WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins recently reacted to the actions at last week’s WrestleMania XL Kickoff press conference in Las Vegas. Rollins had a front-row seat for the confrontation between The Rock, Roman Reigns, and Cody Rhodes, and he explained why he was disappointed by the actions of those involved.
Last Thursday (Feb. 8), WWE held a press conference for WrestleMania XL at the T-Mobile Arena to hype the premium live event. Before it concluded, Cody Rhodes revealed his opponent for the event, opting to face Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a rematch from WrestleMania 39.
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Things did not go according to plan. Roman Reigns and The Rock commandeered the press conference and announced they would face each other and cut Rhodes completely out of the decision. This didn’t sit well with World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. Rollins was recently interviewed by Fox News and he voiced why the situation felt “gross” to him. Rollins explained as follows:
“That’s just what happens when powerful people exert their power, you know what I mean? They think they just do whatever they want and get away with it, and that sucks. That just sucks. I don’t know any way to put it. Cody said it best: it’s bull. And, I don’t know. I don’t know, man. Feels pretty gross to me.”
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
Before Cody Rhodes came out on stage The Rock put up a graphic of his family tree on the big screen. He explained why Rock vs. Reigns to decide who is at the head of the table for the Anoa’i family should be the main event of WrestleMania. Rhodes put a stop to that after he made his presence known. The press conference soon became heated and Rhodes went as far as to say that Rock and Reigns’ grandfathers would be ashamed of their actions. The press conference ended with The Rock slapping Rhodes and the two men having to be held apart.
Seth Rollins had tried to convince Rhodes to challenge him for the World Heavyweight Championship. However, he made it clear that it was Rhodes’ choice. Rock and Reigns tried to take that choice away from him, which also made Seth Rollins.
Did The Rock Try to Take Cody Rhodes’ Story Away From Him?
Rhodes has continued to talk about “finishing his story” and Rock and Reigns tried to take that away from him. CM Punk tried to warn Rhodes that this is what the Rock does, he takes away WrestleMania main events because he did it to Punk years ago. Seth Rollins echoed what CM Punk said several weeks back about The Rock. He continued:
“I mean, the last time [The Rock] came around, I don’t like Punk, but he did the same thing to Punk, kind of came in and took his main event and did it two years in a row, in some not-so-memorable matches with John Cena. But, yeah, I mean, now coming back, he’s on the Board of Directors, like I said, it feels like, it feels gross. I don’t like it.
“I feel like we gotta do something about it, I just don’t know what that next step is going to be. And if it’s not going to be Triple H, we’re gonna have to take some matters into our own hands, and I don’t know how that’s going to look.”
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
Thunder Rosa Thinks WWE Did a Disserve to Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes
Former AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa was not a fan of the press conference and talked about it on a recent episode of the Busted Open Podcast. She felt like WWE hurt both Rollins and Rhodes in the aftermath. The former AEW Women’s World Champion went on to explain why it is hard to be booked like that and hopes something good comes from it. She stated the following:
“They made look Seth like a punk. They’ve been insulting him this whole entire time and then they smack Cody again without the opportunity for Cody to retaliate … I just hope, I really do hope, that there’s a good payoff for both of them. As a performer, when you have to do certain things to make other people look good that will make your character diminish, it’s rough because you’re going to suffer a lot of criticism from the fans.”
H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
One could argue that both Rhodes and Rollins came out of the press conference looking weak. As Thunder Rosa said, Rhodes was slapped by The Rock and did nothing in return. Rollins arguably came out of the event looking even worse. Rhodes completely rejected Rollins for a title match at WrestleMania, and Rollins seemed just like a bystander watching everything go down.
Seth Rollins is supposed to be the World Heavyweight champion and is the top guy on Raw, but he didn’t look like it during the press conference. Instead, Rollins was made to look like he and his championship don’t matter. The stars of that segment of the press conference were Rhodes, The Rock, and Reigns.
We now know who Reigns will face at WrestleMania, but we don’t know who will face Rollins. On Feb. 24 at Elimination Chamber the winner of the Elimination Chamber match will face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania. A list of the men competing for a spot in the Elimination Chamber match has been released. However, so far the only two men confirmed for the match are Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton.
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On a recent episode of the Busted Open Podcast, Bully Ray brought up an interesting match possibility. The WWE Hall of Famer explained:
“If you really want to send the WWE Universe into a tailspin, put The Rock in the Elimination Chamber, have him win, and have Rock go up against Seth Rollins Night One. And [then] have The Rock win, and have Roman win on Night Two, and have The Bloodlines hold the World Championships coming out of it.”
H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
We don’t know how The Rock will factor into WrestleMania yet since it will be Rhodes vs. Reigns now. This would be one way to have Rock be involved in WrestleMania. The list of Superstars competing for their spot in the Elimination Chamber is set, but a Superstar could get jumped and need a last-minute replacement. Then The Rock could fill that role. However, it remains to be seen if that’s the route that WWE will ultimately take.
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!
What did you think of the WrestleMania XL press conference? What about The Rock and Reigns trying to assert their power in WWE? Do you feel like Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes came out of it diminished? How do you feel The Rock will factor into WrestleMania? Would you like to see Rollins vs. Rock? Let us know on social media who on the WWE roster you want to have Rollins face.
SOURCE: Fox News, Wrestling Inc., Busted Open Podcast, Wrestling Inc., Busted Open Podcast, Wrestling Inc.
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