I don’t want to truck through and leave these fans disappointed. But not only that, we also got a guy in Cody Rhodes who’s been working his ass off for years now. This is his story. Who, by the way, Cody, as we speak very openly here, could not be a better human being.”

With WrestleMania 40 almost on the horizon, wrestling enthusiasts eagerly anticipate the outcome of the clash between The Rock and Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40 Night 1, which would have a direct impact on the main event title match of Night 2 between Rhodes and Reigns.

What do you think about The Rock’s decision to pivot from the original WrestleMania 40 plans of facing Roman Reigns to instead align with Cody Rhodes against Reigns and Seth Rollins? How do you believe this decision will impact the dynamic of WrestleMania 40 and the subsequent Night 2 main event between Rhodes and Reigns? Let us know in the comments.