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Teddy Long believes WWE could have The Rock challenge Roman Reigns over Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40 due to the tremendous ovation he received from the crowd and after a revelation of plans by The People's Champion that he was locked in to face Roman Reigns at last year's WrestleMania.
The American Nightmare failed to win the Undisputed Universal Title from The Tribal Chief at WrestleMania 39, but fans think that he could win the gold at WrestleMania 40. However, The Rock's recent return on SmackDown seems to have put those plans in jeopardy. He also confessed that he looked forward to facing The Bloodline leader at next year's WrestleMania.
On Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine podcast hosted by Mac Davis, Teddy Long explained why The Brahma Bull could challenge Roman Reigns instead of Cody Rhodes. The WWE Hall of Famer explained that as much as he loved Cody's work, The Rock was a bigger draw for the company.
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Teddy Long firmly believes pitting The People's Champion against The Head of the Table could mint big money for the global wrestling juggernaut.
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"I look at it, you know, as a business decision, and that's what this is all about. Business. Nothing against Cody Rhodes, I love him to death. He's another one I have known since he was a little kid. But who's gonna sell tickets? Cody Rhodes or The Rock? You know, and that's the way I look at it. And, I think to have Rock, he has been gone for a long time out of the ring, to have him to step in to wrestle at WrestleMania, as long as he's gone, and I think they are gonna hold this in Philadelphia, another great city. So, brother, I'm telling you, that's money in the bank," said Teddy Long. [4:25 - 5:01]
Check out the full video below:
Teddy Long on Cody Rhodes challenging Roman Reigns in the absence of The Rock
Teddy Long stated that if The Rock's schedule did not allow him to appear at WrestleMania 40, Cody Rhodes could step in to challenge The Tribal Chief. However, the wrestling veteran believes that having The Rock face Roman Reigns would make complete sense from a financial standpoint currently.
"Like if that doesn't happen, there's always room for Cody, because at the end, there something might that Cody can do. You know what I mean, so we don't wanna count him out because Cody, I think, is doing great hell of a job there. But, you know, if you're gonna say, you know, who's gonna buy tickets money-wise, I think The Rock would be the guy," said Teddy Long. [5:02 - 5:20]
Moreover, it remains to be seen how things pan out in the upcoming months and if The Rock is indeed planned as Roman Reigns' challenger for WrestleMania 40.
Do you think Cody Rhodes must finish his story and win the Undisputed WWE Universal Title at The Show of Shows? Sound off in the comments section below!
Please credit Sportskeeda WrestleBinge and embed the YouTube video if you use quotes from the first half of this article.
