Dating back to the Raw after this past year’s WrestleMania , the main event for next year’s WrestleMania appeared all but set: Cody Rhodes would face Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson in a continuation of the feud that helped WWE shatter box office records at this year’s “Showcase of the Immortals.”
The match was heavily implied with a face to face confrontation at the aforementioned Raw and seemingly reiterated when The Rock made a surprise appearance at WWE’s Bad Blood event this past Sunday. But either WWE was teasing a match it wasn’t going to deliver on or those plans have now hit a snag, with the Wrestling Observer Newsletter ‘s Dave Meltzer reporting that Johnson has already informed WWE that he won’t be available for WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas next year.
Writes Meltzer:
As of right now, Dwayne Johnson is not scheduled for the show. Obviously that could change and he’s going to do what he wants all the time. While nobody can say it publicly, some with old school mentalities didn’t like the idea that he stole the show and it’s not building to a match.
“He’s not going to be able to do Mania. He already gave word that he wouldn’t be able to do that match” when asked bout Rock vs. Reigns vs. Rhodes….
“The story is simply his schedule got too heavy, he couldn’t commit to doing it right.”
As Meltzer noted, plans can change, but for now, there appears to be a gaping hole on the card for WrestleMania 41 . With that in mind, let’s take a look at the other possible main events WWE could turn to.
Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns III
Rhodes and Roman Reigns have main evented each of the past two WrestleManias against each other, and as the cliché goes, if ain’t broke, why fix it? Ultimately, the Rhodes-Reigns rivalry has been the backbone of WWE’s resurgence in recent years and a third edition of their trilogy appears to be a matter of not “if” but “when?”
While one could argue that a third consecutive Rhodes-Reigns match would be stale, this one would have a new twist with Reigns now being a tweener/babyface after a four-year run as a heel. Much like Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock in the late-1990s/early-2000s, this is WWE’s new break glass in case of emergency match when it finds itself in need of a main event program.
Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena
Regardless of who he’s facing, one of the biggest storylines of next year’s WrestleMania figures to come in the form of John Cena’s retirement tour. Earlier this year, Cena revealed that 2025 will be his final year as a WWE competitor , meaning that WrestleMania 41 will feature his last match at the “Show of Shows.”
What better way for The Master of Thuganomics to go out on WWE’s biggest stage than to do so in the main event — a spot on the card he’s occupied five times over the course of his illustrious career. Only adding to the intrigue of a potential match with Rhodes would be that it would double as a passing of the torch moment, with The American Nightmare having firmly established himself as the face of WWE, just as Cena previously was.
Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk
By this point, you’re likely sensing a trend that the main event of WrestleMania 41 will include Cody Rhodes. And barring an injury, it’d be shocking if that wasn’t the case considering the current undisputed champion’s status as the company’s top star.
As for CM Punk, the Straight Edge Superstar has quietly reestablished himself as one of the company’s biggest draws since returning from the triceps injury that sidelined him for the first half of 2024. And between his public desire to main event a WrestleMania — something he’s never done — and Rhodes and Punk’s shared history in rival promotion AEW, the storyline would practically write itself.
[ Wrestling Observer Newsletter ]
The post If The Rock won’t be at WrestleMania 41, what’s the main event? appeared first on Awful Announcing .
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