“Bugged the sh*t out of me,” The Rock reveals it was his idea to pivot to Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL

Cody Rhodes 'handed' his WrestleMania opportunity to The Rock, which led to heavy fan backlash.

“Bugged the sh*t out of me,” The Rock reveals it was his idea to pivot to Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL

The Rock, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns (via WWE)

The much-anticipated “WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtain” documentary finally aired on WWE’s YouTube channel. In addition to behind-the-scenes footage, the main event participants explain how the road to WrestleMania played out. During one of the sit-down interviews, The Rock disclosed how he felt about the fan backlash after he “took” Cody Rhodes‘ spot.

Initially, The Brahma Bull felt that they could power through and put on the dream match against his cousin, Roman Reigns. According to him, the marketing of the bout would’ve appealed to the majority of fans, despite the overwhelming support for Rhodes. However, the wrestler-turned-actor admitted to being annoyed by the fan reaction. Therefore, he decided to pivot back to the planned Reigns vs. Rhodes match.

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The Rock also pitched the new direction of turning heel and joining forces with The Bloodline. Nonetheless, things turned out for the best. Rocky’s ‘Final Boss’ persona led to one of the most entertaining weekly television shows in WWE. Meanwhile, the tag team match on Night 1 of WrestleMania built to the interference-filled Night 2 main event. After winning the Royal Rumble, Cody Rhodes found out about the planned Rock-Reigns bout.

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I don’t like that they’re upset and it really bugged the sh*t out of me. It’s not how I’ve operated my entire career. I don’t like it. I knew that the choice essentially was mine. I believe we should go Roman/Cody, will Cody finish his story?
The Rock on pivoting to Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes

As such, The American Nightmare handed his opportunity to The People’s Champion on the SmackDown episode that followed. Although the live crowd went ballistic for Rock’s face-off with Roman Reigns, online criticism and, later, audiences at shows, showed support for Rhodes. And so began the journey to one of the greatest moments in WrestleMania history.

The Rock’s dream match against Roman Reigns unlikely to take place at WrestleMania 41

Following the successful WrestleMania XL, The Rock confirmed that he would be returning for next year’s spectacle. Although many fans believed that he would finally face Roman Reigns, rumors suggest otherwise. Over the past few months, it has been suggested that The Great One has expressed interest in facing Cody Rhodes instead.

Roman Reigns and The Rock
Roman Reigns and The Rock [via- WWE]

On the Raw after WrestleMania, Rock told the new Undisputed Champion that he wasn’t finished with him. After handing him an undisclosed object, The Final Boss sailed off to Hollywood. Meanwhile, Rhodes has continued his reign, successfully defending the title against AJ Styles and Logan Paul so far.

As for Reigns, he has been absent from television since losing at WrestleMania. However, the ongoing drama within The Bloodline indicates that he isn’t far from returning. With that said, it will be interesting to see what’s in store for next year’s WrestleMania.

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