Did they work us or did they pivot?

[ChitownKnight]

I know the Rock was an egomaniac during Black Adam, but he always did say he wanted to do the long game for his match with Roman, and he had to have known that the fans wanted Cody to finish his story.

[Mozenrath]

I think that, whether or not the intention was ever to run Rock vs Roman as the main event, some level of pivoting occurred due to the reaction, which WWE then tried to capitalize on.

[Nosnorb]

Pivoted. The graphics used during the Press Conferance and the line "Just not at Wrestlemania" strongly suggest that the plan was Rock vs Reigns, but that going down like a popcorn fart in a lift meant there was a change in plans.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

Pivot.

I really think they underestimated just how much people were invested in Rhodes specifically beating Reigns for specifically the WWE Championship, and not just Rhodes winning any world championship off of anyone. And equally overestimated how much people would like Rock for sheer shock factor of the big match actually happening to compensate for that happening at Rhodes’s expense.

[ayumidah]

oh that was 100% a pivot.

[Fade]

I don’t know how anyone could think the whole thing was a work.

[ChitownKnight]

Feb 13, 2024 2:15:01 GMT -5 Fade said:

I don’t know how anyone could think the whole thing was a work.

The way they handled Cody giving Rock the mania main event was so bafflingly dumb that I halfway think it is lmao

[Perd]

I think it all happened too quickly to be a work.

[Mainia]

It's not even in question. Pivot.

[crashmatsbazz]

it wasn't a pivot, more like a 4 or 5 point turn.

[Lizuka #BLM]

If nothing else if it was a work they definitely would have milked it longer. Even if they expected some discontentment there's no way they expected the blowback to be as immediate and extreme as it was.

[UN PLOMBIER NIGHTMARE #blm]

You ever see that guy who takes an hour to parallel park and then says he is a great safe driver?

[Ryushinku]

Unless and until I hear more - and I don't reckon anything properly solid will be known for years - I'm on the side of pivot here.

If Vince was still in charge, we'd probably still be set for Reigns-Rock, I think.

[BorneAgain]

The idea of them thinking that Cody would great sympathy from the crowd, but that Rock would not get heat from the audience by having the latter face Reigns is so utterly on brand for the company's short-sighted thinking that it would be more surprising that that wasn't the case.

It's a pivot that they've handled well, but a pivot, nonetheless.

[yokohamacpfc]

There is no explanation yet for "but not at Wrestlemania" which means they pivoted, a work and they would have had an out for that prepared, expect those fateful four words to be completely retconned and never brought up again (maybe in several years when Cody is heel they might find the tape for his foe to embarrass him with).

[fg]

Feb 13, 2024 6:30:36 GMT -5 Ryushinku said:

Unless and until I hear more - and I don't reckon anything properly solid will be known for years - I'm on the side of pivot here.

If Vince was still in charge, we'd probably still be set for Reigns-Rock, I think.

You bet we would.

Vince wouldn’t go all Ross Gellar and yell: “PIVOT! PIVOT! PIVOT!”

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

It's a pivot and it's hilarious they think we'd believe it was anything else.

[willywonka666]

Pivot. I'm assuming the backlash will be even worse if Cody doesn't win, perhaps the Rock will pivot ala Mike Tyson at WM 14

[Mayonnaise]

Both. I think the plan all along was to do something that got to Rock/Roman later this year or next with Cody/Roman still on top but they didn't expect Rock to catch this amount of heat so they pivoted to turn him heel now and get back on track after WM.

Like they'd have Solo destroy Rock so Cody gets his match and we'd get say, Solo/Jimmy vs. Rock/Jey at WM that takes Solo and Jimmy out of the equation for the main.

[Ben Wyatt]