Heading into last year's WrestleMania, we all believed Cody Rhodes would be the one to finally dethrone Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Instead, interference from The Bloodline meant he came up short in his quest to "finish the story."
All signs pointed to a rematch at this year's Show of Shows, but some major obstacles have since presented themselves. For starters, CM Punk has returned to WWE and it was only a couple of weeks ago that The Rock appeared to lay down a challenge to the Head of the Table.
That's a huge match which would be a major draw for WWE both in terms of viewership and mainstream media attention. As a result, it's easy enough to understand why it could sideline Reigns vs. Rhodes II.
Recently, we've seen speculation that WWE could have The Rock battle the Tribal Chief at Elimination Chamber in Australia. That's a massive stadium show and would ensure Rhodes gets his match as planned to finish his story.
According to Dave Meltzer, though, the bout will not take place in Perth.
He's reporting that the Head of the Table won't even be at Elimination Chamber, taking the notion of him squaring off with The Rock completely off the table (CM Punk has, however, been added to the card so it will still be a star-studded event). Meltzer now presumes the match will happen at WrestleMania 40.
Back to Reigns, and he's also not expected to compete at Backlash in Paris, France this May and, after WrestleMania, is only scheduled for a Saudi Arabia show and SummerSlam. If the Tribal Chief drops the title at the Showcase of the Immortals to Rhodes, it's always possible his clash with The Rock will shift to the latter PLE.
"These 'electrifying' nights are so special and unforgettable," Johnson said of his recent WWE return. "The connection with the people, the energy, vibe, authenticity, disruption, love, mana - the CHILLS. And now we make history, raise the bar and do things that have never been done before in [WWE]. We go all out. And all in."
The Rock appeared to have blown himself up just hitting a People's Elbow, so a tag team or Triple Threat match to protect the Brahma Bull is another possibility. Ultimately, just having him on the card will have the required impact when it comes to bringing eyes to WrestleMania.
As always, stay tuned for updates as we have them.