Making sense of the WWE mess that has left fans livid... all signs point to The Rock AND Cody Rhodes facing Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, but the company could be playing viewers perfectly

The net slumped to its knees this play aft The Rock appeared connected SmackDown and took Cody Rhodes' WrestleMania main event pinch Roman Reigns correct retired of his hands.

Rhodes has been moving his measurement towards winning nan Undisputed WWE Universal Championship for 2 years. Ever since he group ft backmost successful nan WWE from AEW, pinch a torn pectoral musculus on nan way, nan American Nightmare has been connected a mission, 1 that cannot beryllium sidetracked by a precocious created world title held by Seth Rollins.

It has to beryllium Reigns' title. And while galore mightiness reason Rhodes should person defeated nan Tribal Chief successful Los Angeles past year, nan reality is he did not.

Now, nan thought of 'finishing nan story' seems to person been blocked by nan biggest Hollywood A-lister of them all. A man who, connected nan surface, appears to person made a woody to go a committee personnel pinch WWE's genitor institution TKO and insert himself into nan biggest match-up possible, astatine Rhodes' expense.

Is location bully logic for fans to get upset astatine 1 of nan astir celebrated full-time babyfaces successful caller representation being pushed to nan side? Or, is this precisely what WWE wanted? Mail Sport dissects.

All portion of nan plan?

The Rock joined TKO's committee connected January 23, 4 days earlier nan Royal Rumble went down successful Florida.

According to Dave Meltzer, arsenic portion of The Rock's statement to subordinate nan board, he was to get his lucifer pinch Roman Reigns astatine WrestleMania.

Even successful ray of that, WWE still decided to person Rhodes triumph nan Royal Rumble and, during his celebration, constituent retired Reigns declaring his situation for nan showpiece successful April.

It's believed WWE anticipated Rhodes would get 'Daniel Bryan-esque' reactions arsenic a consequence of being pushed speech and boy, astatine slightest connected societal media, were they right.

That suggests WWE are manipulating nan communicative to put nan momentum down Rhodes, not nan Bloodline communicative betwixt Reigns and Rock, 2 real-life cousins.

So who faces who?

It would beryllium staggering if they went up pinch Rhodes vs Rollins for a world title Rhodes has already stated he doesn't want.

The 38-year-old has besides said he intends to return everything distant from Roman.

With nan stars successful play, this is 1 of those storylines wherever it pays to perceive intimately to nan promos. From what Rhodes said connected SmackDown, it sounds for illustration he is still very overmuch coming for nan title, but Rock wants to unseat Roman from nan caput of nan proverbial table.

How do we get there? That's a analyzable question. Roman moving some nights, 1 versus The Rock and 1 versus Rhodes, is simply a beardown option. A triple-threat would detract from some stories, truthful that seems far-fetched.

Brock Lesnar is not being utilized by WWE moving forward. His sanction cropping up successful Vince McMahon's suit has nixed plans for a mouth-watering showdown against Gunther.

Instead, nan Austrian is nan earthy challenger for Rollins pinch Rhodes still connected a collision people pinch Reigns.

What person they said? 

Could The Rock look Reigns elsewhere? He won't want to, and rather rightly, nan biggest money match-up successful wrestling should beryllium astatine WrestleMania. 

The Rock keeps saying he is simply a 'long-gamer' successful some interviews and societal media posts and Brian Gewirtz, erstwhile WWE caput writer and elder vice president of improvement astatine Rock's Seven Bucks accumulation company, besides tweeted: 'You each person nary idea'. 

It's difficult to bargain that legendary figures for illustration The Rock, Paul Heyman, Triple H down nan scenes and moreover Gewirtz are silly capable to not beryllium capable to publication nan room. 

The Rock could good beryllium conscionable a tease and this is nan measurement they footwear disconnected nan conflict for nan caput of nan table. If WWE are monitoring instrumentality reactions to this communicative and are prepared to set it arsenic PWInsider suggests, that would fresh successful pinch Rock's 'longer-term' vision.

If nan communicative really is astir 'taking everything' from Reigns, past The Rock really beating Roman (though he has gone connected grounds saying he would want to put Roman over) and Rhodes taking his title successful 1 play would beryllium nan cleanable measurement to do that.  

Further context

The Bloodline has been connected nan verge of imploding for a while now. It's wide expected that real-life twins, Jimmy and Jey Uso, will quadrate disconnected astatine WrestleMania 40.

Solo Sikoa is gradually making his ain measurement and were he to move connected Roman during this process, that would beryllium nan extremity of WWE's astir container agency faction of nan modern era.

Rhodes has agelong stated he wants to triumph Roman's title because it's nan aforesaid title that his precocious father, WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, ne'er sewage to win. Given that Rollins' world heavyweight title doesn't person that aforesaid lineage aliases history, that wouldn't beryllium finishing his story.

The Rock's squad look to beryllium doing their champion to fto america cognize location is simply a grander communicative successful play that fans can't spot yet and 1 has to ideate they perceive nan cries for Rhodes arsenic large arsenic anyone.