Not three weeks ago, I explored the impact of The Rock’s return, exploring the pros and cons, and last night, WWE seemingly made it official. The reasoning for The Rock’s inclusion is obvious, but with Cody Rhodes on the way out, the pros and cons of Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins are less so.
In what is very clearly a last-minute change based on the CM Punk tricep injury, Rhodes’ Royal Rumble match will seemingly be for Rollin’s World Heavyweight Championship now. The reactions could look better based on online engagement. However, it would not be wise to bet against The Rock getting the WWE Universe on his side.
Con: Fail Again to Finish The Story (Again)
When WWE started marketing its 2k24 title around “finishing the story,” fans got excited. After a mixed reaction to Cody’s shocking loss at WrestleMania 39, fans got back on board and followed Rhodes for another year. He feuded with a few other stars and even buried his hatred for a recently face Seth Rollins.
When exploring the pros and cons of Cody Rhodes vs Seth Rollins at WrestleMania, the headline is that this match doesn’t finish Cody’s two-year story. This is one of the cons of the Rock’s return in general.
I love you brother!! NOW GO #FinishTheStory#RhodesLegacy
— Dustin Rhodes (@dustinrhodes) January 28, 2024
This isn’t hyperbole or fan expectation, either. On Raw and Smackdown the week following the Royal Rumble, Cody twice told Seth and Roman that he needed Roman’s title to finish his story. It was made clear as crystal, the last moment of clarity before WWE made Cody deliver the most convoluted reasoning for the Rock’s return.
Yes, as Cody said, and an unsurprising number of social media personalities parroted, that doesn’t need to be WrestleMania. Fans have invested two years into the story.
The longer the delay, the more new characters get introduced, the harder it will be to care when it happens. WrestleMania is a significant sports and entertainment event, not just a spiritual season finale for WWE.
Pro: Rock vs Roman is a Dream Match
WrestleMania 40 has secured the biggest star in wrestling history for a main event match against his little cousin. That is a dream match, and that matters to many people. At the very least, the thought is that Rock will convince people who have not watched the product or last watched it a while ago to tune in on Peacock.
Then WWE can convert them to new fans while making more money off increased ad revenue. There are absolutely holes in that theory, but without the dream match of Rock vs. Roman, it is nearly confirmed that those possible fans won’t be tuning in.
Running with Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins on night one of WrestleMania has cleared the way for this dream match on the grandest stage of them all. Moving Rhodes to another program with Rollins is an easy decision for fans, particularly this elusive causal or future fan.
It lets the main event be Rock and Roman, pitting the biggest villain in WWE against one of the most famous people in the world. They have a family connection, so heating up a story in a few months should be easy, provided the other commitments that usually keep them away from the ring don’t stunt the building of momentum toward their clash.
Con: Sort of Ruins the Royal Rumble
Winning the Royal Rumble comes with a prize: a shot at the Champion of your choosing at WrestleMania. Some of WWE’s most significant moments have been dramatic reveals about who the winner chooses to face.
In fact, Bayley turned face when she ditched her Damage CTRL team and decided to fight Iyo Sky on the same Smackdown where all this commotion happened. Try as they might, nothing will make it seem like Cody Rhodes chose a match against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania.
A bigger star came in and made the Royal Rumble experience meaningless. Yes, Cody will still get a World Title match, as advertised, for winning the Royal Rumble. There isn’t a single way to make that seem like the winner’s choice instead of a corporate board deciding.
Of course, the creative team always decides who faces who after the Rumble. WWE is a scripted television show. But the best shows have lore and logic built into their worlds, and the characters react to those rules and structures to achieve a goal, which the fans invest in seeing.
This goes against character for Cody, and WWE seemingly doesn’t care. But worse than that, it broke the logic of the Royal Rumble, one of WWE’s longest-standing and beloved gimmicks.
Pro: Seth and Cody Have Great Matches
While it is clear from the discourse on social media that people are sour on the match, in looking at the pros and cons of the Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins match at WrestleMania, quality is not a concern.
Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes are both inarguably better in the ring than Roman, and even prime Rocky doesn’t hold a candle to much of the current roster. When the bell rings, the match that Cody and Seth, if he is healthy, can have is proven to be amazing. All three of their previous encounters were excellent. They are two of the best on the roster.
When booking a WrestleMania, balancing big moments and quality matches is important. Putting Cody back in the ring with Seth ensures that whichever night they end up on will have a great match. Building to the spots to overcome their previous encounters will be challenging.
A healthy Rollins can do that with a partner like Cody. The story side of the equation will be abundant around the card in other areas, but having two stars who can really go in the ring is something few can do better than Seth and Cody in the WWE.
Con: The Match Story Feels Dull Already
Cody has beaten Seth multiple times. Cody has announced he doesn’t want Seth’s title; he wants Roman’s. The motivation for Seth to want another crack at Cody at WrestleMania is easy enough to understand.
But Cody’s lack of motivation and how he was sentenced to the “consolation prize” by Rock and Roman means that a Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins match is starting to be lackluster.
Seth Rollins and CM Punk, the rumored original challenger for Rollins in Philadelphia, have stakes and a fresh and exciting story. This new pairing simply does not. It also might not live up to the last feud the pair had.
Any argument against The Rock and Roman Reigns that stipulates the match has no narrative or build is disingenuous. There are reasons not to want this match; that isn’t one of them. From the moment Roman took control of the family, he was selling fans on this match.
Making this match a reality ruins the narrative and build-up to the other main event match for Cody and Rollins. Booking this match takes the teeth out of the Rhodes character we saw just a week ago. It also makes Seth look desperate.
Most importantly, booking this match makes both guys and the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw feel boring and like a midcard title match.
Balancing the Pros and Cons of Cody Rhodes vs Seth Rollins
Goosebumps.#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/FoXPnDoyAx
— WWE (@WWE) February 3, 2024
Nothing has actually been announced for WrestleMania on the Men’s side. All Cody said was he was not coming for the title or finishing the story at WrestleMania. Seth can still be injured and have to leave. A surging Drew McIntyre can do something to change the plans on Raw.
Lastly, The Rock still needs to address the WWE universe. That lack of clarity hurts, rather than helps, even more than fans just being fans of Rhodes in general. They can try to retcon the inconsistencies, but that comes at a cost for the WrestleMania card.
The WWE is struggling with a terrible week. Plans could have changed. Perhaps the backlash is subconsciously connected to the news.
There are bright spots to having Cody and Rollins at WrestleMania, but none are for Rhodes or his legions of fans. That won’t change what comes next, whatever the plan is. It will likely send out a bad vibe, which isn’t ideal on the Road to WrestleMania.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – WWE – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
