Fade
Patti Mayonnaise
Posts: 38,629
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Post by Fade on Feb 3, 2024 14:05:09 GMT -5
It's now smashed the record for dislikes and has by far the worst down vote ratio in WWE's YouTube history  Ahahahahahahahaha 😂 This dude was like “the DCCU isn’t enough: i must destroy the WWE universe” PIVOT! |
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Post by Lizuka #BLM on Feb 3, 2024 14:05:10 GMT -5
"Everyone who spends too long around this guy comes to f***ing hate him but he's not a bad guy."
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Gus Richlen: Ruffian
Patti Mayonnaise
Metal Maestro: Co-winner of the FAN Idol Throwdown!
BAU BAU
Posts: 39,280 
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Post by Gus Richlen: Ruffian on Feb 3, 2024 14:05:58 GMT -5
{Spoiler}{Spoiler}In one of the most controversial moves in wrestling booking history, The Rock is poised to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 instead of Cody Rhodes.
We will preface this story by stating that nothing has been officially announced, and as always in pro wrestling, plans can change – just as they did over the last week. There are many in the company that are cautiously optimistic that if the reaction that WWE received Friday night
As of now, the plan for WrestleMania is The Rock vs. Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins. Sources in creative confirmed that as of recently, the working plan was Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns, and CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins. Punk’s title shot was to be set up at the WWE Elimination Chamber PLE. Brock Lesnar vs. Dominik Mysterio at Elimination Chamber and Lesnar vs. Gunther from WrestleMania were also canceled from creative plans, as Lesnar and Punk were eliminated from creative moving forward.
While Cody Rhodes professed loudly at Royal Rumble that he was coming after Roman Reigns, there were some in the company that claimed that they heard as of that afternoon that The Rock had agreed to face Reigns. We’ve also heard that there was Rock “Head of the Table” WrestleMania themed merchandise prototypes within the company by that weekend.
Nobody we spoke to could make the order of operations make sense, but many were hopeful that WWE and TKO would see the reaction and pivot. You can see many of the reactions we’ve garnered below.
Those that we’ve spoken to said that The Rock had not only pushed to work the match, some thought he was even pushing to win the match. Regardless of what the finish will be, multiple sources said that they viewed this as a political move that TKO believes will result in more immediate money than what would have been with Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns. Sources within TKO swore this wasn’t done out of malice to Rhodes, and value him as a talent, but believe that those involved with the decision making underestimated how the patience of the audience has worn thin on the situation.
There have been some creative shakeups within WWE of late, and sources on the creative team expect Rock’s longtime business partner and friend, and former WWE creative member Brian Gewritz to factor in heavily to the Rock’s creative plans moving forward. He’s expected to be around from time physically, as well. Fightful reached out to Gewirtz about his role, but were not immediately able to get comment unless it was an interview approved by WWE. TKO sources did say they valued Gewirtz’s skill set and that they could see him in a key WWE role creatively if the right situation aligned between all parties.
Regarding the timeline of events, we’re told that Cody at least was informed as of Friday that this was the decision, and he didn’t travel to Smackdown without knowing. Talent, including The Rock, had all been booked for the February 8 press conference in Las Vegas by that time, though The Rock’s involvement wasn’t clear.
Naturally, Fightful asked if this move was done in order to take attention or publicity away from the WWE, Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis scandal and lawsuits that were going on. Sources in the know claimed that The Rock was actually pushing for this before, but admitted that it couldn’t have hurt the process to get any mainstream publicity that was not associated with the scandals.
It’s work noting that The Rock and Ari Emanuel have had a long standing relationship, and The Rock is the biggest star tied to the Endeavor brand. Fightful had heard as of three weeks ago there was a talent element being pitched for his role with TKO, as both sides wanted to maximize the huge deal they made around the board position, licensing fees, and rights of “The Rock” name.
For those wondering, the early word is that The Rock will attempt to work a full-length match, but there’s no word on if he’d be open to continuing to wrestle. There were some concerns about him working a WrestleMania main event-length match after his recent appearances.
All parties involved will be at the Las Vegas media presser Thursday. Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp and Instinct Culture's Denise Salcedo will be on the scene.
Reactions Within WWE
For the sake of transparency, Fightful reached out to over three dozen contacts within WWE across all departments. None that got back to us even played devil’s advocate for the decision to run The Rock vs. Roman Reigns, and the decision was universally panned from those we spoke with.
“I’ve known Dwayne a long time,” one wrestler told Fightful. “Not only did the look on Cody’s face tell a story, the look on Dwayne’s told a story. I think in that moment he knew that this decision wasn’t going to work out quite the way that he imagined it. He was experiencing the same thing that he and Roman experienced in Philadelphia. He was being co-signed for something the vast majority didn’t want.”
Everyone that we heard back from understood the business implications of running the match, but believed it wasn’t a good decision for long-term WWE business.
“The Rock vs. Roman made sense several years ago when we were running back Roman and Lesnar repeatedly. It could have made sense this year had Cody won the title last year. This is one of the few years it just doesn’t make sense in any capacity,” one former world champion told Fightful.
A source in creative said that many on the team were deflated, and it felt like a decision they’d hear about being made under the previous regime at the expense of helping cultivate new crossover talent.
Another source that had worked with the Rock was much more stern, saying “The Rock eroded his trust with the comic and superhero community, with the film community, maybe with the football community, and might do it with the one he has almost universal goodwill with. He’s not a bad guy, don’t mistake that or get me wrong – he’s a great guy. However, bad timing and overexposure and fatigue will make fools of us all. You have to know when to take a back seat.”
PWInsider was told that the move was not done to politic Cody out of his main event with malice, and one top talent sent Fightful a screenshot and said “I truly believe that The Rock wasn’t being malicious. Not being malicious with intent and actions not having malicious repercussions aren’t exclusive.”
Another longtime member of the creative team said “there have been numerous meetings, pitches, attempts to get The Rock in on this match, or really any match, for years and it never happened. One year the excuse was that the story didn’t make sense. Not only does it make less sense than ever right now, it’s undermining one of the biggest stories we’ve ever told and turning off a lot of our fans.”
“The Rock’s family passed the McMahon family in the past week as far as power dynamic in pro wrestling, and it’s probably not going to change any time soon,” said one person who has worked with all parties involved numerous times. - Fightful Spoiler for sheer size. My bad lol The fact that there's a major level of disapproval in the company itself on so many levels says a lot. |
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DichEvans
Samurai Cop
Lenny Lazy Lane Stinks
Posts: 2,245
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Post by DichEvans on Feb 3, 2024 14:06:19 GMT -5
Interesting that Rock has been radio silent on social media so far. Typically by this point with his previous comebacks, there would already be a: "Last night was electric... MANA GRATITUDE LOVE" post on Instagram. Also something about him having only seven bucks in his pocket when he met baby Roman. That $7 story is not even accurate. JR gave him a 6-figure contract like a month after he finished with football. He got the 2nd biggest contract in WWE history (at the time) for a guy who had never worked a match (Mark Henry got more) |
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Fade
Patti Mayonnaise
Posts: 38,629
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Post by Fade on Feb 3, 2024 14:06:32 GMT -5
Here's the remaining Raw/Smackdown TV up until Wrestlemania 40, just incase you were curious about the crowds: Feb 5, 2024 WWE: Raw, Enterprise Center, MO Feb 9, 2024 WWE: Smackdown, Spectrum Center, NC Feb 12, 2024 WWE: Raw, Rupp Arena At Central Bank Center, KY Feb 16, 2024 WWE: Smackdown, Delta Center, UT Feb 19, 2024 WWE: Raw, Honda Center, CA Feb 26, 2024 WWE: Raw, SAP Center, CA Mar 1, 2024 WWE: Smackdown, Desert Diamond Arena, AZ Mar 4, 2024 WWE: Raw, Frost Bank Center, TX Mar 8, 2024 WWE: Smackdown, American Airlines Center, TX Mar 11, 2024 WWE: Raw, Toyota Center - TX, TX Mar 15, 2024 WWE: Smackdown, FedExForum, TN Mar 18, 2024 WWE: Raw, PNC Arena, NC Mar 22, 2024 WWE: Smackdown, Fiserv Forum, WI Mar 25, 2024 WWE: Monday Night RAW, Allstate Arena, IL Mar 29, 2024 WWE: Smackdown, Mohegan Sun Arena - CT, CT Apr 1, 2024 WWE: Raw, Barclays Center, NY Apr 5, 2024 WWE: Smackdown, Wells Fargo Center - PA, PA Which crowds are most likely to hijack/backlash this Cody storyline? Any bets? The reality is the casual markets will still just cheer for Rock, because they just want to see the biggest stars possible. The Northeast and LA crowds would be the hypothetical ones to dump on the situation I might go February 19th. Me and Pharaoh gonna jump the barricade. |
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lucas_lee
Hank Scorpio
Heel turn is finished, now stripping away my personality
Posts: 7,042
Member is Online
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Post by lucas_lee on Feb 3, 2024 14:07:06 GMT -5
Well it's uniting people somewhat that weren't sold on Cody. I guess there's a plus to this
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Post by ThankGodForSidJustice on Feb 3, 2024 14:10:14 GMT -5
I've learned to just always expect the worst when it comes to this company. Over three years of crap for the payoff being Roman to lose to a 52 year old guy while Cody fights Rollins in a match we've already seen four times. Yep this may be the first year I don't watch Wrestlemania.
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Post by xxshoyuweeniexx on Feb 3, 2024 14:13:26 GMT -5
"Everyone who spends too long around this guy comes to f***ing hate him but he's not a bad guy." Honestly I hesitate to say he’s an awful person who does things with bad or evil intentions. But I genuinely think that he thinks he’s the most beloved person on the planet and that his popularity is bigger than anyone’s. He thinks he and his brand alone is some magic cure all band aid for any problem. It’s like he has zero self awareness about how tone deaf he can be. |
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The Kevstaaa
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Heck of a wrestler, great technician, and a jam up guy
Posts: 18,564
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Feb 3, 2024 14:15:38 GMT -5
We Want Cody is currently trending on Twitter.
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Post by Jindrak Mark on Feb 3, 2024 14:15:41 GMT -5
The top trend on Twitter is "WE WANT CODY" This could be a WM 30 situation all over again. Only difference really is that they're not risking buys over it. My only question is whether Dwayne's ego can be convinced to let the audible happen this time too. I hope it does. Could his ego handle the match going ahead and the crowd booing the hell out of him because most of the tickets were already sold on the back of most people wanting Cody/Roman? Maybe this is an urban legend but if it's true that he has a "I don't lose any fight scenes" clause written into his movies and he's so desperate to be the big hero all the time these days then he's not going to want people booing him. He got a great reaction last night due to the surprise factor but I honestly think crowds in the coming 2 months and especially the Mania crowd itself have a very large chance of turning on him and drowning stuff out with Cody chants. Maybe I'm being naive. There are definitely times when the IWC is in uproar over stuff and it's not in line with real world fans in buildings but in this case I'd be shocked if at least some crowds in coming weeks don't react negatively to this unless there's some other twist coming. |
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Post by JTG on Feb 3, 2024 14:17:02 GMT -5
I don't wish any harm to Rock whatsoever, but how ironic would it be if he blew a quad like three minutes after the beginning of his main-event ?
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Fade
Patti Mayonnaise
Posts: 38,629
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Post by Fade on Feb 3, 2024 14:17:40 GMT -5
Only difference really is that they're not risking buys over it. My only question is whether Dwayne's ego can be convinced to let the audible happen this time too. I hope it does. Could his ego handle the match going ahead and the crowd booing the hell out of him because most of the tickets were already sold on the back of most people wanting Cody/Roman? Maybe this is an urban legend but if it's true that he has a "I don't lose any fight scenes" clause written into his movies and he's so desperate to be the big hero all the time these days then he's not going to want people booing him. He got a great reaction last night due to the surprise factor but I honestly think crowds in the coming 2 months and especially the Mania crowd itself have a very large chance of turning on him and drowning stuff out with Cody chants. Maybe I'm being naive. There are definitely times when the IWC is in uproar over stuff and it's not in line with real world fans in buildings but in this case I'd be shocked if at least some crowds in coming weeks don't react negatively to this unless there's some other twist coming. Enjoying WWE for the schadenfreude is back on the table, boys |
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Post by Instant Classic on Feb 3, 2024 14:20:46 GMT -5
Will we really get another triple threat at the start of a new decade of manias?
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Post by The Rick Jericho on Feb 3, 2024 14:21:27 GMT -5
Will we really get another triple threat at the start of a new decade of manias? Drew/Cody/Seth is more likely. |
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Gus Richlen: Ruffian
Patti Mayonnaise
Metal Maestro: Co-winner of the FAN Idol Throwdown!
BAU BAU
Posts: 39,280
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Post by Gus Richlen: Ruffian on Feb 3, 2024 14:21:44 GMT -5
Will we really get another triple threat at the start of a new decade of manias? Seems to be a tradition? |
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Post by Lizuka #BLM on Feb 3, 2024 14:22:14 GMT -5
Will we really get another triple threat at the start of a new decade of manias? I'm actually starting to suspect we will... in that it'll be Rhea / Becky / Bianca. |
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Post by JTG on Feb 3, 2024 14:24:26 GMT -5
The only way to salvage this now is having The Rock asking for Cody Rhodes to come with him at next SmackDown, and tell him that he indeed will face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania... but at night one, and that The Rock personally worked with Nick Aldis that if Cody wants to challenge the winner of Roman vs Rock on the main event of night 2, he can.
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Post by hitman777 on Feb 3, 2024 14:24:42 GMT -5
If the roster are as annoyed about this as is reported, perhaps they should band together and withdraw their labour unless it's fixed. Can't have Wrestlemania without the talent.
Union time!
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Post by The Rick Jericho on Feb 3, 2024 14:25:17 GMT -5
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Post by hitman777 on Feb 3, 2024 14:26:36 GMT -5
The only way to salvage this now is having The Rock asking for Cody Rhodes to come with him at next SmackDown, and tell him that he indeed will face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania... but at night one, and that The Rock personally worked with Nick Aldis that if Cody wants to challenge the winner of Roman vs Rock on the main event of night 2, he can. That would make Cody look weak. "Gee, thanks, bud. How nice of you." Cody has a guaranteed title shot at Mania. He needs to take it for himself and (in storyline) stand up to Rock. |
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