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Despite teasing a feud between The Rock and WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns, 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes challenged Reigns for the main event match at WrestleMania 40 in April during a start of WrestleMania in Las Vegas on Thursday.
wwe @wwe
“In #Wrestlemania XL in the MAIN EVENT, I choose YOU @WWERomanReigns!”@CodyRhodes You have made your decision! 🔥🔥🔥
The beginning of #Wrestlemania XL is now LIVE! pic.twitter.com/O5ffc1RVJg
B/R Wrestling @BRwrestling
Cody Rhodes chooses to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 🤯 pic.twitter.com/4VuPUlIdAK
Triple H @Triple H
Decision taken. @CodyRhodes He gets the chance to finish his story when he challenges @WWERomanReigns in the main event of # Wrestlemania XL. pic.twitter.com/A12apAnELf
However, The Rock slapped Rhodes after taking issue with comments made about his and Reigns’ family:
B/R Wrestling @BRwrestling
THE ROCK SLAPS CODY RHODES 😱
ABSOLUTE CHAOS
Reigns also announced earlier in the press conference that his preference would be to face The Rock in the main event:
wwe @wwe
“I CHOOSE… @TheRock“☝️😤@WWERomanReigns has made his decision in #Wrestlemania XL Home! pic.twitter.com/14RPWKwTqB
The Rock made a surprise appearance on Raw last month, and at the end of his promo, he mentioned “The Boss of the Table,” which is one of Reigns’ nicknames. That led to speculation that WWE was setting up a feud between the real-life cousins.
However, Rhodes won his second consecutive men’s match at the Royal Rumble and then pointed out Reigns, making it look like Rhodes vs. Reigns was the plan for WrestleMania for the second year in a row.
On the February 2 episode of SmackDown, Rhodes faced Reigns and seemed set to announce that he would face the Tribal Chief at WrestleMania, but he backtracked and brought out The Rock.
Cody noted that beating Reigns for the undisputed WWE Universal Championship was still his goal, as it was the title his father, Dusty Rhodes, failed to win. Still, The American Nightmare said his match against Reigns wouldn’t take place on the biggest stage of them all.
The Rock and Reigns had an intense staredown to close that episode of SmackDown, but nothing was officially announced about a possible feud between them at the time.
Fans have long referred to The Rock vs. Reigns as a dream fight, and both men have spoken publicly about being open to making it a reality in the past.
Last month, The Rock was named to the TKO board of directors and appeared on the ESPN show. First shot later to discuss various topics, including the possibility of facing Reigns.
The Rock said there was “a chance” that could happen, calling himself a “long gamer” and someone who wants to build a story properly. That left people wondering if the match could take place at WrestleMania 40 or later.
It seems like every single question was answered on Thursday, as Rhodes vs. Reigns appears to be becoming official, meaning WWE intentionally misdirected its audience or gave in to pressure from fans who made it clear that Rhodes vs. Reigns was his preferred path.
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