When it comes to businesses, there’s no one better at shifting the narrative than the WWE. In a single segment, an immaculate and beloved babyface can go from a superstar who can do no wrong to being a heel and the most hated man on the planet. This is all for kayfabe – the industry’s way of making staged performances feel genuine or authentic. But sometimes, a promotion like the WWE can stage situations as a way to bury the headlines.
In this particular case, The Rock’s sudden inclusion in WrestleMania 40 this early on feels a lot like the WWE trying to shift the narrative away from Vince McMahon, who resigned from his position within TKO, the merged entity formed following the UFC and WWE merger last year, following sexual allegations.
To be honest, it’s working, with #WeWantCody and The Rock trending all over the internet over the past weekend. The recent face-off between The Rock and Roman Reigns is also the most disliked WWE video on YouTube with roughly half a million dislikes already, as of the moment of writing.
It doesn’t take an insider to tell that something is brewing at WWE. An avid fan can tell it’s trying to minimize the unavoidable backlash of having two of its most recognizable faces embroiled in controversy: Vince McMahon and Brock Lesnar.
By bringing The People’s Champion all the way down from Hollywood, first onboard TKO’s board of directors and eventually, as a performer even if only temporarily, the WWE gave audiences something to talk about. As if that wasn’t enough, it’s dragging out a two-year-long storyline that has consistently dominated the headlines and resulted in a net positive in ratings every week for the company by having Cody Rhodes face off against Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship – a match that nobody really asked for.
Sure, you could argue that this is WWE’s way of pivoting away from CM Punk’s last-minute injury sustained at this year’s Royal Rumble – ironically, it’s believed The Rock did the same thing he’s doing to Cody Rhodes to CM Punk in 2013. But, what if it ends up biting the WWE in the long run?
Sure, The Rock has been building up to a bout against Roman Reigns for years, constantly bringing up the potential magnitude of such a matchup. However, the WWE might be underestimating just how much fans want Cody Rhodes to win at WrestleMania 40.
What happens if the backlash doesn’t dissipate over the weekend? What happens if the fans continue booing The Rock every chance they get, even at the upcoming WrestleMania 40 press conference on February 8? Will the WWE change its plans and find a way to make The Rock vs Roman Reigns happen earlier, presumably at Elimination Chamber on February 24? Perhaps the WWE will draw it out further, give Cody Rhodes his win in April, and have both The American Nightmare and The Great One work together to take down the Head of the Table all the way through Crown Jewel later this year?
At this rate, all we can do is to speculate, but one thing is clear: the WWE firmly believes that making The Rock vs Roman Reigns happen now presents an unmissable opportunity for greater positive momentum for the company in light of the recent allegations.
Whether the still-ongoing backlash, which has seen popular figures like Logan Paul cast their vote, will affect this direction remains to be seen.
