WWE Rumors on The Rock, John Cena and WrestleMania 40; AJ Styles Eyes WWE Title Run

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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

The Rock Reportedly Expected to Stick Around Beyond WrestleMania

After going away from the teased match between The Rock and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40, WWE reportedly believes The Rock will continue making television appearances even after WrestleMania occurs.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), pivoting away from The Rock vs. Reigns at WrestleMania is viewed as a “blessing in disguise” by WWE since The People’s Champion will “probably” do more than originally planned with the idea that The Rock vs. Reigns will now happen further down the line.

Meltzer also noted that WrestleMania is likely to have more mainstream coverage than it has in decades due to The Rock’s involvement and the overall popularity of the WWE product currently.

After being named a member of TKO’s board of directors in January, The Rock made a surprise return to WWE programming, and he stepped up to Reigns.

Cody Rhodes, who won the men’s Royal Rumble match, said he would not face Reigns at WrestleMania and seemingly stepped aside to allow The Rock to take that spot.

In the days that followed, a vocal section of the WWE fanbase expressed their displeasure with the direction, and at the WrestleMania press conference in Las Vegas, Rhodes reverse course and decided to challenge Reigns.

The Rock slapped Rhodes and turned heel, subsequently announcing that he had joined The Bloodline.

At Elimination Chamber last weekend, Rhodes challenged The Rock to a match, and The Rock is scheduled to appear on Friday night’s episode of SmackDown where he could potentially answer the challenge.

Whether WWE’s current direction was always the plan or a change was made, the stage is set for The Rock to turn on Reigns and have a dream match against him at a big event in the future.

That should help ensure that the product remains hot coming out of WrestleMania, plus Rhodes will get another chance to finish his story by beating Reigns for the undisputed WWE universal title on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

WWE Reportedly Considering WrestleMania Plans for Cena

John Cena’s status for WrestleMania 40 is in question, but WWE is reportedly making plans in case he is able to appear.

According to Meltzer (h/t Ishaan Rathi of Ringside News), Cena is set to begin filming the second season of Peacemaker, and his ability to be involved with WrestleMania will depend on his filming schedule.

Meltzer noted that while Cena may not be able to wrestle at WrestleMania due to the risk of injury, WWE will have him do something “fun, short and memorable and with substance” if he is able to appear in some capacity.

The 46-year-old Cena is a 16-time world champion and one of the biggest and most influential stars in WWE history, so the company would undoubtedly love to have him on a landmark WrestleMania in some capacity.

Cena has only made sporadic appearances on WWE programming in recent years due to the success of his acting career, but he still manages to make time for the company whenever possible.

He competed at WrestleMania 39 last year, losing to Austin Theory, and the returned in September, making regular appearances for about two months.

Cena’s most recent appearance was a decisive loss to Solo Sikoa at Crown Jewel, extending his streak of futility in televised singles matches.

WWE would likely love to put Cena in a match at WrestleMania if possible, but provided that can’t happen, the promotion would undoubtedly take him in any capacity due to how important he has been to WWE and the pro wrestling business since the early 2000s.

Styles Wants One More WWE Title Run

AJ Styles is a two-time WWE champion, but The Phenomenal One has his sights set on returning to the top of the mountain.

During an appearance this week on Johnjay & Rich: After Words (h/t Mukherjee), Styles commented on his desire to be world champion again in WWE before he retires, saying: “I need that championship one more time before I call it quits.”

Styles primarily made a name for himself during his time in TNA from 2002 to 2014. He was widely viewed as one of the best wrestlers in the world during that run, and he established himself as arguably the greatest TNA wrestler of all time, winning five world titles and numerous other championships.

Despite his success, many doubted whether WWE would ever sign him since WWE wasn’t typically targeting wrestlers from other companies at that time, especially if they were on the smaller side.

However, Styles made his surprise WWE debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble and went on to enjoy more success than anyone could have ever imagined.

In addition to being a two-time WWE champion, Styles is also a three-time United States champion, one-time intercontinental champion and one-time tag team champion.

While Styles remains an important figure on WWE programming, he has not held a title since November 2018, which was when his 371-day reign ended.

At 46 years of age, Styles may not have a ton of time left as an active competitor, so he may have a sense of urgency to become WWE champion again in the near future.

The WWE Universal Championship is currently being dominated by Roman Reigns in recent years, but if Cody Rhodes beats him for the title at WrestleMania, perhaps there will be an opportunity for Styles to challenge him and enjoy one more run as WWE champion.

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