There were discussions in WWE to have The Rock become World Champion once again.
Prior to the Hollywood star’s shock return in January 2024, plans for WrestleMania 40 looked to be locked in and would see Cody Rhodes avenge his loss from the previous year and finally defeat Roman Reigns to become the new World Champion. When The People’s Champion confronted The Tribal Chief after the Royal Rumble, plans for the biggest event on the WWE calendar appeared more uncertain than ever as it was unknown who would face Reigns in Philadelphia.
Along with the fan backlash from Rock inserting himself into the story and bringing the long-running Rhodes story to a screeching halt, those who did not want the match to happen also criticised the choice due to its predictability and faced with the prospect of an even longer Reigns title reign. However, according to a new report, the unthinkable may have happened.
As reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there were talks of Rock being the one to bring Reigns’ record-breaking run as champion to an end and would vacate the championship before going odd to Hollywood. However, as he would never lose to anyone, Rock would be known as The People’s Champion, which was seen at the 2024 Hall of Fame:
“At one point there was an idea that Rock would win the title from Reigns, and then give up the title to go to Hollywood and end the streak, but always call himself “The People’s Champion,” which is where that idea and belt came in, which was long before the Hall of Fame ceremony.
The idea that many were fighting against was the title win, and then Reigns after losing getting it back and then losing again to Rhodes, feeling that would greatly hurt Rhodes’ eventual win, and Rhodes was the guy who was going to have to carry the company in 2024 and 2025. Others were strongly against that, saying no matter what happened as far as Rock getting the match, he could not win the title and Rhodes had to be the one who beats Reigns first and wins the title first.”
“A Lot Of Games Played” With The Rock’s Return
Following on from his appearance at WrestleMania, an article was published about the Hollywood star which alleged poor timekeeping and general unprofessionalism while on set. In a follow-up report to this article, it has been said that there was a lot of manipulation, resentment and games being played over The Rock’s recent WWE return.
In May 2024, Emily Blunt explained why she declined a WWE invitation from The Rock.