Roman Reigns Addresses Cody Rhodes Replacing The Rock at WrestleMania 40

Roman Reigns, the reigning Tribal Chief, recently opened up about the much-debated WrestleMania 40 main event switch that saw Cody Rhodes replace The Rock as his opponent. Speaking with Jimmy Traina on the SI Media podcast, Reigns made it clear that the change didn’t faze him one bit.

“It doesn’t matter to me. I was the main event,” Reigns confidently declared. “I’m the guy that everyone wanted to dance with, you know. I am the hot chick, everyone wanted to take me out. It’s where, we just need to get there and defend this thing. It didn’t matter who it is. They are trying to stop history from happening. They are trying to take us off the pinnacle right now, so it was the same task in hand for me.”

Fans originally expected Reigns to square off against his cousin, The Rock, in what was widely considered a dream match. However, after Cody Rhodes won the 2024 Royal Rumble, fans rallied behind the American Nightmare, leading to a dramatic storyline shakeup. Rhodes surrendered his title shot to make way for The Rock but was eventually reinserted into the match due to overwhelming demand. The Rock, in turn, joined forces with Reigns, debuting a new persona as “The Final Boss,” and laid obstacles in Rhodes’ path to glory.

When asked if he was disappointed that the showdown with The Rock didn’t happen, Reigns shrugged off the notion, explaining, “I never really looked at it like that. It was almost more so like this … kinda the same sentiment when I got all deep on and you said get back to the Tribal Chief character.”

Despite the odds stacked against him, Cody Rhodes conquered Reigns and emerged victorious as the new Undisputed WWE Champion, ending the Tribal Chief’s historic reign. While the mega-showdown between Reigns and The Rock didn’t happen at WrestleMania 40, fans are already speculating about the possibility of this epic clash headlining WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.