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There was a brief period when it looked like The Rock had inserted himself into the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship picture at WWE WrestleMania 40. Some believe the negative fan reaction forced WWE to pivot back to Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns, but The Rock's longtime creative collaborator Brian Gewirtz has dismissed those rumors.
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"After Royal Rumble, there was this narrative that Rock has vowed he's going to 'save WrestleMania.' Those words never escaped his mouth," Gewirtz said on "Busted Open Radio." "He loves the business... Fans are gonna react to what they see, what they infer. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're not. But I don't think the idea of people booing him bothered him as much as the narrative of, like, yeah, he got on the board [of TKO] and he just decided he's going to main event WrestleMania, when it was obviously well thought out well before then."
During The Rock's most recent WWE run, he adopted a new twist on his cocky persona, in which he started referring to himself as the "Final Boss." Gewirtz said this particular embodiment of his collaborator's character might be his favorite yet.
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"I think the 'Final Boss' character is, of all the incarnations of The Rock — from People's Champ, to Corporate Rock, obviously Rocky Maivia... I think 'Final Boss' is the most fun he's had in a WWE ring," Gewirtz said.
On the post-WrestleMania 40 episode "WWE Raw," The Rock left the door open to a future matchup with Cody Rhodes, when he promised to return for "The American Nightmare." Rock then placed an unidentifiable object in Rhodes' hand to create more suspense and intrigue for their storyline.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
