Cody Rhodes may not get to finish his story with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, but the American Nightmare will still be on the show. After winning the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble match, he punched his ticket to Mania already, and now we know his match.
WWE’s Plan for Cody Rhodes
The Rock’s shocking return to WWE television meant that Cody is not facing Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. Although Dwayne Johnson’s return to the picture shuffled the Mania card, Rhodes will still get a title match.
According to PW Insider, Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins will throw down at WrestleMania. The two already have a lot of history with each other, as Rollins was Rhodes’ first feud out of the gate upon his return two years ago, and now they have more story to write.
As far as the future for Cody, the current plan is for him to face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40, a direction change that a lot of readers we’ve heard from resent given that he’s been pushing to “finish his story” all year, that finishing that story was in reach after a Royal Rumble win and that even the WWE 2K24 video game (which Cody is on the cover for) is themed in part around fans “finishing” their own story.
Public Response To Cody Losing Mania Spot To The Rock
Fans expressed discontent with the recent booking choice, particularly the decision to have Cody Rhodes lose his WrestleMania spot to The Rock. This dissatisfaction manifested in a surge of dislikes on WWE’s YouTube video and ongoing discussions throughout the night regarding the significant segment.
Compounding the situation, supporters initiated the ‘Justice for Cody’ campaign to amplify their stance. In a recent WWE live stream video titled “Best of Cody Rhodes full matches marathon,” they flooded the comments section, rallying behind the American Nightmare.
WrestleMania Shake-Up
The WrestleMania card was already getting a shake-up. Brock Lesnar was pulled from creative due to his association with the damning allegations in Janel Grant’s lawsuit against Vince McMahon, WWE and John Laurinaitis. CM Punk was also pulled from the show of shows due to a triceps injury.
Since Lesnar and Punk were off the show, where they were set to face GUNTHER and Seth Rollins respectively, WWE brought The Rock in for that match against Roman Reigns that fans have talked about for years.