Making the Case for Seth Rollins vs The Rock at Wrestlemania 40

The current plans for WWE's Wrestlemania 40, April 6th and 7th, in Philadelphia, have a tag team match pitting Roman Reigns and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, aka 'The Bloodline,' against Cody Rhodes and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins in a tag team main event on night one and Cody for Roman in the main event of night 2 where, supposedly, Cody will 'Finish the story,' as the marketing has pushed it. This is not a bad pair of main events, but I have a better idea.

How about this for night one, April 6th: Wrestlemania 40 Main Event:

Seth Rollins Vs. The Rock for World Heavyweight Championship.

Okay, I hear you, and I know, I am well aware of what is currently happening on WWE television. As I write this article, there is a series of matches occurring on WWE Raw and WWE Smackdown to determine the wrestlers who will fight in the Elimination Chamber in Perth, Australia, this coming Saturday, February 24th, 2024, for the chance to fight Seth Rollins at Wrestlemania 40. This means Seth would fight on both nights of Mania, first in the tag team match with Cody, The Rock and Roman and again the following night against the winner of Elimination Chamber, likely to be Drew McIntyre, if the current plans hold.

We can still do that. That can still work even if Seth fights The Rock one on one. Either way, Seth is fighting twice on Mania weekend. So, rather than a tag match with Cody, why not go One on One with The Great One and save Cody and Roman for Sunday night? I imagine that the reason is that a tag match will better serve to cover up the limitations of The Rock who is 51 years old and certainly not the freak athlete or performer he was more than 25 years ago when he first entered the wrestling business on his way to becoming a legend. A tag team match allows The Rock the space to catch his breath and hide the aspects of his physical presence that are no longer what they used to be. I get it.

The tag team match also helps keep Seth a little fresh for his singles match on night 2, likely against Drew McIntyre. BUT! Big, big BUT! We are talking about Seth Rollins here. Seth is one of the best in the business. Yes, he's also injured and likely limping into Wrestlemania, but there is still no one better at carrying someone to a great match than The Architect, Seth 'Freakin' Rollins. This is the man who helped make Roman Reigns into the performer he is today by giving him his best matches. This is the man who made Dominic Mysterio look credible in his rookie year by taking Dom and his dad, Rey Mysterio, to a shockingly good feud, considering Dominic's limitations as a performer.

Time and time again, Seth Rollins has shown the ability to get everyone's best match out of them, from guys who were struggling and needed the help to vets like Randy Orton and Brock 'He Who Shalt Not Be Named,' and just about anyone else on the WWE roster. Seth is the man trusted with the World Heavyweight Championship because his work is capable of legitimizing this relatively young , new belt. And speaking of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship...

That belt still needs a boost. Not to take anything away from Seth 'Freakin' Rollins, but the World Heavyweight Championship still needs a bit of a shine. As we saw at the WWE Wrestlemania Kickoff press conference, Roman Reigns is able to bury the belt because he's held his belts for so very long. Roman's unified belts still feel like the biggest thing in the company, even as they are brand specific to Smackdown. The World Heavyweight Championship is still in need of a signature moment, a signature win and there is no better way to get that signature moment than with the biggest star on the planet: The Rock.

If The Rock defeated Seth Rollins at Wrestlemania and became the World Heavyweight Championship, it would unquestionably rival Roman's Universal Championship. No one could deny or decry the belt being around the waist of, arguably, the biggest star on the planet and one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Rock isn't going to stick around and defend the belt, he probably wouldn't even end up defending it one time, using his newfound bad guy powers and corporate stroke to escape undefeated as champion while handing off the belt a week or two weeks after Mania, but that's still more than enough spotlight to make the belt special and create an incredible story around it.

But, there is an even better option: Seth Rollins beats The Rock.

Yes, have Seth Rollins beat The Rock on the grandest stage of them all, in the main event of night one of Wrestlemania. Beating guys like A.J Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura in incredible matches has already legitimized the World Heavyweight Championship in the eyes of those who love great professional wrestling. But, in the eyes of the casual fan, the World Heavyweight Championship feels secondary to Roman Reigns. A win over The Rock would change that in an instant. Rollins goes from superstar to megastar overnight. He goes from the star of Monday Night Raw to the star of ESPN, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, The Today Show, and every other major mainstream news show that wants to hear about the guy that beat the biggest star in the world.

It's perfect storm for WWE. Seth Rollins beating The Rock at Mania not only builds the profile of Rollins and his championship, it adds layers of lore to his long time rivalry with Roman Reigns. The relationship of Roman and Seth, dating back to the start of The Shield to the end of The Shield to their time as epic rivalry over their respective championships, there is a depth of lore already in place that grows astronomically from Seth beating The Rock. If/when Roman loses to Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania and then leaves for a while to make a movie or take a vacation, there is a natural destination waiting for him one year away. Roman Reigns returns to face Seth Rollins in the main event of Wrestlemania 41. All The Shield stuff, all of Seth saying that neither Roman or his family has ever beaten him, all of that lore. It creates a match for the ages and your next Wrestlemania Main Event program one year ahead of time.

Your welcome Triple H. You can have this idea.