WWE changed a few things about the WrestleMania 40 card, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s involvement.
Cody Rhodes announced at the recent WrestleMania 40 press conference that he would challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title at the event, which defied expectations as WWE was widely expected to announce The Rock vs. Reigns instead.
WWE has since teased pairing The Rock with Reigns to face Rhodes and World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. WWE has been rumored to hold the tag team match on night one, with Rhodes vs. Reigns on night two, but this has yet to be confirmed.
The Rock faced a backlash from fans after it was revealed on SmackDown that Rhodes would not be able to finish his story with Reigns. This was when things changed in terms of booking.
In the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Rock was said to have quickly changed his pitch for the match with Reigns because of the backlash and wanted to go heel because he felt ““the booing can be explained as him playing heel wrestler and he’s even said he is very happy to do that.”
A few people have stated that The Rock’s heel turn was necessary due to the backlash, negative publicity he received from the Black Adam debacle, and the cancellation of Young Rock, so it was decided that it wasn’t good for Rock to be heavily booed as a babyface.
Meltzer went on to state, “There is said to be far more behind the scenes that hasn’t come out but, given the timing, can’t be talked about now.”
Meltzer added, “But Johnson over the weekend said it was best to be out of the Reigns match, put Cody in, which by this point everyone conceded by then. It was Johnson who then pitched the heel turn and he did pitch the idea of the Reigns & Rock vs. Rhodes & Rollins match for night one. So that was his idea if that is how it turns out.”
The Rock and Reigns will appear on tonight’s SmackDown to continue the storyline.
