Since re-entering the scene, last year in the WWE, The Rock has been an integral part of the company and Wrestlemania 41 shouldn’t be any different. For a long time, reports claimed that he would be in the main event of the WWE premium live event amid the rivalry with Cody Rhodes. But given his gestures on the WWE Raw debut on Netflix, it’s possible that WWE could have postponed the match.
Recent reports also suggest that The Rock’s involvement in WWE’s WrestleMania 41 took an unexpected turn as behind-the-scenes changes revealed shifting plans for his match with Cody Rhodes. The highly anticipated bout between Rock and Rhodes was planned long before their confrontation at WrestleMania XL with a singles bout in the pipeline.
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Billi Bhatti further explained on the Dirty Sheets Backstage podcast that WWE’s creative direction targeting Wrestlemania 41 has evolved significantly over the past year. Roman Reigns was inserted into the Rhodes vs. Rock match making it a way for The Rock not to be pinned by Rhodes. This change came after plans for a triple-threat match started to build.
However, The Rock wasn’t keen on having this triple threat, and as such, he wanted Wrestlemania 41 to be focusing on John Cena since it would be his final year with the WWE in action. Henceforth, he soon agreed to postpone his feud with Cody Rhodes and henceforth, the expected singles encounter could have been pushed back.
“The Rock knew, Nick Khan knew, and everybody knew that WWE needed a champion coming out of WrestleMania 41 and The Rock wasn’t going to be that guy,” Bhatti explained. “The Rock is not available after WrestleMania 41. That is the period where he’s generally not available.”
This in turn suggests that Rhodes vs. Cena should instead be the match that WWE is possibly building toward heading toward Wrestlemania 41. Cena is entering the Royal Rumble intending to win the 17th world title and his wish might come true at the biggest event of the year.
WWE Wrestlemania 41 PLE rumored match card
Wrestlemania 41 WWE premium live event will emanate from the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday and Sunday, April 19 and 20 and no superstar or match has officially been announced for the show, as of this writing. The currently rumored match card for the PLE goes as follows,
– Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk
– Undisputed WWE Championship Match: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena
– WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Gunther (c) vs. Seth Rollins
– WWE Women’s World Championship Match: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. IYO SKY
