New Details Emerge About Original Plans For The Rock At WRESTLEMANIA 40...Including A Major Title Change!

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's return to WWE initially caused controversy, and we now have details about what he originally wanted his WrestleMania main event to look like. Find more details after the jump!

By JoshWilding - May 04, 2024 01:05 PM EST

Filed Under: WWE

Major changes were made to WrestleMania 40 in the build-up to the Show of Shows, with The Rock's attempt to insert himself into the show's main event backfiring horribly when fans turned on the Brahma Bull to back Cody Rhodes.

As a result, The Rock turned heel and a compromise was found. Instead of facing Roman Reigns, the "Final Boss" teamed up with him to battle Rhodes and Seth Rollins on Night 1. Then, on Night 2, the American Nightmare got to finish his story.

In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer shed some light on early plans for the storyline.

"The decision for Rhodes to win the Rumble was to set up a future title match after they would do an injury angle, which would lead to Rock getting the title shot, and Rhodes would get his shot and victory later," he explains. "At one point, there was an idea that Rock would win the title from Reigns and then give up the title to go to Hollywood and end the streak."

Despite relinquishing the title, The Rock would have then declared himself the People's Champion, something we've seen him do regardless (much to the confusion of many fans as the belt has no meaning beyond Muhammad Ali's widow presenting him with it at the WWE Hall of Fame).

Elsewhere in Meltzer's report, it's said many people in the company were against the idea of Reigns losing to The Rock, regaining the title, and then losing it a second time as it would damage the Tribal Chief's credibility too much.

Others, meanwhile, felt it should always have been Rhodes who dethroned Reigns following their WrestleMania 39 clash.

Talking of that match, Meltzer also says that the Head of the Table and his Wiseman, Paul Heyman, were fully on board with Reigns retaining the title last year. In fact, they convinced Vince McMahon and Triple H to go with the then-divisive finish.

The reason for that was, "Because they believed it would be more beneficial in getting people like Jey Uso and Solo Sikoa over as well as many others and make Rhodes a bigger star to hold off the switch for a year."

As noted, the decision raised eyebrows at the time but if Rhodes finishing the story at WrestleMania 40 proved anything, it's that this was the right move. As for The Rock's push for a championship win, we can't help but be concerned about what he has planned for the rest of his run...

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New Details Emerge About Original Plans For The Rock At WRESTLEMANIA 40...Including A Major Title Change!

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's return to WWE initially caused controversy, and we now have details about what he originally wanted his WrestleMania main event to look like. Find more details after the jump!

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