More On Backstage Reaction to Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns Not Happening at Wrestlemania, When Cody Knew, More

As previously reported, Cody Rhodes said he wouldn’t challenge Roman Reigns at this year’s Wrestlemania, before bringing out The Rock. This would seemingly suggest that the match will be Rock vs. Roman, but WWE has yet to announce that. Fightful Select has more details on the backstage reaction to yesterday’s blockbuster change to the Wrestlemania 40 event.

As noted earlier today, The Rock is believed to have pushed for the match. According to some that were asked about it, they believe the Rock was even pushing to win the match with Reigns. That’s unconfirmed at this time, however. As for the timing, it’s believed that Rock was pushing for this match before the news of the Vince McMahon scandal broke, but the source noted that this isn’t exactly going to hurt WWE’s attempt to pivot away from the negative attention of that story.

TKO believes a match between Rock and Reigns will result in more “immediate” money than Rhodes vs. Reigns would. Sources in TKO say the company values Rhodes and may have underestimated the negative reaction from the WWE fans. Rock and Ari Emanuel have had a relationship for years and Rock is said to be Endeavor’s biggest star. As recently as three weeks ago, there was a pitch to have him be talent as well as part of the TKO board, as both sides wanted to get the most from the deal.

Rhodes reportedly found out about the change yesterday and didn’t travel to Smackdown without knowing. All of the talent booked for Thursday’s press conference, including The Rock, were already booked at that time.

It’s believed that Rock intends to wrestle a full-length match at Wrestlemania, although it’s unknown if he will wrestle after that. There have been concerns about him working a Wrestlemania main event after his recent appearances.

Fightful noted that they reached out to over three dozen people in WWE across all departments and the response was universally negative. The belief was that it would be good for short-term business but not long-term.

One wrestler noted they’ve known the Rock for a long time and believe the look on his face on last night’s Smackdown suggests that “this decision wasn’t going to work out quite the way that he imagined it,” as it was “the same thing that he and Roman experienced in Philadelphia.”

A former World champion added that the match would have made sense “several years ago” or this year if Cody won the title last year. However, they believe it does not work for this year.

A source in creative noted that the team was demoralized by the move and it sounded like something the previous regime might have done. Another added that there were “numerous” meetings and pitches to acquire The Rock for a match for years, with the excuse being that the story didn’t make sense. Which they believe is the case now, but the match is more likely to happen than ever.

Another source noted that Rock was a “great guy” but with this decision, might hurt his relationship with the one community he had “almost universal goodwill with”, especially after drawing backlash for decisions he made with DC and the XFL.

Finally, another source noted that The Rock’s family had pulled ahead of the McMahon family this week as far as power in pro wrestling, and that likely wouldn’t change any time soon.