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*MAJOR* Update on The Rock, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes WrestleMania 40 Situation, Reaction From Talent, More

The situation surrounding the WrestleMania 40 main event is still up in the air.

In case you missed it — during the Feb. 2 episode of WWE SmackDown, WWE Champion, Roman Reigns made his way down to the ring to confront Cody Rhodes. The winner of the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble Match interrupted proceedings and asked the rest of ‘The Bloodline’ to leave the ring, so he could speak to Reigns man-to-man.

Rhodes said he still wants the WWE Championship and wants a piece of Reigns…but not at WrestleMania 40…and here comes The Rock. The future WWE Hall of Famer greeted Rhodes, who then left the ring before Rock and Reigns came face-to-face as the show went off the air with a RAUCOUS crowd in attendance showered both men with dueling, deafening chants.

In an update provided by PWInsider, no surprise twists and turns are planned for this story, and Cody Rhodes is set to challenge WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40.

According to Fightful Select, plans for main matches drastically changed for various reasons, with CM Punk and Brock Lesnar no longer being available for WrestleMania 40.

“As of now, the plan for WrestleMania is The Rock vs. Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins. Sources in creative confirmed that as of recently, the working plan was Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns, and CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins. Punk’s title shot was to be set up at the WWE Elimination Chamber PLE. Brock Lesnar vs. Dominik Mysterio at Elimination Chamber and Lesnar vs. Gunther from WrestleMania were also canceled from creative plans, as Lesnar and Punk were eliminated from creative moving forward.”

Per the report, The Rock himself heavily pushed for the Roman Reigns match to happen, with some noting the Hollywood star has even gone as far as to pitch creative as to where he ends Reigns’ streak.

“Those that we’ve spoken to said that The Rock had not only pushed to work the match, some thought he was even pushing to win the match. Regardless of what the finish will be, multiple sources said that they viewed this as a political move that TKO believes will result in more immediate money than what would have been with Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns. Sources within TKO swore this wasn’t done out of malice to Rhodes, and value him as a talent, but believe that those involved with the decision making underestimated how the patience of the audience has worn thin on the situation.”

More clarity around the situation may appear when The Rock and Roman Reigns are both set for a ‘WrestleMania XL Kickoff’ press conference on Thursday, Feb. 8. Cody Rhodes will reportedly also be in town for the presser, along with WWE World Heavyweight Champion, WWE Women’s World Champion, Rhea Ripley, and former Women’s Champion, Bianca Belair, among others.

BodySlam‘s full report on the Feb. 2 episode of WWE SmackDown can be found by clicking here.

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