Storyline plans for top star to face Roman Reigns being put on hold because of The Rock would have felt rushed, says icon

WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff believes that while Roman Reigns vs. The Rock looks good on paper, it would have ''felt rushed'' if the Stamford-based promotion had replaced Cody Rhodes with The Great One as The Tribal Chief's opponent for WrestleMania XL.

The Rock returned to WWE in January this year and teased a showdown with The Tribal Chief. And when Cody Rhodes seemingly gave his main event match to The People's Champ during a segment on SmackDown last month, it looked like we would finally see a showdown between the cousins.

However, after a massive outrage from Cody Rhodes' fans on social media, the Creative reverted to the original plan, and the main-event match between The American Nightmare and the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns was announced for The Show of Shows.

During the latest edition of 83 Weeks, former RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff explained why WWE did not go ahead with Roman vs. The Rock for 'Mania 40.

''The idea of just putting Cody's storyline on hold because we rush[ed] Rock to the scene and didn't really think through the process, it would have been too much too soon. If that bloodline storyline with The Rock had been the foundation for that story or the beads in that story would have been happening for the last three, four, or five months, I'd be with you on that. I might have a different opinion,'' said Bischoff. [33:00-34:00]

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Former WWE star believes The Rock will turn on Roman Reigns

One of the biggest talking points among fans and media ahead of WrestleMania 40 is whether The Rock will betray Roman Reigns during the latter's encounter with The American Nightmare this April.

Former WWE Superstar Tino Sabbatelli believes that The Great One would turn his back on The Bloodline at WrestleMania XL.

During a recent episode of Power Alphas, Sabbatelli said:

"I'm actually kinda getting intrigued by this Rock story because, I don't know, I think The Rock's gonna turn at one point. I wanna know when and know how." he said.

The Rock will be in action at WrestleMania 40, as he and Roman Reigns will battle the team of Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a tag-team match on Night 01. It will be interesting to see how The Great One and The Tribal Chief work in tandem during the intense moments of the match.

As per the stipulation laid down by The Rock, if Cody and Seth emerge victorious in the tag-team match, then The American Nightmare's encounter with Roman would be free of The Bloodline.