WrestleMania. The Showcase of the Immortals. The Superbowl of Wrestling. The Show of Shows. The Grandest Stage of Them All. The Biggest Sports Entertainment Show of The Year.
If there is one thing that WWE has been consistent about the last 4 decades, it’s selling the story of WrestleMania. With the constant hammering of the importance of the show, they have made it a legend in and of itself.
This legend has reached a point where attending the event is a bucket list item for any wrestling fan and competing on the show is a dream that every aspiring wrestler holds in his heart while entering the squared circle for the first time.
It’s hardly a surprise that Main Eventing WrestleMania is the highest honor in all of Sports Entertainment. The fact that names such as Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Eddie Guerrero, Goldberg, and CM Punk have never been in one only shows that it takes the combination of all four – skill, popularity, timing, and luck for a superstar to reach this pinnacle.
Considering all these factors, it’s hardly a surprise that The Rock, someone who has experienced the phenomenon 5 times in his career before, can’t resist the urge to do it one last time before he calls it a career. The big question, however, is if it’s the right time for it?
The Rock vs. Roman Reigns – A Match Made In Heaven?
The Rock vs. Roman Reigns is a WrestleMania Main Event. The Rock vs. Roman Reigns is THE WrestleMania Main Event. There is no arguing this point.
With almost 400 million followers on Instagram, The Great One is far ahead in terms of popularity and global recognition than the next 9 WWE superstars combined. As John Cena likes to say, The Rock is in a whole other universe of his own.
This is not to say that Roman Reigns is any less. ‘The Big Dog’ already possessed all the tools that he needed to become one of the greatest performers when WWE strapped the rocket to his back in the aftermath of The Shield’s breakup.
Since the start of The Tribal Chief era, however, Reigns has shown that he is also proficient in using all these tools together. The work that Roman has put into his character is something that aspiring wrestlers will be studying for a long time to come, to learn what it truly means to achieve a larger-than-life status.
With everything these two individuals have achieved in their respective careers, the impact of a collision between them will be impossible to replicate. It’s almost impossible to argue why this match shouldn’t Main Event a WrestleMania, but that’s the keyword -almost.
Cody Rhodes – An X Factor
If there is one thing fans have made clear in the aftermath of the events of Friday, it’s that they will not be giving in to this booking decision so easily, if at all.
But why?
There are many who are confused about the reaction of the fans. After all, The Rock vs Roman Reigns IS the bigger match.
It’s the match that will make the most buzz. It’s the match that will make the most headlines. It’s the match that will make the most money.
Cody Rhodes’ story is not about beating Roman Reigns and even then, he can face Roman anytime down the line, but a match like The Rock vs Roman Reigns only happens…. once in a lifetime.
So why fans are insisting that it should happen this year? Well, it’s because WWE told us so.
If you look at the same time last year, people had many different ideas about who should end Roman Reigns’ undefeated streak. From Seth Rollins to Drew McIntyre and from Sami Zayn to Jey Uso, every contender had a group of fans rooting for them and giving good reasons why their chosen name should be the one that gets the glory.
All this changed however on April 3, 2023.
It was the night after Cody Rhodes’ disheartening defeat at the hands of The Head of The Table the day prior. All the scenarios, all the possibilities that fans had envisioned for the end of Roman’s streak had been used up and for the first time in many months, they had no idea what to expect from this unprecedented run next.
This changed when Cody Rhodes showed up on RAW. While he had worked the whole year to get to Mania 39 and then failed, Rhodes proclaimed that he was not giving up the chase. And WWE let him do so.
While the two stars went on a different path from there, the American Nightmare never lost sight of his bigger goal. From that moment on, the stories of these superstars intertwined in a way that finishing the story became the synonym to ending Roman’s streak.
Match after match, promo after promo, and show after show, Cody worked hard to rebuild the momentum he had lost. And every time he poured his heart into this effort, one more fan bought into his story.
From that moment on, to Royal Rumble this past week, there had been nobody else who fans had in sight to end Roman’s undefeated streak and they had been patiently waiting for the time to come, until plans changed.
The Big Mistake
WWE’s big mistake isn’t booking The Rock vs Roman Reigns, it’s shunning Cody Rhodes on the way to it.
For a whole year and even longer than that, people have bought into the story that Cody is the one. That all the complaints about Roman’s reign have been null, that we are being prepared for a story with as epic of an ending as has been its run.
And now they have gone ahead and changed it.
It’s important to understand here that people are NOT against a match between Roman Reigns and The Rock. If anything, I’d love to see this showdown and all that it will bring, just not at the expense of the only full-time talent in this mix.
This moment, THIS MATCH, is the one that belongs to Cody.
It’s not so much about making the biggest WrestleMania headline. It’s much more about the people who bought tickets to a house show in a lesser-known city 5 months ago. Who went there not expecting Roman Reigns, or The Rock. They were there to see Cody Rhodes. Now once again, they want to see Cody Rhodes.
What’s next?
It’s not like WWE doesn’t know what happens when you test people’s patience beyond the limit. From the Yes Moment! to KofiMania, fans have shown that once the line is crossed, they are willing to go to great lengths to make the company realize their mistake.
Yes, The Rock vs Roman Reigns is still the bigger money match, but the new WWE management now has to decide whether they are willing to trade in the trust of their fans for it.
It wasn’t long ago that pictures of half-empty WWE arenas were a common occurrence, and they were willing to try the most ridiculous of ideas to stop the ratings from falling even further next week – all because they had lost the trust of the fans.
Yes, The Rock is the biggest star on the planet, but if the last few years have shown anything it’s that even the Great One is not invisible.
The failure of the relaunched XFL and the debacle that was the attempted takeover of the DC Universe is still fresh in people’s mind, and now the People’s Champion has to decide if he’s willing to trade in his equity with the only fans that will always welcome him back with open arms otherwise.
Conclusion
WWE can still go ahead with their plans, and as fans, we can’t really stop them. But they won’t be able to stop the fans from reacting to it either.
It’s the one situation where they can’t have their cake and eat it too.
If there is one show The Rock should really be thinking about saving, it’s Elimination Chamber and not WrestleMania.
Over 45,000 fans have bought tickets for the event at Optus Stadium and they’re expecting a grand show. With the absence of notable names such as Seth Rollins and CM Punk, WWE desperately needs to come up with a plan to make the event a success and a half-baked conclusion to the Rhodes vs Roman saga ain’t it. An appearance from TKO’s latest board member, however, could be just the thing it needs.
The Rock needs to realize that a WrestleMania Main Event is not just a match, it’s the personification of the passion that fans hold in their heart. It’s not just about winning and losing, it’s about the dedication that people show by tuning in to episodes of Raw and SmackDown week after week.
For everything he has done for the business, The Rock deserves one last adventure, one final send-off and he deserves it without any controversies. It should be an occasion that fans can cherish for a long time, not something that fans remember as an unjust calamity that came at the cost of hard-working talents.
It’s time that talents coming in for a headline realize that they have to respect the people who have held the fort down in their absence. If not they should be ready to face the consequences. I doubt The Rock wants that for his return match after more than a decade. I doubt Ari Emanuel wants that for the first WrestleMania Main Event under his management.
That’s why I say, The Rock can have his WrestleMania main event, just not this year.