WWE said to be unhappy with recent Sports Illustrated report regarding WrestleMania 40 match card - Reports

WWE management is said to be "not happy" about a recent report from Sports Illustrated regarding some potential high-profile matches at WrestleMania 40.

On Wednesday morning, Sports Illustrated's Justin Barrasso dropped a report that professed to have insider knowledge into WWE's plans for the Showcase of the Immortals. This included speculations that Cody Rhodes would not "finish his story" and would instead be facing CM Punk in a grudge match at the event.

In addition, the report also stated that WWE had essentially locked in Gunther to win Saturday's Men's Royal Rumble match and challenge the World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins. The article would go on to say that these statements were directly from a "source close to Triple H."

Now, a report from WrestleVotes is shedding some light on WWE's reaction to the news and additional insight into how true the statements are. The insider noted that while the scenarios laid out in the article are "possible," the "set-in-stone tone" of the piece was "naive."

"Regarding the Sports Illustrated/ WrestleMania 40 report, and after speaking to a few of my own contacts, I believe the following- those 3 matches could absolutely happen in Philadelphia. However, the 'set in stone' nature of the article is a little naive I’ve been told...Source also relayed that WWE is not happy with the report in general, especially labeling it as 'sources close to Triple H,' as if he’d be so open with this type of specific information." [H/T WrestleVotes]

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WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes on potentially not "finishing his story" at WrestleMania 40

In a recent interview, Cody Rhodes stated that not "finishing the story" at WrestleMania 40 would be an abject failure.

More so, The American Nightmare made it clear that his only goal is to walk into Philadelphia and dethrone Roman Reigns.

"I guess I wouldn’t to…I feel like I don’t look at it from that perspective, in terms of what would happen if I didn’t get to the finish line because ultimately that’s a failure. It would be a failed year, and I’d hope that that doesn’t come to pass. You can never call it," said Cody Rhodes.

Cody Rhodes will attempt to win his second Royal Rumble match in this Saturday's Premium Live Event. He would be the first WWE Superstar in nearly 30 years to win the iconic bout back-to-back.

WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was the last man to do so, winning both the 1997 and 1998 Royal Rumble matches.

Do you think Cody Rhodes will finish his story at WrestleMania 40? Sound off in the comments section below.