The Rock, Roman Reigns Beat Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins at WWE WrestleMania 40

Photo credit: WWE.com

Undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns and The Rock defeated Cody Rhodes and world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins in a tag team match on Night 1 of WrestleMania 40 on Saturday night.

By virtue of Reigns and The Rock winning, Sunday’s Night 2 main event between Reigns and Rhodes will be wrestled under Bloodline Rules, meaning anything goes.

This match wasn’t short on notable moments, starting with The Rock’s entrance:

WWE @WWEThe FINAL BOSS of #WrestleMania.@TheRock has come back to Philadelphia to team with @WWERomanReigns against @CodyRhodes & @WWERollins in the biggest tag team match in @WrestleMania history! pic.twitter.com/z1sMsm9asR

The Rock officially made his return to the ring after eight years after Reigns tagged him in to face Rollins:

WWE @WWEEIGHT YEARS IN THE MAKING.@TheRock is back inside of a WWE ring competing at #WrestleMania XL! pic.twitter.com/1QIbnz0oM3

Some mid-match shenanigans went down, though, when The Rock—in his role as a member of WWE owners TKO board of directors—ordered the referee to not count anyone out.

WWE @WWEThe FINAL BOSS demands NO referee counting outside the ring in this main event at #WrestleMania XL! pic.twitter.com/py3cR5mMSN

The Rock also got away with a clear low blow:

WWE @WWEThe FINAL BOSS is calling the shots at #WrestleMania XL as @TheRock continues to fight dirty! pic.twitter.com/t14KxOjd0W

Aside from the Rock’s strong-arming of this match, another recurring storyline was Rollins’ injured left knee, which he clearly favored, especially after staggering outside the ring at one point. That will be something to watch when The Visionary defends his World Heavyweight Champion belt Sunday versus Drew McIntyre.

That also came into play when The Rock put Rollins into a sharpshooter, which Rhodes broke up with a big slap:

WWE @WWEHas @TheRock met his match against @CodyRhodes & @WWERollins at #WrestleMania XL? pic.twitter.com/cza3zlfEDT

Close calls and big moments were there on both sides.

Rhodes hit Reigns with a shoulder tackle off the top rope followed by a Rollins splash, but that wasn’t good enough:

WWE @WWESO. CLOSE.#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/VLedT4qUbu

Reigns and The Rock locked Rhodes in a guillotine, but Rollins broke it up with a Stomp:

WWE @WWEJUST IN TIME!#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/gV34Vi1myP

One of the biggest moments of them all occurred when Reigns accidentally speared The Rock, leading to Rollins and Rhodes hitting pedigrees and going for a double pin. However, the heel pair got out just in time:

WWE @WWEROMAN REIGNS JUST SPEARED THE ROCK!!!!!#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/YoOt0F6dvJ

All hell started breaking loose.

The Rock tried to hit Rhodes with a Rock Bottom through the announce table, but The American Nightmare reversed it and landed one of his own. Soon afterward, Reigns speared Rollins through the barricade:

WWE @WWETHROUGH THE ANNOUNCE TABLE.
THROUGH THE BARRICADE.#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/Ugifiju9di

It wasn’t meant to be for Rhodes and Rollins, though.

The American Nightmare tried his best to finish off Reigns with a pair of Cross Rhodes finishers. He went for a third, but The Rock stopped him in his tracks by slapping him with his strap.

Reigns tagged in The Rock, who landed the Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow for the victory.

WWE @WWEBLOODLINE. RULES.@TheRock just pinned @CodyRhodes at #WrestleMania XL and tomorrow night’s main event will be Bloodline Rules! pic.twitter.com/RbQPaGAUZF

After Rhodes lost to Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 39 due to interference from Solo Sikoa, The American Nightmare spent the next year trying to get another shot at The Tribal Chief and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Rhodes won his second consecutive men’s Royal Rumble match and all signs pointed toward a WrestleMania rematch with Reigns, but on the first episode of SmackDown after Royal Rumble, The Rock returned and Rhodes seemingly stepped aside.

At that point it appeared as though WWE was poised to go with Reigns vs. The Rock at The Show of Shows, but another curveball was thrown at the WrestleMania Kickoff press conference in Las Vegas with Cody choosing Reigns as his opponent.

After Rhodes announced his decision and both he and Reigns took shots at each other’s families, The Rock shocked the WWE Universe by slapping Rhodes across the face and turning heel in the process.

The Rock later officially joined The Bloodline and pledged his allegiance to Reigns by acknowledging him as The Tribal Chief.

At Elimination Chamber in Perth, Australia, Rhodes laid down a challenge to The Great One, stating that he wanted to face him in a singles match at or before WrestleMania, but Rock had other ideas.

He made a challenge of his own in the form of himself and Reigns against Rhodes and Rollins with a special stipulation. If The Rock and Reigns won, then Reigns vs. Rhodes would be fought under Bloodline Rules; but if Rhodes and Rollins won, then The Bloodline would be barred from getting involved in Reigns vs. Rhodes.

While Rhodes was all alone in his battle against Reigns and The Bloodline last year, he gained an unlikely ally this year in the form of Rollins, who was once his biggest rival.

Rollins has a long history with his former Shield stablemate in Reigns, and during the build toward WrestleMania, he made it clear that he felt taking down Reigns and The Bloodline was necessary in order to preserve the future of the wrestling business.

A win on Night 1 of WrestleMania likely would have given Rhodes a huge advantage on Night 2, but with Reigns and The Rock beating Cody and Rollins, The American Nightmare will almost certainly have to deal with The Bloodline during his title match.

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