I’m about to offer my services to WWE free of charge. And that service is a surefire pitch on how to salvage the problem that the promotion is currently facing for WrestleMania XL. The pro wrestling community widely rejected the scenario that was presented last Friday on SmackDown. Cody Rhodes said he wouldn’t face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, despite winning the men’s Royal Rumble match last month. He then introduced none other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who came out for an epic staredown with the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, who also happens to be his cousin.
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So for now, it looks like the WWE Universe is getting The Rock vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL in Philly, and Cody Rhodes is bowing out. However, the pro wrestling community had a collective moment over Cody revealing he wouldn’t face Roman Reigns at the big event. “#WeWantCody” became a viral hashtag, and fans were furious after being denied this for so long that it looked like Cody’s childhood dream might finally come true. WWE now has a problem on its hands beyond the real-life, behind-the-scenes issues the company is also facing.
Yes, The Rock vs. Roman Reigns is a huge matchup and a huge box office draw. It’s probably one of the last fantasy dream matches the WWE can realistically put together right now. So, it’s understandable why TKO CEO Ari Emanuel and WWE President Nick Khan wanted to put it together when they had the opportunity to do it, even if it takes away from the Cody Rhodes storyline. However, I’ve formed an easy solution to fix the problem. I’ve done it free of charge. WWE can absolutely do this, and it’s a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too solution.
THE KEY TO SALVAGING WRESTLEMANIA XL
The key to saving WrestleMania XL lies in the past. Back in 1993, WWE found itself in an uncertain state. The glory days of the WWF Golden Age and the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling era of the 1980s, the era of Hulkamania, were long over. Hulk Hogan was gone from WWE, and he’d later sign with competing organization WCW the following year. Vince McMahon was under investigation over steroid issues, and WWE’s business was not at the height it was previously.
At the time, WWE was desperate for a new Hulk Hogan, a new top babyface who could carry the company into the future. Enter Lex Luger. After bodyslamming Yokozuna, Lex Luger became WWE’s new American-bred, white-meat vanilla babyface. He started the Lex Express and wore the red, white, and blue colors of the American flag. He had a physique that looked like it was carved out of granite. Perhaps he could be the new face of the company in a similar mold as Hulk Hogan?
However, for whatever reason, WWE would not anoint Luger when he challenged the monster heel champion, Yokozuna, at SummerSlam ’93. And then there was Bret “The Hitman” Hart. Hart had proved his reliability as WWF Champion not long before Hogan came back for his last run. Not to mention, Hart was growing in popularity as a fan favorite. At the 1994 Royal Rumble, Hart and Luger both co-won the Rumble match. Two winners won the legendary matchup for the first time. WWE had a dilemma. Did they go with the new rising, traditional babyface, Lex Luger? Or do they do with the fan favorite and Excellence of Execution, Bret Hart?
Ultimately, WWE decided to do both. At the epic, legendary WrestleMania X, both Hart and Luger were granted title shots on the same night as winners of the Rumble. Yokozuna defended the title against Luger earlier in the evening. The winner of that match would face Bret Hart in the main event. To even things up, Bret Hart also wrestled twice that night, first facing Owen Hart in the opening contest in what became one of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history. In an epic, blood feud with his own younger brother, Bret Hart lost in a huge upset to Owen Hart.
This actually didn’t hurt Bret at all. It only made him look like a bigger underdog going into the main event having lost earlier in the evening. Yokozuna won his title rematch against Lex Luger earlier in the night via disqualification, and here he was about to face the man he had previously beaten to win the title a year earlier at WrestleMania IX. However, Bret Hart pulled off the miraculous victory, upsetting the monster Yokozuna and finally regaining the WWF Championship.
For the fans, it was a feel-good moment that their guy finally got the title and overcame the odds. Not only that, the ending to the show is an all-time classic. The locker room emptied to uplift and celebrate Bret’s victory. However, a brooding, furious Owen Hart, who had just beaten his brother earlier in the night, came out to observe the celebration. He just stood at the entranceway watching it play out, not entering the ring to make amends with his older brother. This ignited a dynamite feud that played out the rest of the year between Bret and Owen, culminating in an epic title match at SummerSlam ’94, when brother faced brother inside a steel cage.
Essentially, the key to saving WrestleMania XL is WWE repeating what happened at WrestleMania X, except 30 years later, it’s on a much bigger grander stage. Not to mention, since WrestleMania XL is two nights, unlike WrestleMania X, it will be much easier and more logistically feasible to pull off.
USING THE WRESTLEMANIA X SCENARIO FOR WRESTLEMANIA XL
So ultimately, what do we have here? Ever since WrestleMania became a two-night show starting with WrestleMania 36 in 2020, it’s been routine to make WrestleMania two nights, which continues this year. So what does that mean? Two nights means you have the opportunity to have two main events. This means you do not have to deny the people who want The Rock vs. Roman Reigns along with the vocal fans of the WWE Universe who want Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns II. You do both!
It’s very simple. Much like WrestleMania X, you do both matches. You have Roman Reigns vs. The Rock play out their storyline on Night 1. It’s cousin vs. cousin, blood vs. blood, The Great One vs. The One, The People’s Champion vs. The Undisputed WWE Champion. It’s the WrestleMania fantasy dream match for all time. All that can play out on Night 1.
Meanwhile, Cody Rhodes can face someone else earlier in the evening on Night 1 of WrestleMania XL. Maybe it has the stipulation that Cody must win to maintain his title shot on Night 2. Maybe it’s someone Cody will lose to in a huge upset that can kickstart that opponent’s career. Let’s say it’s Gunther. If Gunther were to beat Cody on Night 1, that could set up Gunther as the next top title contender post-WrestleMania XL.
Then on Night 2, as the Royal Rumble winner, Cody Rhodes gets his rightful title shot. He faces the winner of The Rock vs. Roman Reigns. Obviously, it will be Roman Reigns. We at least get our rematch of Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns. from WrestleMania 39. Cody Rhodes finally gets to finish the story, and the fans will go home happy.
This has to happen. The Bloodline storyline is running out of steam. The endings for Reigns’ title defenses have become repetitive. Yes, Reigns could beat the 1980s Hulk Hogan title record, but why is that so important? He’s already held the title longer than anyone in over 35 years. Yes, Reigns finally proved he can be that top-level guy, but what else is there for him to do as champion?
Cody winning freshens up the title picture and main event scene. It allows for new matchups and title challenges. Reigns has done all he can do as champion. He’s exhausted every major opponent and title match he can. The Rock is his last major challenge. Beating The Rock and then losing to Cody Rhodes would be the perfect way to cap off Reign’s epic title run. Also, if WWE continues to ignore fan desires and not listen to the fans, they start running into the same problems as years past.
Let’s go back to the 2015 Royal Rumble. Roman Reigns won the Rumble that year. The Rock even made an appearance, standing tall with his cousin at the end of the match, but the fans rejected it. Reigns was not the fan favorite. He was not their guy. The fans booed Reigns out of the building. The fans did not want to see Reigns become anointed as the top guy at that time. WWE struggled for years to make Reigns that guy but it failed every time.
It only started working after he took some time off during the pandemic, later returning in the latter half of 2020. He turned heel, aligned himself with Paul Heyman, and Reigns was finally in business. That is what it finally took to transform Reigns into the face of the company WWE had wanted for years. WWE struggled because they wanted Reigns to be a vanilla, white-meat babyface good guy, and the fans hated it. When Reigns finally gave the fans a reason to hate him by becoming a legitimate bad guy, that’s when he finally started working as a main eventer.
If WWE refuses to listen to the fans once again, they are going to have another Royal Rumble 2015 scenario. Ironically, Royal Rumble 2015 was also held in Philadelphia, the host city of WrestleMania XL. Philly is a hardcore wrestling city. It’s the home of ECW. It’s a fan of insiders. So if WWE denies the fans what they want in Philly, it could get very ugly. If they end WrestleMania XL on a sour note with the fans infuriated they couldn’t get what they want, it will be bad for WWE moving forward.
If The Rock can’t go along with this scenario, then he has no business being a board member of TKO and making major decisions on the future and business of WWE for the long term. He has to be able to read the room and understand what the fans want. If he doesn’t do “what’s best for business,” then this is going to be problematic for the company’s future, on the cusp of a major transition to Netflix. Also, this scenario for WrestleMania XL still allows a main event with The Rock vs. Roman Reigns to happen.
This is a good solution. If you don’t think I’m serious, I’m the guy who told Cody Rhodes to his face at San Diego Comic-Con that he’d lose the main event title match to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39. Essentially, I predicted and booked the outcome of WrestleMania 39 almost a year before it happened (see above).
Ultimately, it remains to be seen how WWE plans to handle all this madness. The WrestleMania XL Kickoff is scheduled for Thursday, February 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It appears that will be the date WWE will announce The Rock vs. Roman Reigns matchup. The Rock and Roman Reigns are being advertised for a face-off at the event. Cody Rhodes and WWE Chief Creative Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque are also scheduled to be in attendance.
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WrestleMania XL is scheduled for April 6-7 at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. The event will be broadcast live on the Peacock streaming service.
About WrestleMania XL
When: April 6-7, 2024
Where: Lincoln Financial Field (One Lincoln Financial Field Way, Philadelphia, PA 19148)
Pricing: Tickets available now at Ticketmaster
Broadcast Distribution: Peacock
About: WrestleMania returns to Philadelphia for the first time in 25 years and the very first time at Lincoln Financial Field on April 6th and 7th, 2024 for this 2-day event! Witness your favorite Superstars from Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown as they take the stage at the showcase of the immortals!
But what do you think of this pitch to try and salvage WrestleMania XL? Could it work, or is it a bad idea? do you have your own ideas on how to salvage this issue with WrestleMania XL? Should The Rock drop out entirely so Cody gets his chance to shine? Should Roman Reigns just beat everyone to beat Hulk Hogan’s title record from the 1980s? Let us know what you think about the subject on The Illuminerdi’s social media.
KEEP READING: Why Cody Rhodes Lost His Story
