Plans on which WWE Superstar was going to dethrone Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 before Cody Rhodes - Reports

A new report has seemingly shed light on WWE's plan for Roman Reigns' opponent at WrestleMania XL before Cody Rhodes did the job.

This year at The Showcase of The Immortals, The American Nightmare pulled an impressive feat of dethroning the Head of The Table for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's latest report, the plan was for Rhodes to win the 2024 Royal Rumble, then get "injured" in a storyline twist to clear the way for The Rock to challenge for the WWE Title. Later, The American Nightmare would get his own shot and win.

Originally, WWE even considered Dwayne Johnson taking the title from Roman Reigns, then giving it up to return to Hollywood. The "People's Champion" belt idea came from there, way before the 2024 Hall of Fame ceremony.

Check out an excerpt from the report below:

"The decision for Rhodes to win the Rumble was to set up a future title match after they would do an injury angle which would lead to Rock getting the title shot and Rhodes would get his shot and victory later. At one point there was an idea that Rock would win the title from Reigns, and then give up the title to go to Hollywood and end the streak, but always call himself "The People’s Champion," which is where that idea and belt came in, which was long before the Hall of Fame ceremony." [H/T: WON]

WWE legend says Roman Reigns lost major advantage at WrestleMania 40

The Night One of WrestleMania XL saw The Tribal Chief teaming up with The Final Boss to take on The American Nightmare and Seth Rollins. The Bloodline members picked up a huge win over their opponents in Philadelphia.

This led to Rhodes vs. Reigns in a "Bloodline Rules" match giving an advantage to the latter star. However, megastars such as John Cena and The Undertaker made their cameos to help the 38-year-old WWE star finish his story.

Speaking on his Kliq THIS podcast, Kevin Nash shared that he did not witness Roman Reigns having any advantage in the Bloodline Rules match because of legendary appearances. The Hall of Famer also said he was glad "Stone Cold" Steve Austin didn't make his appearance in the match because it wouldn't have added substance to the product.

"What happened at WrestleMania 40 as a finish? They won the tag match, they should've gotten some kind of advantage. There was no advantage. There was run-ins galore by a bunch of Hall of Fame legends. Thank God Steve didn't show up. Oh my God! Only thing left was for Hulk to come down and drop a leg on somebody," he said.

You can watch the video below:

Roman Reigns has not been seen on WWE TV since WrestleMania 40. Seemingly Solo Sikoa has taken charge of his role by adding Tama Tonga to the faction. Fans are excited about The Head of The Table's massive return after The Showcase of The Immortals.