The Rock Returned To WWE And Called Out Roman Reigns To Set Up A Possible Dream Match
Somebody plz check on Cody Rhodes.
WWE held their now-annual New Years 'Day 1' edition of Monday Night RAW last night, where a "former WWE Champion" was teased to be making a return to the company - and the crowd in San Diego got just that and then some.
About an hour into the show, former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal's music hit - and the Maharaja made his grand entrance to the ring….
I don't think anybody was legitimately happy about this but Carrabis….
If you listened to From The Top Rope back in the day, you may remember that Jared was Jinder's #1 supporter during his title reign - bar none. I still don't know what he saw sees in Jinder - but he was stoked.
ANYWAY, knowing Jinder couldn't be the real mystery return, I started to think about what the swerve here could be - but before I could even come up with a few guesses, I heard: "IF YA SMELLLLLLLL…."
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That's right - The Rock was the REAL former WWE Champion who made his return to Monday Night RAW last night, and he made quick work of Jinder on the mic before hitting him with a People's Elbow….
….and then The Rock said he was going out to eat - and used a very interesting set of words to ask the crowd where he should sit.
He asked first if he should sit at a booth, which was met with some confusion. Then, The Rock asked if he should sit at the bar, which was met with some cheers. Finally, though, The Rock asked if he should sit "at the head of the table" - obviously taking a shot at his cousin, WWE Champion Roman Reigns - and the crowd went wild.
The Rock and Roman Reigns were HEAVILY rumored to have their dream match at WrestleMania 39 in Hollywood last year - and The Rock even confirmed it was supposed to happen and "locked in" on Gameday this past September….
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….but they couldn’t work it out for some reason, and Cody Rhodes wound up being the guy to win the Royal Rumble and face Roman at WrestleMania.
They had a great program, fans loved it, and Cody winning the championship/ending Roman's reign seemed like the perfect story.
When Cody lost in that main event, though, shocking the entire wrestling world (and going against what truly seemed like a sure thing - a layup to satisfy the entire fanbase), it felt like a rematch for WrestleMania 40 was set in stone. It'd give them another full year to show Cody's struggle/climb to the top, The Bloodline's demise, and Roman's downfall….and it'd all culminate in a rematch at the biggest WrestleMania in history - in Philadelphia (a city near and dear to Cody Rhodes' heart).
In fact, I think the last time a match seemed this "locked in" from this far out was John Cena vs The Rock II over ten years ago - but could all of that be changing on a dime here?
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The Rock calling out Roman Reigns right before WrestleMania season begins is VERY interesting, and obviously VERY pointed. The Rock has been careful to mention, or even talk about his cousin Roman over the years - but not last night. He went right out there and teased a battle against the Tribal Chief of his family right away, and even got a response….
One wrinkle to this story that I find particularly interesting is the fact that the Elimination Chamber PPV is in Australia this year, and the tourism board there has allegedly been pushing for The Rock to appear on the show for a while now….
I don't think you can do the first Rock vs Roman Reigns match at Elimination Chamber the month before WrestleMania, though.
That's a match made for a Mania main event, and doing it a few weeks prior will likely make whatever Roman's real WrestleMania match feel lesser-than. Even if you followed it up with a rematch - it'd just be a rematch. Not the "first time encounter" you'd want.
And what happens to Cody Rhodes in the event they really do go forward with this feud on the Road to WrestleMania? Does he join the eventual Seth Rollins/CM Punk program and make that a triple threat? I guess he could win the new title to "finish his story"? Maybe?
Every day that has passed since WrestleMania has made the decision to have Roman Reigns beat Cody Rhdoes look worse and worse. Roman has had maaaaaybe 4 matches since - legitimately none of them requiring the championship, and he has become a complete afterthought in the company when he's not there. In fact, they introduced a whole new world championship just so Reigns could never be around.
Cody Rhodes, however, is headlining nearly every PPV/Monday Night RAW/house show in the country and feels like he's just in limbo between WrestleManias. His feuds since Mania (like the Brock Lesnar one) could've really used the championship, and elevated it.
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I mean, c'mon - you're telling me The Rock vs Roman Reigns has to be for the title for you to care? I'd argue the championship being involved gives it a much more predictable outcome, and it NEVER should've been in the picture for this!
We could've seen Cody Rhodes vs CM Punk for the WWE Championship and The Rock vs Roman Reigns for the Head of the Table in the main events of WrestleMania this year!
Oh well, though. They made the wrong call at WrestleMania 39 and they've been paying for it creatively ever since. Hopefully they don't make the same mistake this year.
I love Roman Reigns - but it's time for this championship run to end, and Cody Rhodes should be the guy to end it at WrestleMania 40.