As a part of WWE’s bizarre P.R. blitz ahead of WrestleMania 41, which saw the traditionally apolitical pro wrestling giant seemingly align itself with right-wing politicians and figures, chief content officer Paul “Triple H” had some curious comments regarding the backlash he sometimes faces as the company’s head booker.
“This will sound defensive. Every critic that is out there, I wish I could tell people f*ck off being a critic. Be a fan,” Levesque told Peter Rosenberg in an extended interview posted to the WWE YouTube page. “Go watch this and be a fan.”
Triple H was right; he did sound defensive. And perhaps we now know why.
As WWE’s biggest weekend of the year came to a close on Sunday with Night 2 of WrestleMania 41, it did so with not a bang but rather a thud. And while a part of that might be because the main event saw a bad guy in John Cena dethrone babyface Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship, the disappointment had more to do with how we got here than the final result.
For the uninitiated, WWE’s Elimination Chamber event in March saw Cena turn heel, a shocking twist in the longtime good guy’s final year as an active pro wrestler. Cena turned heel by beating down Rhodes and aligning himself with The Rock (and Travis Scott) in what proved to be one of the most mainstream angles in the company’s history.
But while it had appeared that Cena, The Rock, and Scott were forming a super stable, both The Rock and Scott disappeared from WWE airwaves immediately after the Elimination Chamber. In fact, The Rock was rarely mentioned throughout the clunky build to the Cena-Rhodes match, although most assumed he would show up at WrestleMania to tie up the loose ends.
You know what they say about assumptions.
While the first half of the Cena-Rhodes main event was fairly slow paced — likely by design — business picked up as Travis Scott’s “FE!N” blared throughout Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. After making his way to the ring, Scott took Rhodes’ Cross Rhodes finishing move — a receipt for the Sicko Mode rapper’s legitimate punch during the Elimination Chamber beatdown — only adding to anticipation for what felt like The Rock’s inevitable return.
Only it never happened.
After a cartoonishly awkward tug of war over the title belt that ultimately resulted in Cena kicking Rhodes in the balls and hitting him with the championship belt, the West Newbury, Massachusetts, native secured the pin and his record 17th world championship reign. Despite having witnessed a historic moment, the reaction from the crowd fell flat. Was this really how WWE was capping its biggest show of the year?
As it turned out, it was, with the commercial-laden show going off the air with Cena celebrating and no sign of The Rock to be found. To be clear, WWE never explicitly advertised The Rock to appear at this year’s WrestleMania. But his involvement in the Cena heel turn certainly set the expectation that one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling history would be involved in WWE’s biggest show for a second straight year.
The backlash to the Cena-Rhodes match has been about as close to a consensus as you’ll get from pro wrestling fans, with the bout receiving a 3.46 score on Cagematch.net. To put that number in perspective, last year’s WrestleMania 40 main event between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns received a 9.22. At the same time, the WrestleMania 39 main event between Rhodes and Reigns — which also had a disappointing finish with Reigns retaining — garnered a 7.74.
Considering the expectations and the superstars involved, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that this was the most underwhelming WrestleMania main event of the modern era. If nothing else, it’s the biggest blunder on Levesque’s run as the company’s head booker, although it’s also fair to wonder how much of this was out of his control.
The elephant in the room here is The Rock, who seemingly showed up on short notice for an episode of SmackDown in late February to set up what would ultimately be the Cena heel turn. Is it possible that “The People’s Champion” had planned on being a part of WrestleMania 41 at the time and then had to drop out due to his busy schedule? We may never know. However, there are enough context clues to suggest that something creatively changed between the Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania.
If that was the case, then WWE deserves blame for not doing more to adjust on the fly, especially knowing that there was an expectation among the fanbase that The Rock would be involved, considering that he was the catalyst to this entire feud. And if it wasn’t the case, then this is merely one of the worst booked angles in WrestleMania history, which is especially shocking when factoring in that it started on such a high note with the Cena heel turn.
Perhaps The Rock will show up at some point and retrofit this entire angle so that it makes more sense, just as he’s had a habit of doing over the last few years. But while that might prove to be worth the wait if/when it happens, it won’t help the WrestleMania hangover I’m currently experiencing, which definitely has more to do with the finish to the main event than with the three days I just spent in Las Vegas.