The whole wrestling world continues to discuss whether sliding Cody Rhodes out of his WrestleMania rematch with Roman Reigns to allow for a dream match between Reigns and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was the right call.
It’s an intriguing debate with solid arguments on both sides, but a new point to consider has been thrown into the discourse thanks to Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer: What if WWE was contractually obligated to make Rock vs. Roman happen?
On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer suggested that the matchup that looks like it will be finalized at WWE’s WrestleMania 40 Kickoff press event this week was part of Johnson’s agreement to join the TKO board of directors, which was announced on Jan. 23.
When (Rock) made the deal on January 3 to come in (facing Roman at WrestleMania) was part of the deal. Why Cody Rhodes won the Royal Rumble is a question that I cannot answer because nobody will answer it for me.
If true, that raises several questions beyond why WWE would go through with having Rhodes win the Rumble match. Most notably, does it mean that not even Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the company’s head of creative, knew Rock was obligated to be part of WrestleMania 40?
According to Meltzer, that’s possible, as he named only WWE president Nick Khan and TKO CEO Ari Emanuel as people who absolutely knew about this type of stipulation.
That might be a bit of solace to fans who are blaming Levesque for the sudden change away from a narrative that’s been carefully built up for more than a year. Even if Triple H wanted to have Rhodes finish his story in Philadelphia, he might not have been able to do so.
There’s also a chance that WWE still has a swerve or two in mind between this week’s shows and the Kickoff press event this Thursday. For now, anyway, it appears Rock vs. Roman is the play, and it might have been sealed as soon as Johnson signed to join the TKO board.
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