The Rock facing Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 was part of the deal he made to join the TKO Board of Directors, according to a new report.
On the February 2 episode of WWE SmackDown, The Rock returned and confronted Roman Reigns, seemingly setting the stage for a major WrestleMania match. This came just a few weeks after The Rock was appointed to the TKO Board of Directors.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that the WrestleMania match with Reigns was part of the TKO deal for The Rock. Meltzer noted that, in that case, it was unclear why WWE had Cody Rhodes win the Royal Rumble match. Additionally, he writes that few people, aside from Nick Khan and Ari Emanuel, were aware of any such deal. The report indicated that the backstage belief was that Reigns would be facing Rhodes.
More On Reaction To Cody Rhodes Not Facing Roman Reigns
The apparent decision to not have Cody Rhodes face Roman Reigns has prompted plenty of backlash. Melter wrote that WWE plans to turn this into a storyline. He stated that the situation played out the way the company wanted it to.
As others have reported, Melzter stated that the current plan is to have Rhodes face Seth Rollins instead. However, he admitted that everything was up in the air. Additionally, he wrote that a match between Rhodes and Reigns is planned, but it is not currently set for WrestleMania.
Plus, the report noted that WWE was expected to turn Cody Rhodes into a Daniel Bryan-like figure by making him a martyr and a bigger babyface with the fans’ support following The Rock’s return. (H/t Ian Carey of F4WOnline.com)
WrestleZone will provide more information as it becomes available.
