It’s no big secret that WWE has been hoping to book Roman Reigns vs. The Rock for some time now, and in the weeks leading up to the Royal Rumble there was a lot of talk about whether or not The Great One would be making his return. Ultimately The Rock did not return, and Cody Rhodes won the men’s Royal Rumble match to earn a shot at the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania.
Sami Zayn’s affiliation with The Bloodline also came to an end at the Royal Rumble, and now Sami is set to challenge Roman Reigns for the title at Elimination Chamber. Recently Cody Rhodes recently spoke to Daily Mail about the ongoing storylines heading into WrestleMania, and he explained why he doesn’t think WWE needs The Rock right now.
“I love that you bring it up that these stories are running parallel, I think sometimes wrestling fans think it’s got to be one or it’s got to be the other, whereas I subscribe – and I’m not in charge – I subscribe to give them everything. That’s where it really takes smart planners and creative individuals on how you layer it, but it’s very important and this is something I learned when I was away, is that if someone’s doing great, and they are entertaining and helping move that ship forward – and I would say Seth Rollins is another example on Raw. He was another when I was gone who’s really changed and continued to carry Raw on his back. I was fully expecting these things to converge, and I’m still expecting them to converge just because we have these wonderful options.
With all the respect in the world to one of the GOATs, The Rock, it looks like the options we have here within the roster are even better because of the stories that are happening. One story about finishing something that started in 1978 – seven years before I was even born – and another story of really the tragedy of being welcomed into the Bloodline and then what you saw unfolds.
I think with the amount of time between now and WrestleMania, it’s important I keep my eyes squarely fixed on WrestleMania, squarely wrestling for the WWE Undisputed Championship and as you hinted that may not be against Roman Reigns. Now I don’t know if anyone can beat Roman Reigns, I truly don’t, but for me, it’s about picking up the chip. I love the melodrama, I love the heaviness in these stories that develop in our industry, but I am very simply a man who’s looking for a belt. I’m looking for a championship title belt, the most important one in our world the biggest in all – not just in the WWE bubble but in all the bubbles – and be the first to say as a Rhodes I did it. And it wasn’t Dusty Rhodes and it wasn’t Dustin Rhodes – it was Cody Rhodes.”
WrestleMania 39 will air live on April 1 and April 2. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.
