Cody Rhodes’ second Royal Rumble win in a row has left WWE in an intriguing state of affairs heading towards WrestleMania – though the post-show press conference was arguably even more interesting.
Rhodes was viewed as one of the top contenders to win, though behind the recently-returned CM Punk in betting markets, with Intercontinental Champion Gunther also in the mix. But the giant shadow of The Rock hung over both the match and the result.
After making an appearance on Monday Night Raw earlier this month where he mentioned being ‘the head of the table’, it appeared clear the legend was finally ready to face long-time world champion Roman Reigns – a match effectively built towards for years through the entire Bloodline story.
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The Rock again mentioned facing Reigns, specifically at WrestleMania (rather than the Perth Elimination Chamber show next month, or a megabucks Saudi Arabia show), while speaking on ESPN last week to pump up him joining the TKO board of directors.
But, amid speculation he would return at the Royal Rumble and win his way into a main event against Reigns, The Rock simply didn’t appear. The No.30 spot, often used for surprise returns, was filled by the popular Sami Zayn (avoiding a repeat of 2014, when Rey Mysterio was booed heavily for appearing when the fans wanted Daniel Bryan), and Rhodes eliminated Punk to win the match.
Rhodes then made it clear he will challenge Reigns, rather than Seth Rollins – holder of the secondary World Heavyweight Championship, created to ensure a world title can be defended while Reigns’ marathon reign continues – at the end of the show.
Again, Rhodes was a major contender to win, but it’s still somewhat of a surprise result given the questions it leaves us with: will The Rock actually appear at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia? And, in storyline, how will he earn a shot at Reigns?
The latter is simple enough – wrestlers challenge each other all the time, so he doesn’t have to win a match to become No.1 contender or anything like that, even if it’s a bit questionable when you’re talking about the world title – but there are two options for the former.
The first is that he simply doesn’t appear, despite the build-up. Veteran journalist Dave Meltzer reported in his most recent Wrestling Observer Newsletter the Rock “has not officially signed a deal to wrestle for the company but the key word said about that is ‘yet’.”
“It is known that he is willing and said to be wanting to do a match with Roman Reigns and is strong on doing it at WrestleMania, but that is not locked in as of this week,” he added.
It would be more strange if the match didn’t happen this year, given the numerous hints dropped on various shows, and so the other option would involve Reigns taking advantage of the two-night WrestleMania format.
He could wrestle The Rock on one night, perhaps for the title of ‘Head of the Table’ rather than the actual world title, and face Rhodes on the other.
And which match would feature on night one, and which would feature on night two – and thus be the true main event – is up for debate. Given Reigns’ story has been about trying to gain respect and acknowledgment via the world title, he could lose it to Rhodes on night one, and then be left bare as he fights purely for his reputation against the relative best-placed to take it from him.
But that would likely leave Reigns needing to beat The Rock (since Rock is a part-timer and doesn’t need the credit of beating Reigns), and thus end WrestleMania celebrating without the title, which would be a bit weird. So they could do Rock-Reigns on night one, either for the title (and Reigns obviously wins) or non-title (presumably Reigns still wins for the reason mentioned before), and then Rhodes beats Reigns on night two.
A three-way match, which some fans would suggest, would just be an awkward way to blend both stories and weaken them at the same time, so hopefully WWE does not go down that route.
The other major story at the Rumble event was how WWE and head honcho Triple H responded to the horrific allegations made against Vince McMahon in a lawsuit by a former employee, which saw McMahon resign from the company while denying the claims.
Triple H, along with Rhodes and Women’s Royal Rumble winner Bayley, fronted the media with all eyes on whether they would be asked about the situation given it is alleged many of those inside the company knew about McMahon’s behaviour.
Rhodes was asked for his reaction by independent journalist Nick Hausman, and what changes he would like to see made as a former wrestling company executive (as one of the founders of AEW), with Rhodes saying he found out when the lawsuit became public, and that the company took the news seriously and acted immediately.
Triple H, as expected, did not answer questions about the topic despite being asked by TV and podcast host Jon Alba, The Ringer’s CeeHawk and Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston about topics including why Triple H previously opposed McMahon returning to the company, and what he knew about the allegations given the board of directors’ previous investigation.
Triple H claimed he had not read the lawsuit and wanted to “focus on the positives”.
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