Source: The Xavierite
With World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) ‘WrestleMania’ just two months away, the build-up is now underway. After the events of last Friday’s ‘SmackDown,’ we now know of three championship matches that will take place at the event, one of them being a match fans might not have expected.
After his men’s ‘Royal Rumble match’ win, Cody Rhodes earned the right to choose his opponent at the two-night event of ‘WrestleMania’ taking place on April 6-7.
For Rhodes, the decision meant choosing between two of his biggest rivals since returning to the WWE. He could either go after the World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins or the man who stole his ‘WrestleMania moment’ at last year’s event, Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
Rhodes appeared last Monday on ‘RAW’ to celebrate his win and tease his decision. However, he was interrupted by his former rival, Rollins, who praised him on his win.
Rather than persuade him against choosing him as his opponent though, Rollins proceeded to make his case for being the better choice by stating, “If you choose to fight Roman Reigns at WrestleMania you’re making a mistake. I think you should fight me instead.”
This took both Rhodes and the audience by surprise. The crowd chanted “No!” in disapproval while he was visibly confused by the proposal.
For the better part of a year, a majority of the fanbase was upset with the result of last year’s ‘Mania’ main event in which Rhodes’ moment was stolen when Reigns’ cousin Solo Sikoa got involved in the match, leading to an unjust victory.
Since then, fans held onto hope that Rhodes would get his rematch this year and finally win the WWE Championship, a title his late father Dusty Rhodes could never capture.
All roads seemed to lead to Rhodes “finishing his story” with Reigns at this year’s ‘WrestleMania.’ However, Rollins made the argument that Reigns’ WWE Championship no longer holds the same prestige it once did.
With Reigns working a part-time schedule through most of his reign as champion and being off of weekly television, WWE was forced to introduce a new championship for the ‘RAW’ brand Superstars to compete for. This is what became the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, a title that Rollins has held for over 250 days.
Rollins credited Rhodes for being there throughout his journey to making the championship what it is today, while Reigns would only show up every few weeks, if not months.
He then questioned which championship title he should be pursuing by putting in perspective the difference between them, asking Cody, “Do you want the ‘Hollywood’ title … the one for posers and frauds … for people who politic their way to the top. Or do you want the Dusty Rhodes title?… The workhorse championship … the blue-collar championship.”
Rhodes responded by giving his respect towards Rollins and agreeing to heavily consider the challenge.
It was later confirmed that Rhodes would make his decision on ‘SmackDown’.
Perhaps one thing from Rollins’ argument that reigns true was the statement about stars politicking their way to the top as in a shocking turn of events, Rhodes passed on the rematch at ‘WrestleMania’ and opened the door for the recent addition to the TKO Board of Directors The Rock to take.
Cody stated, “Let me make it abundantly clear, I want that title … I am coming for you Roman Reigns… but not at WrestleMania… I mentioned taking counsel… one of the individuals I talked to, he knows you very well.”
Out came the Rock, who entered the ring and exchanged words with Rhodes before engaging in a staredown with his cousin, Reigns. This seemingly confirmed that Rhodes’ decision was to challenge Rollins, therefore opening the door for Rock to face Reigns at ‘WrestleMania.’
Though this will be a huge match for the company, it can’t be understated how unfair this sudden change in storyline is for Rhodes.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Rock had a hand in shifting the original plans for the match at ‘Mania’: “The Rock pushed super hard for it. The [WrestleMania 40] card changed when CM Punk & Brock Lesnar were out and all the dominoes fell. Dwayne [The Rock] already wanted it and they [WWE] felt they now needed it as well … it was Punk vs Seth and Cody vs Reigns until Punk got hurt.”
It is clear that the Rock vs. Reigns match was a last minute addition to the ‘Mania’ card, and it’s no surprise that the WWE fanbase is not happy. The full video of their face-off received over 300k dislikes in under 15 hours.
In many ways, the shift in plans feels like a slap in the face not only to the fans, but Rhodes as well. After building up a two-year long storyline in which Rhodes overcame many obstacles with the motivation of honoring his father’s legacy, the WWE suddenly decides to put it on hold with only two months until their biggest event in order to please Rock’s wishes.
This move could ultimately have a negative effect on the roster’s morale, as it shows that despite what you’ve achieved throughout the year, your opportunities could be taken by a legend/part-timer at any moment. Even if you’re one of the faces of the company as Rhodes has been for over a year.
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