Well, what does everyone want to talk about?
If you watched the Day 1 edition of Monday Night Raw on New Year’s Day, you’re probably chatting amongst your wrestling buds about The Rock’s surprise appearance.
And while the segment became oddly patriotic to the point that it felt like The Rock was imminently going to announce his candidacy for president, it ended with a bang.
OH. MY. GOD.@TheRock just delivered an absolute mic drop on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/TKMfwDiHa5
— WWE (@WWE) January 2, 2024
You heard that right, The Rock wants to sit at the head of the table. Not just any table, Roman Reigns’ table.
In reality, The Rock has been the head of the Anoa’i family table for quite some time, but within WWE, Reigns is the unquestioned chief of that particular tribe.
But with one clever line, it all but cemented the fact that we are eventually going to get The Rock against Reigns at some point in the future. What still remains to be seen is when this long-awaited dream match will actually take place.
The obvious answer would seem to be WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia. What better way to celebrate the 40th edition of the industry’s premiere event than with your dominant champion going up against his relative, who just so happens to be an A-list celebrity?
However, there is one massive obstacle in the way of that. Its name is Cody Rhodes. More specifically, it’s his story. That’s because by the time WrestleMania 40 rolls around, it’ll be two years of fans investing their time and money into wanting to see Rhodes finally close the book on this story and win the WWE title.
They’re yearning for that to finally happen at WrestleMania.
But while WrestleMania is the obvious destination for a Rock-Reigns match, there is no hard and fast rule dictating that it necessarily has to happen then. The match could, in theory, happen some other time. Could it happen at the Elimination Chamber? What about later in the year? Is Reigns’ title even a necessary part of this equation?
If you believe the answer to that question is no, then that could leave the door open for Rhodes to still defeat Reigns before the latter even faces The Rock.
Whatever WWE does, it has to finesse this situation in a way where everyone benefits. Even if The Rock and Roman Reigns are set to face each other at WrestleMania, their match cannot come at the expense of Rhodes.
Rhodes has been one of the promotion’s top babyfaces for more than a year, which puts him at the forefront of WWE’s surge in business during that time alongside Reigns, Seth Rollins and others. For Rhodes to be completely pushed to the side would be a disservice to the work he has put in — not to mention it runs the risk of alienating the fans who have been investing in this story for two years.
With that said, there is also no reason Rhodes has to finish his story at WrestleMania. That could also happen later in 2024.
At the end of the day, this is a win-win situation for WWE in regards to WrestleMania. Behind door number one is the biggest name in Hollywood. Behind door number two is the best babyface the company has produced in years. Either one you choose, you’re probably going to break records.
On Monday night, the rich only got richer.