9 months ago
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WWE
For all it would seem, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has leapfrogged back-to-back Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes to challenge for Roman Reigns' Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40 in April. Recent reports have emerged to suggest that the match was actively pushed for by Johnson himself, and Fightful Select has now further noted he has taken his campaign one step further, as some have claimed he has pushed to win the title bout in Philadelphia, thus ending Reigns' historic run after nearly four years.
Irrespective of the result, multiple sources reportedly communicated that the move was viewed as political amidst WWE parent company TKO's belief it will result in a greater immediate return than what could have been drawn through Rhodes vs. Reigns II. Sources within TKO were said to have sworn that the move was not out of malice to Rhodes and he is still valued as a talent, but there is a belief that those involved with the decision-making underestimated the lack of patience from the audience towards the situation.
Rhodes will at least challenge for a world title, penciled in as the challenger to Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship. But the latest development marks a sharp departure from the closing shot of the Royal Rumble in January, as having won the Rumble match Rhodes made it abundantly clear whom he planned to face. It's been noted that the creative shift is a result of notable omissions from WrestleMania, CM Punk and Brock Lesnar, with the former suffering torn triceps during the Royal Rumble and the latter dropped from plans for his alleged involvement in the Vince McMahon sex trafficking scandal. Punk was reportedly slated to challenge Seth Rollins, while Lesnar has been tied to a potential dream match against GUNTHER.
