This isn’t hyperbole, but I’ve never been more excited for a WrestleMania main event than I am for Cody Rhodes’ attempt to finish his story and finally dethrone Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Yeah, there have been some game-changing historic matches I’ve gone crazy thinking about in the lead-up to the “Showcase of the Immortals” over the years, but those all pale in comparison to what I’m experiencing right now. That being said, I’m still trying not to get too hyped, even after tantalizing and foreboding comments made by The Rock just minutes after the final bell rang at Night One of WrestleMania 40.
At the WrestleMania 40 Saturday Press Conference immediately following the highly-anticipated tag team match where he and Roman Reigns defeated Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, the “Final Boss,” or “Rock 10.0,” as he has been calling himself, was asked if the WWE Universe should “expect the unexpected” from the much talked about anything-goes “Bloodline Rules” match that would settle the fate of WWE’s most prestigious title less than 24 hours later. Here's what he had to say:
You can. Final Boss can’t tell you that, I can’t tell everybody that. I’ve got to keep everybody guessing, including Cody Rhodes. That’s important. So, yeah, great question. You can sure expect the unexpected and a lot of surprises [laughs]. Appreciate you taking a swing. Take a shot at it, ‘What can we expect?’
Even since Dwayne Johnson leaned into being a villain in the aftermath of the 2024 Royal Rumble, it has been a foregone conclusion that Rock and Regins would come through with a win on Night One (it was in our WrestleMania 40 predictions), and during that time, I’ve tried my hardest not to get too hyped up. It’s become pretty much impossible to hold back the excitement the past couple of weeks with instantly iconic moments like The Rock’s beatdown of Rhodes on Raw or his various mid-workout promos.
And so I ask, am I on the precipice of experiencing the Avengers: Endgame of WrestleMania moments in the Night Two main event match, or are those “surprises” Rocky teased going to be nothing more than a massive betrayal by someone connected to either side? As I look toward the long-awaited showdown between two of the hottest WWE stars in recent memory, I’m hoping for the former but setting myself up for the latter. It’s just what wrestling logic tells me.
Would I be okay being wrong in this situation? Would I be okay if WrestleMania 40 ends with Cody Rhodes as champ after John Cena, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Dustin Rhodes leads everyone who’s been hurt by the Bloodline the past three-and-a-half-years to the ring? In the words of a certain Texas Rattlesnake: “Can I get a ‘Hell Yeah?’”
The good news is that I don’t have to wait much longer to see if The Rock meant what he said with his “expect the unexpected” comment, and neither do you, as the electric Wrestlemania 40 continues at 7 p.m. ET Sunday for anyone with a Peacock subscription.
