News regarding an initial idea for The Rock to defeat Roman Reigns at WWE Wrestlemania 40

As seen during WWE Wrestlemania 40, Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns to win the undisputed WWE Universal title. Prior to Wrestlemania, a match between Reigns and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was teased.

In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com wrote about what was reportedly discussed for Reigns vs. Rock before WWE finalized plans for Cody to have the match against Reigns…

“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.”