The Road to WrestleMania is under way, and some of the biggest stars in the industry are involved.
Following Cody Rhodes' victory at the men's Royal Rumble, the "American Nightmare" now has his pick of whom he gets to face in the main event of WrestleMania. Rhodes won the Rumble last year and went on to unsuccessfully challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39, and it would make sense for him to once against step up to Reigns to try to finish his story.
However, Seth Rollins implored Rhodes to face him for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Rollins has held since May 2023. The pair also have WrestleMania history together, having faced off in Rhodes' return to WWE in 2022.
The waters were made murkier by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's involvement, as he came back to WWE television a few weeks ago and asked the crowd if he should sit at the head of the table, an obvious reference to one of Reigns' nicknames.
Rhodes then brought The Rock out to end the Feb. 2 edition of SmackDown, culminating in a staredown between Johnson and Reigns.
So who exactly is going to WrestleMania and who will be in the main event?
Will The Rock face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL?
This match has been teased for years, and with the advent of the Bloodline storyline it is the most logical ending to that particular angle for Reigns.
Johnson is, of course, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and has not worked a full-time schedule in WWE for over 20 years, but he has been known to return for marquee matchups and guest appearances throughout the years. Most notably, Johnson squared off with John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania in 2011 and 2012, with each man scoring a pinfall victory before Johnson departed once again to focus on his acting career.
Reigns currently has the fourth-longest title reign in WWE history and most of his on-screen action in recent years has been as part of the Bloodline, a stable of performers from the Anoaʻi family that highlights their massive influence in professional wrestling over the past century. Johnson is also part of that family and is a natural rival for Reigns given each man's respective stature in the business.
With Johnson now 52 years old, the window for this long-rumoured match is closing, and WrestleMania XL seems the perfect venue for such a colossal confrontation. While nothing has been confirmed, things seem headed for a Roman Reigns vs. The Rock main event in Philadelphia, with Reigns' WWE Universal Championship on the line.
Who will Cody Rhodes face at WrestleMania XL?
Rhodes teased a rematch with Reigns immediately after winning the 2024 Royal Rumble but later heard from Rollins on why they should run it back instead.
Facing either champion in the main event on either night of WrestleMania will be massive for Rhodes, but as noted above he brought The Rock down to the ring to confront Reigns in the latest edition of SmackDown.
Do this mean Rhodes is backing away from a showdown with Reigns and instead continuing his story against Rollins? We don't know for sure, but it certainly appears that way.
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