wrestling / News
New Report Debunks Nick Khan’s Claim That WWE’s Plans for WrestleMania XL Never Changed
Image Credit: WWE
WWE President Nick Khan recently raised eyebrows when he claimed during a conversation with Sports Business Journal that plans for WrestleMania XL never changed and that The Rock was always scheduled to wrestle a tag team match at The Show of Shows.
This raised eyebrows among fans and experts, as WWE had previously admitted in the WrestleMania XL documentary that they were forced to pivot.
Fightful Select recently debunked Nick Khan’s claim, claiming that The Rock told Cody ahead of the Royal Rumble that he wasn’t looking to interfere in WWE’s plans for him at ‘Mania XL. However, per Fightful, that changed by the time the Royal Rumble came around.
Fightful notes that, on the day of the Royal Rumble, word got around that The Rock would be wrestling at WrestleMania, and Cody had been informed that changes had been made to the WrestleMania plans.
As it turned out, Cody Rhodes stepped aside for The Rock after winning the Royal Rumble, causing immense outrage on social media over Dwayne Johnson inserting himself into the WrestleMania main event at the expense of The American Nightmare.
WWE was ultimately forced to pivot. The Rock turned heel and joined forces with Roman Reigns, debuting his iconic Final Boss character in the process. He went on to have a memorable feud with Cody Rhodes on the Road to WrestleMania XL and worked a tag team match alongside Reigns (against Cody and Seth Rollins) at Night One with major implications for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match the following night.
Fightful further added that Cody has both publicly and privately said that if fans knew the company’s actual plans for him at that year’s ‘Mania, they would have been even more angry. However, what those plans were is unknown.
Cody ultimately defeated Roman Reigns in a Bloodline Rules match at Night Two to capture the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. He is now a three-time champion, and the title is currently in his possession.
